Dubai-based Swvl to offer on-demand bus and van services in Europe
Shotl is a platform that provides municipalities, corporations, and schools with shuttle services
Updated 19 August 2021
AMEERA ABID
JEDDAH: Dubai-based transportation startup Swvl said they will be offering on-demand bus and van services across Europe after its deal with Shotl.
“Our two companies share the view that there is an urgent need to transform traditional public transportation to make it more accessible, convenient, and sustainable,” Swvl founder Mostafa Kandil said in a statement.
Shotl is a platform that provides municipalities, corporations, and schools with shuttle services.
“Shotl’s vision for the future of mobility, with an emphasis on electrification, the reduction of congestion and emissions, and affordability – is exactly what Swvl has already achieved in ten emerging market megacities,” Kandil said.
He added the European company’s rapidly growing user base will expand Swvl’s core markets, adding 22 cities across ten countries to its coverage.
Shotl is present in eight countries in Europe including Spain, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, and Finland.
It will benefit from Swvl’s proprietary technologies to maximize vehicle load, optimize routes, and reduce traffic congestions.
Saudi minister at Davos urges collaboration on minerals
The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals
Updated 20 January 2026
Arab News
LONDON: Countries need to collaborate on mining and resources to help avoid geopolitical tensions, Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry and mineral resources told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
“The reason of the tension of geopolitics is actually the criticality of the minerals, the concentration in different areas of the world,” Bandar Alkhorayef told a panel discussion on the geopolitics of materials.
“The rational thing to do is to collaborate, and that’s what we are doing,” he added. “We are creating a platform of collaboration in Saudi Arabia.”
Bandar Alkhorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources
The Kingdom last week hosted the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. Alkhorayef said the platform was launched by the government in 2022 as a contribution to the global community. “It’s very important to have a global movement, and that’s why we launched the Future Minerals Forum,” he said. “It is the most important platform of global mining leaders.”
The Kingdom has made mining one of the key pillars of its economy, rapidly expanding the sector under the Vision 2030 reform program with an eye on diversification. Saudi Arabia has an estimated $2.5 trillion in mineral wealth and the ramping up of extraction comes at a time of intense global competition for resources to drive technological development in areas like AI and renewables.
“We realized that unlocking the value that we have in our natural resources, of the different minerals that we have, will definitely help our economy to grow to diversify,” Alkhorayef said. The Kingdom has worked to reduce the timelines required to set up mines while also protecting local communities, he added. Obtaining mining permits in Saudi Arabia has been reduced to just 30 to 90 days compared to the many years required in other countries, Alkhorayef said.
“We learned very, very early that permitting is a bottleneck in the system,” he added. “We all know, and we have to be very, very frank about this, that mining doesn’t have a good reputation globally.
“We are trying to change this and cutting down the licensing process doesn’t only solve it. You need also to show the communities the impact of the mining on their lives.”
Saudi Arabia’s new mining investment laws have placed great emphasis on the development of society and local communities, along with protecting the environment and incorporating new technologies, Alkhorayef said. “We want to build the future mines; we don’t want to build old mines.”
