News

Yango App Now Alerts Muslim Drivers To Prayer Times

The latest update caters to the unique needs of Muslim drivers across several MENA countries, including the UAE and Morocco.

Published

2 years ago

April 2, 2024

Nour Nasir

Yango

Ride-hailing platform Yango has added a new feature to its app aimed at helping drivers stick to their prayer schedules throughout the Muslim calendar. In addition, the update will also facilitate the distribution of Iftar boxes during the important Ramadan fast. The latest feature is available to all Yango drivers in the UAE, Morocco, and several other locations.

Launched during the current holy month of Ramadan, the new app features allow drivers to seamlessly integrate their work schedules with religious duties, using high-tech mapping and smart routing to identify the nearest mosques and plot routes even in unfamiliar locations.

yango app muslim prayer times

Within the Yango app settings, drivers will receive 15-minute reminders before prayer times, with notifications automatically muted when prayers commence. The app also points drivers in the direction of the Qibla and allows prayer times to be calculated according to the user’s preferred Islamic convention.

Islam Abdul Karim, General Manager of Yango in the Gulf Coast Countries, explained: “The introduction of the new mode for drivers, permanent beyond the Ramadan period, is a step forward in our ongoing effort to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for partners’ drivers. It enriches their work-life balance, blending advanced technology with local customs and practices. We are keen to not only enhance their daily experience but also set standards for cultural consideration within the tech industry”.

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As a token of appreciation for the hard work and dedication of its drivers during Ramadan, Yango has also set up a dedicated zone to distribute special Iftar boxes, ensuring drivers on the road can break their fast.

Yango’s updated driver app joins a full suite of services from the company, including Yango Maps, Yango Play, Yango Tech, Arabic AI voice assistant Yasmina, and many more.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

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The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.