The Finance World Magazine| Edition: October 2022

Start-ups News
Group 42 becomes the latest start-up in UAE to
achieve unicorn status
Abu Dhabi, Group 42, is
another unicorn this year,
surpassing the $1 billion
value threshold to join the
Hurun list of unicorns in the first half
of 2022. Hurun International’s global
list of unicorns, or firms valued at
$1 billion or more but not yet listed,
now includes the UAE at position 23,
thanks to Group 42’s inclusion. The
number of unicorns in the UAE has
increased to four with the addition
of Group 42. Another first was the
inclusion of two GCC nations, Bahrain
and Kuwait, with one firm each in
the January-June 2022 index, on the
Hurun list of Gazelles, or businesses
with valuations between $500 and $1
billion that are projected to become
unicorns in the following three years.
Bedu launches
its first
metaverse in
Dubai to mirror
the proposed
UAE Mars trip
T
he Dubai-based start-up
for the metaverse Bedu
has unveiled its brand-new
virtual environment, the first
to simulate the UAE’s planned trip to
Mars and centre on the nation’s space
research goals. According to Bedu, the
Metaverse Project 2117 virtual world
aspires to house 100 million users
in the next ten years while utilising
blockchain and decentralised hosting
strategies to provide high-quality
aesthetics. The UAE’s Mars 2117
initiative, which seeks to construct
the first habitable human settlement
on the Red Planet by the year 2117, is
in accordance with it.
Saudi start-up Jahez records
85% increase in net profit
In comparison to the same
period in 2021, the Saudi food
delivery service Jahez (Jahez
International Company for
Information System Technology)
reported an increase in net profit of
about 85%. Jahez’s net profit for the
first half of 2022 was SR53.2 million
($14.15 million) after zakat and
taxes. Its net profit for the first half
of 2021 was SR28.7 million. Despite
a 52.6 percent increase in the cost
of revenue, gross profit also rose 90
percent. On a year-over-year (YoY)
basis, an increase in delivery fees (SR
159.5 million) and commission income
(SR 81.8 million) resulted in a 59.9
percent rise in revenue. Jahez became
the first Saudi tech business to be
listed on a public exchange earlier this
year.
36 www.thefinanceworld.com October 2022