Latest news with #KUUMARSHYAM
Al Etihad
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Etihad
Dubai club coach attends pre-season meet of EuroLeague Basketball
2 July 2025 22:59 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)As Dubai Basketball club prepares for a historic foray into EuroLeague Basketball, coach Jurica Golemac got to rub shoulders with his counterparts to prime up before their teams commence their rivalries on the second-most popular league in basketball held its annual workshops in Barcelona, with coaches gathering to continue the collaboration, open dialogue, and future-focused planning with the league's most influential three teams added and one team dropped for the upcoming season, the rookie representatives at the gathering, including Golemac, shared their excitement at being part of the new environment. 'The EuroLeague is the best competition in Europe and everybody wants to be a part of it,' Golemac said. 'It's very important to have these meetings, even more than once a year. It helps the organisation, the players, the referees and the coaches. And the fans!'The workshop was opened by Euroleague Basketball President Dejan Bodiroga, who reflected on a remarkable 2024–25 season and thanked the coaches for their contributions to the continued growth of the competition.'I would like to congratulate everyone for the amazing season that we finished, also to the teams who qualified for the Final Four [held in Abu Dhabi in May], especially to Sarunas [Jasikevicius] and his season winners, Fenerbahce,' stated Dejan were outlined the organisation's strategic vision moving forward on sustainable growth, product quality, and deeper engagement with fans across digital platforms. 'Once again, we have taken the EuroLeague a step forward, celebrating record attendance, television and digital audience with an outstanding Final Four in Abu Dhabi, showing once again the Euroleague's tremendous potential to grow beyond its traditional markets,' stated Paulius Motiejunas, Euroleague Basketball CEO.
Al Etihad
a day ago
- Business
- Al Etihad
Fearless female entrepreneur rises from UAE with game connecting back to African roots
2 July 2025 00:32 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)Born in Ethiopia, raised in the Netherlands, and now thriving as a serial entrepreneur in Dubai, Kanessa Muluneh has built a career by spotting overlooked problems and transforming them into profitable latest project, Rise of Fearless, is a made-in-UAE, Africa-focused blockchain game that combines history, economic empowerment, and cutting-edge technology – and it's already gaining traction across the continent and diaspora.'I always knew that Africa, the Middle East, and Asia had potential,' Muluneh says. 'Western media often paints a negative picture, but when you come here, you see growth, innovation, and resilience.'Moving to Dubai three years ago was more than a change of scenery for Kanessa; it was a return to her roots. Having spent her childhood in Europe as an immigrant, she visited Ethiopia again as an adult and reconnected with her heritage in a profound way. 'The smell, the feeling, the sound, the language – everything just clicked. It felt like answers to questions I didn't even know I had,' she visit coincided with her networking with the UAE business community in trying to grow her fashion brand Mulu. 'I saw that UAE nationals were the largest investors in Ethiopia. They taught me about the African infrastructure, how things worked – including the challenges, like hard currency shortages or delivery nightmares.'Even if she would not have been told, she would have noticed anyways. And her solution, go eyes are always on the lookout for problems. After all she made her first couple of millions – the proverbial most hardest challenge – by finding a problem and solving it, all at the age of 20 in her first job as a fresh medical the hospital, she found that many female medical workers had to leave work to care for sick family members. She proposed a system where doctors could consult from home by redirecting hospital calls and accessing medical files by colleagues, she invested 8,000 euros in rerouting and file inventory. By 22, she sold that company for over €1.2 million. Her father immediately advised her to invest half of it for future and spend the other half wisely. Yet she couldn't resist splurging away the rest, so much that she had to plead with father to dip into the saved money for paying instalments for the luxury car she had brought. TikTok to Tech Her medical job was only to appease her parents. But technology excited her more. Muluneh started educating others – and herself – through a TikTok account in her mother tongue. While improving her language fluency, she shared lessons on blockchain, NFTs, and crypto. That platform evolved into a successful along she began investing in small African ventures – some as little as $500 – which later developed into full-fledged businesses. Eventually, the idea emerged to build a play-to-earn game to inspire Africa's younger generation. 'They don't want to be doctors or lawyers anymore,' she says. 'They want to be content creators, business owners. We wanted to give them a platform for that.'Muluneh found developers from the Filipino blockchain gaming community and began building her team – now more than 10 strong – in Dubai with roles spanning from game developers to marketers. 'Every business I build is about marketing first. If it doesn't sell, it's not a business,' she result: Rise of Fearless, a free-to-play, mobile-first Web3 game, deeply embedded in Ethiopian history. 'The game is based on the Battle of Adwa – when Ethiopians defeated the Italians. That moment shaped the African Union,' the founder wear traditional attire and resemble real Africans – a deliberate move to challenge the western-centric design in mainstream games. 'Current game characters for Africans don't look like us. This one does.'It is not just about Ethiopia as Kanessa has launched the game in South Africa and Kenya, with plans to expand to Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Mauritius. 'People say I'm limiting myself by focusing on Africa,' she says. 'But Africa has 1.5 billion people – and it can connects with the population largely in Asia too.'Rise of Fearless is built on blockchain, with plans for its own tokenomics and NFT system. Players can buy, sell, and trade in-game items – including rare NFT outfits – with real monetary value. 'For example, let's say there's only one rainbow-colored outfit in the whole game. If your character has it and becomes popular, its value increases – just like in real markets.'She also launched Mulu, a plus-size fashion brand that thrived during COVID. 'Sales were crazy,' she says, thanks to online fitness classes and socially distanced meetups – all cleverly used to market her products. She's now relaunching Mulu in the UAE, expanding it from plus-size to all sizes, focusing on family the end of 2025, Kanessa aims to compete with giants like Fortnite. 'That game donated $20 million in two weeks during COVID – from a free-to-play model. That's the potential we're looking at.' With Rise of Fearless, she's doing more than building a game – she's helping build a digital economy for Africa with global potential from the confines of UAE.
Al Etihad
25-06-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
San Francisco 49ers touchdown in UAE as part of NFL expansion push
26 June 2025 00:42 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)American football, synonymous more famously by the NFL, has made a foray into the UAE with the franchise San Francisco 49ers initiating a game development activation at a Dubai school for a version of flag football on Tuesday. The NFL stakeholders and teams are expanding the sport outside of the American shores. Having recently been awarded the license to expand to the Middle East, the 49ers touched down in Dubai after taking the brand to Mexico and the United Kingdom. The first move has been to collaborate with the GEMS chain of schools where an event was held with over 50 children and a dozen of PE teachers at the World Academy Senior School. The day's programme included a flag football coaching session and youth clinic in Dubai, to highlight the 49ers investment into the global growth of flag football, a sport included on the Summer Olympics agenda in 2028. Aletihad spoke exclusively to Stephanie Rogers, Executive Vice President of Marketing of the 49ers, who shared her enthusiasm of setting foot in the UAE, the first of three NFL teams to get the nod for activation in UAE as part of the league's Global Markets programme. Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders are the other two teams. "Our commitment is not just about flag participation but about creating a journey for youth development. Across a combination of in-person events, digital activations and community initiatives, we aspire to share the storied history of the 49ers with the UAE." As part of the 49ers' three-pronged strategy, there will be watch parties when the season kicks off with some matches on the east coast of America will be screened in public to allow UAE fans to see the game at suitable hours. Besides that, there will be digital avenues (e.g, an Arabic Instagram page has also been launched). Importantly, the 49ers have no complications from their fan base having any reservations during the expansion drive, as witnessed in some sporting leagues. The 10th oldest franchise in NFL – joining the league in 1949 and hence the name – has five Super Bowl titles to their name and sits alone in NFL history with most playoff wins. And Rogers establishes why the UAE appeals to the franchise. "For us, we like celebrating the entire Bay Area. We are hosting the Super Bowl this year at Levi's Stadium. So that'll be a big moment for us to celebrate what our area and stadium has to offer. "Aside from football, shortly after the NFL Super Bowl, we're hosting six games in the FIFA World Cup next summer as well. So we really see this as a huge opportunity to kind of tell the story of what we are as the 49ers. "We're a community that's very proud in terms of a fan base, called "The Faithful." I think there's a lot of synergies right in the UAE and in San Francisco in terms of things to experience, outdoor life and sporting activity. "We are the third largest fan base in the NFL in the United States and in many of the markets. But the NFL measures fandom internationally. In many of the markets, we are No.1 or in the top three since those days in the 1990s when we had Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and Dwight Clark, or even just from the last five to 10 years when we've had three Super Bowl appearances and some exciting names in recent signings as well; so I don't think anybody feels like they want to keep San Francisco 49ers just to the Bay Area.'And Rogers is candid to say that the franchise is learning and adapting on the go when it comes to staking a claim in new territories. "The education event here [at GEMS] is coming from our experience in the UK. One of the learnings is that the best way to grow the game from a participation standpoint is to start working with the PE teachers and getting into the school system. "In the UK, we've built a really cool programme, called Unlocking Potential, in partnership with Leeds United, the EPL team. And just last week, the NFL UK hosted the national championship for flag football in the Leeds area in Yorkshire due to some of the work that we had done there. "So that's an example that we're looking for as we start building out our flag programming here, not only within the schools, but hopefully within a competitive landscape and creating leagues and clinics. And we're really trying to integrate here in a natural way, in a way that fits in with the culture and the population." Money Matters On the commercial front, Rogers insists it is not the primary focus for entering the Middle East market, though they are using the services of the region's leading sports consulting company Rise Group. The latter has clients for many sporting properties such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sports Councils, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Neom, etc. and has recently been acquired by the global agency Elevate. Rogers and Rise Group's co-founder, Dave McCann, now with the new entity Elevate Sports Ventures, expressed enthusiasm in finding great collaborators. "We're trying to have conversations, finding the right partners that want to be involved for the right reasons," Rogers said. "Our hope is that we can find a number of different people and businesses here because those relationships end up helping us bring more programming to life through the schools, community initiatives, etc. So while it's not the number one most important thing for us, it really does help us service the community in a very big way.'
Al Etihad
10-06-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
E1H trains startups for leg up in sports ecosystem
11 June 2025 00:18 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The management company that organises some of the region's biggest sporting events such as the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, UFC and the NBA games has completed their first cohort of grooming sports-focused the UAE's first dedicated sports ecosystem and incubator, the Ethara 1TW Innovation Hub (E1H) was established to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship in the UAE and the wider region by providing startups with access to expertise, commerce and the end of a six-week programme, in which eight early-stage ventures received strategic guidance, a Pitch event was held at the Yas Marina Circuit's Conference Centre to provide funding avenues to support and fast-track their eight ventures were an eclectic mix, yet, targeting multi-faceted instance, ParkBuddy is trying to address everyone's pet peeve during major events – finding a parking spot. A couple of initiatives, such as a website ArabsMMA and a podcast-newsletter Mettleset, are trying to spread the word about their niche areas through the communications is a sustainability drive involving recycling waste which is being spearheaded by Green Light are use-cases of artificial intelligence, data and robotics being utilised from organisation to operations either for employee engagement or smoothening workflows in logistical services with companies such as Athlyn, Neoma and Icosium then there is eSportian, which is looking at the future of education and the rising scene of e-sports in the region.'E-Sports is big here and in the MENA region,' said Ivan Kerkoc, the founder and a professor at a Spanish university in Barcelona. 'Yet, when it comes to academics and accompanying scholarships, the choices are limited. There are those who are good at e-sports but need support in their education in countries where e-sports have recognition and established affordable education."And there are some who excel in both areas and would like to come here for playing and job opportunities in gaming companies.'ParkBuddy is focusing only on events in Dubai for now, but the expansion plans are on the anvil. The startup promises dynamic and flexible parking solutions; advanced planning will go a long way to ensuring a smooth experience for motorists.'We work with organisers and authorities such as police at times to have multiple options for every type of situation, however dynamic they may be,' said Daniel Hachem, the founder of mobile app-based solution not only directs consumers to available parking spots and reduces long walks, it can reserve a parking spot for a small only one in the group to get a brand sponsor attached is the pioneering media platform focusing on women in MENA sports, The Mettleset. Led by Dawn Barnable, a Canadian endurance athlete, her upcoming website is trying to bridge the gap between athletes, their stories and sports content where the sportswear company New Balance has already come on board.'Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Ethara,' said Saif Rashid Al Noaimi, the CEO of Ethara in his address. 'That's why we created E1H with our partners at OneToWatch (1TW). We want to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to build new ventures that add value not just to Ethara but to Abu Dhabi's global vision for sport and entertainment.' E1H Cohort 1 startups ArabsMMA – Zahi EphremA marketer and martial artist, Zahi founded ArabsMMA, the first media platform dedicated to combat sports in the Middle – Ahmed OmarWith 15-plus years' experience in the UAE sports and corporate sectors, Omar's platform bridges sport and corporate – Ivan KerkocA Spanish university professor and former NCAA recruiter, Kerkoc founded Esportian to merge traditional sports and esports Technologies – Billel Boudouma and Mohamed AliThis venture blends robotics, artificial intelligence and human experience to deliver real-world micro-automation – Daniel HachemDaniel aims to revolutionise urban mobility through smart parking solutions, drawing on his engineering and entrepreneurial – Francois ChabaudieWith a background in private equity and consulting, Chabaudie created Neoma to improve human interaction through smart Mettleset – Dawn BarnableA seasoned communicator and endurance athlete, Dawn founded The Mettleset to tell meaningful stories through the lens of Light Events – Robert Angelieri An event operations expert, Robert drives innovation in sustainable events through branding, logistics and venue strategy. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
Al Etihad
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Al Etihad
FIFA World Cup qualifier: UAE draw fails to stop Uzbekistan seal historic entry to Finals
6 June 2025 00:32 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The eve of Eid Al Adha did not bring the sweets the UAE desired in a 0-0 result in Abu Dhabi against Uzbekistan in a crucial match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifying stage on Thursday. Needing a point to secure one of two automatic berths from Group A to the Finals in United States, Mexico and Canada, the second-placed Uzbekistan got what they needed after more than 90 minutes of action against the third-placed UAE at Al Wahda's Al Nahyan Cosmin Olaroiu's men hoped their rivals, also an Islam-dominated nation, would succumb to butterflies in their stomachs ahead of a historic first entry to the Finals stage, it did not UAE will now have to head to the next stage of qualifying where chances get slimmer. In anticipation of the difficult road, and manager Olaroiu having been parachuted into this game as a late replacement for Paulo Bento, the UAE fans unfurled huge banners of support which read: 'Dreams Will Come True' and 'We Trust You Guys'.For the strategists, UAE could have started aggressively or played a cautious hand at first. They seemed to have gone for the latter, even when there was early trouble for Uzbekistan when Farrukh Safyiev experienced groin or hamstring problems. He tried to come back but on his first touch again experienced discomfort and had to be replaced with Abbosbek Fayzullaev. In a dull first half, UAE showed more flair but not the finishing skills to boot. Seeing their hesitation or struggles, Uzbekistan made couple of forays, but the defenders and goalkeeper Khalid Eissa proved to alert through the match. If any indication was needed about the intent, the UAE started with a wing formation of 4-2-3-1 while Uzbekistan organised themselves in a diamond pattern with 3-4-2-1 making moves from the middle of the pitch scarce to come the breather, there was an immediate show of intent from the UAE with Caio Canedo attempting a weak shot and hoping to find the goalkeeper wrong-footed, in vain. Soon after, Uzbekistan had a counter threat saved by the crossbar. If the pace of the first 10 minutes raised hopes of a momentum shift, it proved to be a false past the hour mark, Olaroiu swaps out Ali Saleh with Yahya Al Ghassani, who came with many sprinting bursts but his colleagues were not in sync with him. And then, expectedly, Uzbekistan players started time-wasting tactics and cramping up to break the flow of the game. Uzbekistan got the draw they wanted, with a game to spare, however scrappy the point came. Meanwhile, the UAE play Kyrgyzstan next in their final group game, the away game mostly to stay firm in third or fourth place. Olariou and his men will now need to start also gearing up for the next round of play-offs where the middle teams of three groups will churn to get two teams into the funnel. The UAE remain in hope, that dreams will come true.
