DUBAI: Business-sector news magazine Fast Company, which launched its Middle East edition this year, has unveiled its 2022 list of the Most Innovative Companies in the region.
It said the 42 companies on the list helped to reshaped their businesses and industries in 25 categories, including media, entertainment and e-commerce.
“Most Innovative Companies is one of our highly anticipated editorial efforts,” said Ravi Raman, publisher of Fast Company Middle East.
“It provides a snapshot and a road map for the future of innovation across the most-dynamic sectors and we were enthused by both the quantity and quality of the nominations received.
“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do and this list best reflects that.”
In the media category, Asharq News and Augustus Media were recognized for introducing vertical streaming and adapting to the changing world, respectively.
In the entertainment category, TikTok and OSN+ were identified as being the most innovative companies. The latter was chosen for its recent revamp, unconventional screening locations, and the augmented reality initiatives it developed ahead of the release of “House of the Dragon,” HBO’s prequel to “Game of Thrones.”
TikTok earned its spot for “placing power in the hands of the masses” by putting a studio in every content creator’s pocket, Fast Company said.
Advertising agency TBWA\RAAD ranked top in the advertising category for “re-engineering brand experiences.”
Reda Raad, the agency’s CEO, said: “We are very thrilled to be number one in the advertising sector and to be recognized for our commitment to innovation and to the power of disruptive creative ideas on behalf of our clients.”
In the artificial intelligence category, IBM, SAS and Crayon DMCC made the list for “applying AI to everything — from property valuations to detecting mortality risks and reducing carbon emissions.”
In the e-commerce section, which has surged since the start of the pandemic, Noon and Rabbit were recognized. The former was chosen for helping micro-entrepreneurs through its Mahali initiative, which provides Emirati and Saudi entrepreneurs with assistance and support to build their enterprises online.
Delivery company Rabbit was lauded for disrupting the quick-commerce model. It offers the promise of deliveries of groceries and other consumables within 20 minutes and after only a year of operation boasts a success rate of 94 percent.
Other companies on the list include Aramex, Sony PlayStation, Chalhoub Group, L’oreal Middle East, PepsiCo, Barakat Group, Pickl, MonkiBox, Independent Food Company, Technology Innovation Institute, RedSea, Aster DM Healthcare, G42 Healthcare, FIVE Hotels and Resorts, Cafu, GMG, Virgin Mobile UAE, Justlife, Virtuzone, Dulsco, Emirates National Oil Company, Pure Harvest Smart Farms, Peacefull, Huspy, Masdar City, Balinca, ZainTech, NOMADD Desert Solar Solutions, BitOasis Technologies, Mamo, Stripe and Zuhair Fayez Partnership Consultants.
Fast Company Middle East unveils its 2022 list of Most Innovative Companies
https://arab.news/m2qsu
Fast Company Middle East unveils its 2022 list of Most Innovative Companies
- The business news magazine’s list recognizes 42 companies in 25 categories it believes have reshaped their businesses and industries
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
