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Paymob Announces New UAE Regional Hub
As the MENAP’s leading payment facilitator embarks on its next phase of expansion, it will open a new hub to serve the region’s growing number of micro businesses.

Paymob has just announced that it will expand into the United Arab Emirates and open a regional hub in the country after a successful round of Series B funding overseen by PayPal.
The UAE expansion will be focused on “empowering (SMEs) and microbusinesses across the seven Emirates, with best-in-class digital payments solutions that drive growth in the digital economy”, Paymob said in a recent press release.
Paymob has already appointed veteran Emirati financial services guru Omar Haddad as its General Manager for the UAE expansion. He’ll be responsible for building a 150-strong team of payment professionals in this new market.
“The UAE is a dynamic ecosystem that fosters entrepreneurship and innovation, largely enabled by tremendous support from the public sector. There are currently over 400,000 businesses in the UAE, 61% of which are microbusinesses and 38% are SMEs. We see a massive opportunity to serve this market segment. Our goal over the next three years is to empower 15% of those merchants with the latest payment technologies to fuel their growth and further digitize the economy,” says Islam Shawky, Paymob CEO and Co-founder.
Also Read: 10 Best VPN Services For The Middle East In 2023 (Free & Paid)
As a market leader in the digital payment sector in the MENAP region, Paymob currently caters to over 16.5 million registered users on its mobile wallet infrastructure. The company offers one of the most comprehensive payment platforms for MENAP businesses, and includes over 40 online and physical payment methods via its point-of-sale systems, online gateway, and app.
Paymob currently holds an 87% share of all of the mobile wallet processing volumes in Egypt, and in 2021, it partnered with Mastercard to offer the country’s first “Tap-on-Phone” contactless solution. The payments giant hopes to roll out the same tech to UAE businesses and their customers in 2023 and aims to help companies of all sizes deliver a frictionless and seamless digital payment experience.
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Vernewell UK: Forging The Future Of Intelligence, Quantum, And AI
Explore Vernewell UK, an innovative initiative launched at the Quantum Innovation Summit 2025, integrating quantum science and AI to transform education and industry.

From a decade of disruption to a new dawn of innovation the greatest revolutions are not born from mere advancements in technology, but from visionaries who refuse to accept the limits of the present and challenge the status quo. For over a decade, Malak Trabelsi Loeb has been that force — a relentless pioneer, a strategist, and an architect of the future. She built her legacy by transforming industries before they even recognized the need to evolve. In space governance, she fought for sustainability when few were thinking beyond conquest. In deep tech and national security, she was a driving force behind many national and international legal and policy frameworks that now shape the digital age. And in quantum technologies, she didn’t just join the conversation — she ignited the movement.
Under her leadership, Vernewell Group, redefined how the Middle East engages with disruptive technologies, setting in motion initiatives that propelled quantum and AI into boardrooms, government policies, and industrial strategies. She built platforms of influence — the Quantum Innovation Summit, QInnovision Consortium, the Quantum Technology Adoption Program (QTAP) — that transformed theoretical breakthroughs into actionable solutions for industries worldwide. But revolutions do not stop. They expand. They demand new frontiers.
We witnessed the launch of Vernewell UK — an initiative integrating quantum science, AI, and cognitive research to drive innovation in education, research, and industry transformation — during the closing remarks of the Quantum Innovation Summit 2025. Let’s explore what this milestone entails and the impact it aims to create
A Historic Announcement At The Quantum Innovation Summit 2025
Beyond a mere expansion, Vernewell UK represents the convergence of quantum science, AI, and cognitive research into a force that will shape the global industrial, academic, and policy landscapes. It was not just an announcement — it was the unveiling of a new era of intelligence-driven transformation.
Standing alongside her was Dr. Selma Dundar-Coecke, a leader in cognitive science and the revolutionary mind behind the pedagogical frameworks that will define the institution’s future. As Vernewell UK’s CEO, Selma took the stage to unveil the scientific foundation of an educational and research model that will challenge conventional learning, workforce development, and knowledge dissemination in QIST, AI, and beyond.
Together, Malak and Selma pressed the button that set a paradigm shift in motion. As the world celebrated International Women’s Day, Vernewell UK stood as a testament to women who are not just participating in the conversation, but defining the future of intelligence-driven societies. This is not just an expansion of knowledge, it’s the dawn of a new intelligence era, empowered by high technology.
Vernewell UK: A Strategic Powerhouse Bridging Knowledge, Industry, And Human Intelligence
Oxford — a city that has shaped human knowledge for centuries — is now home to an institution that will redefine the intersection of quantum science, AI, and cognitive research.
Vernewell UK is not just a research center, nor a think tank — it’s a science-driven industrial force of transformation.
Its purpose? The driving force shaping economies, industries, and societies is Quantum Information Sciences (QIST), AI, and cognitive intelligence — the most disruptive sciences of our time. With this enterprise, they no longer remain theoretical fields.
Vernewell UK will accomplish this by building on four pillars of impact:
- Cutting-edge research and policy frameworks in QIST, AI, and cognitive sciences, ensuring that these fields are not only understood but actively harnessed for global progress.
- Transformative education and workforce development, bridging the gap between scientific breakthroughs and real-world applications in business, governance, and industry.
- The Academy of Emerging Sciences and Art (AESA) — a pioneering initiative merging quantum, AI, cognitive science, and the arts to reimagine how knowledge is cultivated, applied, and scaled.
- Industry and strategic consultancy, ensuring that businesses, governments, and institutions are not just aware of quantum and AI — but leading its integration into the fabric of economies.
The mission is clear: To lead, to shape, and to accelerate the future of intelligence-driven societies.
And behind this mission stand two visionary leaders whose expertise makes it possible.
A Partnership Designed To Shape The Future
Malak Trabelsi Loeb: Architect Of Quantum, AI, And Deep Tech Strategy
Few leaders can claim to have designed the very frameworks that industries now rely upon.
For over a decade, Malak has been at the helm of space and deep tech disruption, ensuring that quantum, AI, and advanced technologies are not just theoretical advancements but industrial realities.
She has positioned herself as a global force in NewSpace sustainability and commercial development, quantum strategy, governance, and industrial transformation, bringing together policymakers, researchers, and corporate leaders to shape the technologies that will define the next century.
With Vernewell UK, she is extending this mission — ensuring that the world’s most advanced fields of knowledge are not just understood but strategically deployed across industries.
“The world is not waiting for the future — it’s demanding it. Vernewell UK is the bridge between knowledge and application, between vision and reality. We are not just preparing for the next era — we are building it,” says Malak Trabelsi Loeb.
Dr. Selma Dündar-Coecke: Revolutionizing Learning In The Age Of Quantum & AI
For years, Dr. Selma Dündar-Coecke has led the charge in understanding the deepest frontiers of intelligence — both human and artificial. Her groundbreaking research in cognitive science, neuroscience, and educational AI has transformed how learning, problem-solving, and intelligence development are approached in the era of quantum and AI.
As a key figure in the development of Quantum Picturalism, in collaboration with Oxford University, IBM, Quantinuum, and City University London, she has pioneered new pedagogical methods for teaching quantum at scale.
At Vernewell UK, she will lead a mission to redefine how knowledge is structured, ensuring that quantum and AI education evolves beyond its traditional confines into a dynamic, accessible, and scalable force for the workforce of tomorrow.
“At VUK, we are shaping the future by bridging innovation, knowledge, and collaboration. Through cutting-edge research, transformative learning, and strategic partnerships, we empower individuals and industries to thrive in the evolving landscapes of QIST, AI, cognition, arts, and beyond,” says Dr. Selma Dundar-Coecke.
Selma added “Oxford has long been a city where knowledge reshapes the world, a place where intellectual revolutions take root and redefine the course of history. Now, it’s home to Vernewell UK -an institution poised to redefine the convergence of frontier technologies, intelligence systems, and human-centric innovation. We are not just shaping the future; we are transforming the very way industries, governments, and individuals engage with tomorrow’s possibilities. At Vernewell UK, our vision is clear — to lead in creating a future where innovation, knowledge, and creativity converge to solve the world’s most pressing challenges”.
Malak emphasized on the determination to advancing global progress by delivering impactful research, cutting-edge education, and actionable consultancy services. She added that “Unlike traditional research institutions or think tanks, Vernewell UK is built to drive the adoption, education, and strategic deployment of the most disruptive sciences of our time. It’s designed to act as a catalyst for innovation, ensuring that Quantum Information Sciences (QIST), AI, and cognitive sciences are not confined to academic theory but are actively shaping industries, policies, and economies”.
Through cutting-edge research, transformative learning, and strategic partnerships, Vernewell UK will serve as a convergence point for industry pioneers, researchers, and visionaries seeking to build intelligence-driven societies.
This is where industries gain the knowledge to lead, governments develop the frameworks to regulate, and the next wave of innovators learn to thrive in the intelligence era.
With Malak Trabelsi Loeb and Dr. Selma Dundar-Coecke at the helm, Vernewell UK is not just another institution — it’s a force that will shape how knowledge is harnessed, how industries adapt, and how societies evolve in the quantum age.
Join Vernewell UK In Shaping The Future Of Intelligence, Technology, And Innovation
- Are you an enterprise seeking to harness quantum and AI for strategic advantage?
- An academic institution or researcher looking for transformative collaborations?
- A policymaker or investor shaping the frameworks of tomorrow’s digital economy?
Vernewell UK invites you to co-create, collaborate, and lead the next frontier of intelligence-driven societies.
Be part of a global ecosystem driving innovation and shaping future economies.
To explore how Vernewell UK can empower your journey, reach out at [email protected].