Mobile Sector Adds $5.2 Trillion to Global Economy

Mobile technologies and services generated 5% of global GDP, a contribution that amounted to $5.2 trillion of economic value added. The greatest benefits came from productivity effects, which reached $3.5 trillion, followed by mobile operators, which generated $650 billion.

Food Delivery Service CoLab Joins List of Firms in Ceasing Operations in Australia

CoLab, the Australian food delivery service, has announced winding up its operations last week. CoLab, is the seventh food delivery brand that have closed their operations in Australia in the last one year.
CoLab is a direct-to-customer retailer website and has entered voluntary administration last Thursday after failing to gain a fresh round of funding. failing to gain financing to continue its operations. It was launched as part of a collaboration between ChefPrep and Co-lab Pantry.
In a LinkedIn post, CoLab’s co-founder and CEO Josh Abulafia said that the company’s staff had been made redundant. “It’s been a tough day for CoLab and unfortunately we have had to let the team go,” he posted.
“As a quick background we (were) in the process of closing out a new round of financing that fell through. We then had significant interest for the company to be acquired and decided to put the company into VA to help, but due to unforeseen events our timelines became truncated,” Abulafia added.
One of the major reasons for the closure of these brands is said to be challenging economic conditions resulting in a rise in the cost of living where consumers have less money to spend.

Other Firms
Earlier, Sydney-based MilkRun, which was in the headlines for promising to deliver groceries within 10 minutes a customer placed order. The firm raised more than $5759 million from some of the biggest names in Australian venture capital, including Atlassian billionare Mike Cannon-Brookes.
In an internal email to the employees on Tuesday last, MilkRuns co-founder and chief executive Dany Milham said: “I am writing to let you know that we have made the difficult decision to wind down the business, and as a result, MilkRun will cease trading this Friday.”
According to Australian media reports, despite banking an impressive $75 million funding round led by a US venture capital firm in 2022, Milham blamed worsening economic conditions for the shock collapse.
Dany Milham had already found success with fast-delivering mattress company Koala. Less than a year ago he was confidently predicting MilkRun would be bigger than Coles or Woolworths within ten years.
The other five delivery service firms, which shut down in the Australian market, included three local startups promising 10-minute deliveries – ‘Send’ in May 2022, ‘Voly’ and British-owned ‘Deliveroo,’ both of which ceased operations in November 2022.
DashMart, which was launched in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane by food courier platform DoorDash in January 2023 claiming it would succeed where its rivals had failed, closed its operations last month.
While Melbourne food delivery platform Providoor became the sixth delivery firm to enter liquidation last month, Germany’s Foodora collapsed in August 2018.

299 IPOs Raise $21.5 Billion in Global Markets in Q1-2023

The global markets witnessed as many as 299 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) raising $21.5 billion in Q1-2023 owing to interest rate rises, a lukewarm stock market, entrenched inflation, and unexpected global banking industry turbulence.

WAM is Annual Investment Meeting’s main media partner

Emirates News Agency (WAM) has signed a memorandum of understanding to become the main media partner for the Annual Investment Meeting 2023 to be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from May 8th to 10th. The event, which is anchored on the theme “The Investment Paradigm Shift: Future Investment Opportunities to Foster Sustainable Economic Growth, Diversity and Prosperity,” is supported by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

Annual Investment Meeting launch Arab China Unicorn Investment Conclave

The 12th edition of The Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) hosted the China Top 50 Unicorns. The event took place at the Innovation and Technology Track located at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, and brought together investors, startups, and innovators from the UAE and China.

Green Entrepreneurship: A Key Driver for Competitiveness and Sustainability Highlighted at the Annual Investment Meeting’s Entrepreneurs Investment Summit

The Entrepreneurs Investment Summit opened its doors to industry leaders and experts from around the world to discuss new strategies and opportunities for investment. Held at the 12th edition of the The Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), which took place at the Entrepreneurs Room located at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, The Summit witnessed a range of distinguished speakers who shared their thoughts and insights on the subject.

DIFC Attracts Top Wealth Management Firms

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region, has attracted several notable names recently, taking the total number of wealth and asset management companies to over 300