November 23rd, 2016: Dr. Anas Najdawi, Chair of the e-Business program at Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has provided his expert insights into the advancement of e-commerce in the region, during a recent televised interview with Al Arabia Business News.
Dr. Najdawi was called upon to discuss the landscape of the digital economy across the Middle East in the context of the forthcoming launch of noon.com, a venture from Emaar Properties chairman Mr. Mohamed Alabbar, which is set to become the biggest e-commerce platform in the region.
Opening the discussion, Dr. Najdawi spoke about the potential for the new business in the current marketplace. He said, “There is now a strategic shift towards digital commerce and conducting retail online, though the industry in this region is not as mature as it is in North America and Europe. With the level of investment in this business – anticipated to be one billion dollars – it has strong potential, but inevitably, some challenges will lie ahead.”
Discussing the possible business models for noon.com, Dr. Najdawi referred to leading international e-commerce operations such as Alibaba and Amazon, and considered their respective trading practices with reference to the emerging venture. He said that both B2C and B2B markets would hold potential for the new business, with the former providing a platform for the company’s establishment and the latter creating opportunities for revenue growth.
Going on to discuss the challenges that the business is likely to face, Dr. Najdawi said that there were still some concerns among consumers in the region relating to Internet security and trading online, and that education and media would have an important role to play in promoting the transition to a digital economy.
Dr. Najdawi cited the example of the banking sector, which has embraced technology and successfully implemented the systems and security protocols to support online transactions. He said that with more economic strategies promoting the digital business model and Governments increasingly taking their services online, individuals would be progressively more engaged as online consumers.
He concluded, “Individuals are increasingly accessing content such as media, music and books through online platforms and if we can build upon this habit by helping to grow the trust in digital trading then the e-commerce marketplace has the potential to grow across the region.”
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