News

Sheikh Hamdan Says Amazon Is Vital To Dubai’s Digital Growth

The eCommerce powerhouse will feature 100,000 small and medium enterprises by 2026.

Published

4 years ago

March 15, 2023

Nour Nasir

Amazon

Amazon currently displays 50,000 local and international retailers on the Amazon.ae arm of its website but intends to double this figure by 2026, spotlighting 100,000 small and medium businesses while offering training and qualifications to help launch applications on digital platforms.

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, applauded Amazon’s announcement, which fits well with the UAE’s plans for digital economy expansion.

sheikh hamdan amazon dubai digital economy expansion

“Dubai has positioned itself as a thriving center for the digital economy [and] I welcome Amazon’s plans to showcase 100,000 businesses, including local SMEs, on Amazon.ae by 2026,” said Sheikh Hamdan on Twitter.

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The initiative would give Emirati companies a global platform, aligning with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 aim to double the size of the economy over the next ten years, transforming Dubai into one of the world’s top three global cities.

Amazon’s announcement will offer UAE entrepreneurs a broader reach to worldwide markets, putting their products in front of 300 million customers. Business owners will also be able to outsource fulfillment to Amazon, alleviating any potential shipping headaches.

News

NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders

A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.

Published

1 day ago

October 5, 2026

Nour Nasir

neopay wants to follow merchants across channels and borders

It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.

The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.

For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.

“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.

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NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.

The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.