Business

Pact signed for $136.2 mln boost for food and agricultural purchases from UAE farms

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, witnessed on Tuesday the signing of the first deal secured by the National Farm Sustainability Initiative (NFSI) Task Force. The recently formed ministry team has arranged for the supply of food and agricultural products from national farms, amounting to $136.2 million (Dh 500 million) over five years, to some of the largest public sector institutions in the UAE.
This took place during an event held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) in Abu Dhabi.

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A statement of intent was signed to facilitate the new deal between ADNH Compass Group, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company and the Compass Group, which in turn represents the largest food catering services company in the UAE and Manbat, a commercial platform founded by UAE master developer Arada to facilitate stronger ties between Emirati farmers and local consumers and businesses.
Mariam Almheiri praised the efforts of the National Farm Sustainability Initiative Task Force in achieving this important deal and signing the statement of intent, which contributes to the establishment of new mechanisms and partnerships, connecting major supply companies with national farms through cooperation with various relevant government and private sectors in the country. This will help increase purchases of national farm products, expand local production through purchase agreements, and thus raise the country's self-sufficiency rate for selected food items, thereby improving the income of Emirati farmers without affecting food trade.
She emphasized that the Ministry is intensifying its efforts to achieve the goals of the National Farm Sustainability Initiative to enhance food security and sustainability by empowering national farms and supporting their entry into the food purchases market in cooperation with many governmental and private sectors in the UAE. She pointed out that the goal of the initiative is to increase the purchase ratios of the major entities participating in the initiative to reach 50 percent of their total food purchases from local sources by the end of 2023, 70 percent by the end of 2025, and 100 percent by 2030.
She said: “During the Year of Sustainability and as the UAE approaches hosting the COP28 conference, the efforts of the working group represent a pioneering model to enhance food security by empowering the national food production sector to ensure food sustainability, which is one of the biggest local and global sustainability goals, by working to develop sustainable local production enabled by technology across the entire value chain, and dedicating smart technologies in food production.”
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, Vice Chairman of Arada, said: "This concord between Manbat and ADNH Compass Group is a major step on the road to future food security for some of the UAE’s largest and most prominent public entities. We’re delighted to see that this groundbreaking Task Force has delivered such a significant deal so quickly, and we look forward to announcing further partnerships in the very near future.”
On his part, Peter Nichols, Chief Operating Officer of ADNH Compass Group, said: “This groundbreaking partnership underlines ADNH Compass Group’s longstanding commitment to cultivating a sustainable and environmentally friendly ecosystem between Emirati farmers and the public sector in the UAE. We believe that this is the first of many signings that have the ability to catalyse a transformation that safeguards our environment and contributes to a sustainable, prosperous UAE.”
Eight major public sector institutions have signed an agreement to achieve this goal, including the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, Dubai Police General Command, Abu Dhabi Police, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Emirates Health Services Corporation, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
The agreed-upon deal extends over five years, with an approximate value of $136.2 million (Dh 500 million), based on the current purchasing volume of fresh products by the eight signing entities, in addition to estimates of increased demand as a result of the efforts of ADNH Compass Group and Manbat to increase sales of fresh products from local farmers.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is working on ensuring that all relevant parties within the initiative begin implementing the designated plan for this agreement.
Communication is ongoing with farmers as they are the primary driving force of this agreement to determine the types and quantities of required varieties. All farmers wishing to participate should first register with the Ministry and ensure their ability to comply with the necessary guidelines and instructions. Then, Manbat and ADNH Compass Group will register the farmers within their records and submit the applications in accordance with the final deadlines set by each of the signing entities.
It is worth noting that the National Farm Sustainability Initiative team comprises a group of external experts, headed by Eng. Mohammed Mousa Alameeri, Assistant Undersecretary for Food Diversity Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. The team also includes Peter Nichols, the Chief Operating Officer of ADNH Compass Group; Dr Ray Tinston, Managing Director of Manbat; Omar Al Shamsi, CEO of Watermelon Holding Limited; Hamed Al Hamed from Gracia Group; Yazen Al Kodmani, Partner at 3Y Agtech and Deputy General Manager at Emirates Bio Farm; and Hussein Al Hussein, Regional Manager at the “Farm to Plate” Initiative.

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Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.