News

IDC Alliance Event Is Set To Bring Together ICT Leaders

The theme of the IDC Alliance event for this year is “BUILD,” and it revolves around several building blocks for attainable future growth.

Published

4 years ago

September 14, 2022

David Morelo

idc alliance event is set to bring together ict leaders

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector is driving innovation across the rest of the economic sectors, providing innovative solutions to real-life problems. This innovation is almost always made possible by mutually beneficial partnerships that allow for effective collaboration and quicker identification of opportunities.

International Data Corporation (IDC) is set to bring together ICT leaders from the MEA region at the IDC Alliance flagship event to provide them with unparalleled opportunities to foster solid partner ecosystems and discuss the latest channel and alliance trends.

“Today, technology providers and vendors are presented with a golden opportunity to gain a competitive edge and address the vastly changed needs and demands of customers in a timely and cost-effective manner by seeking out technology and managed services partners,” explains IDC.

The theme of the IDC Alliance event for this year is “BUILD,” and it revolves around the following building blocks for attainable future growth:

BUILD a sustainable base of new customers.
BUILD a viable marketing strategy.
BUILD a long-lasting unique IP.
BUILD stronger internal practices.
BUILD a deeper support ecosystem.

“As partners hunt for new customers, strive for increased brand awareness, and realize the need to differentiate, a series of BUILD presentations will unlock many of the most common challenges,” adds IDC.

The event will take place from November 8 to November 10 at the InterContinental Resort Fujairah, UAE, a beachfront property located on the shoreline of the Al Aqah beach and beneath the Hajjar mountains.

After check in, the entire first day of the event will be dedicated to an icebreaker dinner on the beach where shorts and flip-flops are welcome. The second day will start with a quick catch-up and continue with a series of keynote presentations, panel discussions, and more informal networking opportunities. A similar program is also planned for the third day, which ends at 15:00 with a sign-up opportunity for the next IDC Alliance event.

If you would like to attend the event, then you can register on its website. Networkers are required to pay a registration fee of $1,500 USD, which covers all accommodation, conferencing, meals, and activities for the duration of the entire event.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.