By: Naorus Abdulghani, Group Chief Technology Officer, Beyond ONE

The GCC region stands at the cusp of a digital renaissance, driven by ambitious initiatives like Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE’s digital transformation goals. This vision promises a future where technology and innovation empower individuals, businesses, and communities, driving unprecedented growth and prosperity. However, to fully unlock this potential, a crucial challenge must be addressed: the benefits of the digital age are accessible to all.

While the GCC is making significant strides in technological advancement, a digital divide persists, limiting the participation of certain segments of the population in the digital economy. From rural communities and migrant workers to lower socioeconomic groups and SMEs, many face barriers to accessing reliable and affordable connectivity. This disparity not only hinders individual progress but also hampers the region’s overall digital transformation.

The inability to connect at the speeds necessary to utilize today’s digital tools can derail any attempt to improve access to services like fintech, edtech, and health-tech, particularly outside of major cities where network speeds can vary greatly. It’s like trying to navigate a modern highway with a horse and cart – the journey is not just slow, it’s impossible. If success in becoming the world’s leading digital economy is achieved, individuals and businesses need to be empowered to participate fully in the digital economy.

Telecom operators, as the architects of the region’s digital infrastructure, have an opportunity to bridge this divide and accelerate progress. By evolving from traditional telcos to techcos, they can offer a broader range of services beyond connectivity, empowering individuals and businesses to thrive in the digital age. This transformation requires a shift in mindset, from a focus on infrastructure alone to a broader vision of enabling digital inclusion and a more connected and empowered society.

This transformation demands a radical rethinking of personalization and inclusivity. It’s about understanding the unique needs of diverse communities and tailoring solutions that cater to their specific requirements. It’s about recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer sufficient in a world where digital access is as essential as electricity or water. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to explore the digital world without limitations.

The future of digital services lies in creating an integrated ecosystem that seamlessly connects people, businesses, and governments. This ecosystem should provide access to a range of services, from high-speed internet and cloud computing to fintech, edtech, and health-tech solutions. It should be built on a foundation of robust and reliable infrastructure, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the power of technology.

Imagine a world where a rural farmer can access the same financial tools as an urban entrepreneur, where students in a remote village can receive the same quality of education as those in a major city, and where healthcare services are readily available to everyone, regardless of their location. This is the potential of a truly inclusive digital ecosystem, one that echoes the spirit of exploration and connection that has always been at the heart of human progress.

The transition from telco to techco is undoubtedly challenging. It requires significant investment in infrastructure, innovation, and talent development. It also necessitates a shift in mindset, from a focus on connectivity alone to a broader vision of enabling digital empowerment. But the rewards of this transformation are immense.

By closing the digital divide and accelerating the region’s digital transformation, telecom operators can unlock new growth opportunities, drive innovation, and contribute to a more equitable and prosperous future for all. They can become the catalysts for change, empowering individuals and businesses to thrive in the digital age and helping the GCC region achieve its ambitious vision of becoming a global digital leader.

Wio Securities LLC has expanded its offerings on Wio Invest by introducing a comprehensive range of new features. The latest expansion empowers UAE residents to seamlessly access a diverse portfolio of investment options, including stocks in UAE and US markets, ETFs, fractional shares, and virtual assets.

With over $2 billion in processed volumes this year alone, and nearly 40% of the Wio Invest customer base converting from traditional brokerage services, the platform is rapidly becoming the investment platform of choice in the UAE. Wio Invest is driving the shift towards diversified investments within a secure and regulated framework, making it easier for UAE residents to manage their portfolios efficiently.

“We are thrilled to expand our investment offerings through Wio Invest, reinforcing our commitment to providing innovative and secure solutions for our customers,” said Marwan Rashed BinHashim, General Manager, Wio Securities LLC. “Our vision is to become the simplest one-stop-shop investment platform of choice by offering a diverse range of investments that cater to all types of investors, coupled with a best-in-class user experience.”

Wio Invest’s new features are designed to enhance the investment experience. Recurring Orders allow investors to grow their portfolio on their schedule by automating investments, helping them steadily build their wealth without the stress of market timing. Analyst Ratings provide users with expert opinions and ratings from top financial institutions, enabling more informed investment decisions.

The platform also offers UAE residents access to a variety of virtual assets within Wio Securities’ secure and regulated environment, in partnership with Fuze. This collaboration ensures secure transactions, enabling Wio Invest customers to safely explore and diversify their portfolios with new safer asset classes, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple.

Operating under a robust regulatory framework, Wio Invest is fully regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), ensuring that all transactions are secure. The continued collaboration between the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and Wio Securities provides a trusted and controlled environment for UAE residents, reinforcing Wio Invest’s commitment to investor protection and confidence in all investment offerings, as emphasized by the company’s general manager.

Designed with simplicity and security in mind, Wio Invest offers a seamless and intuitive interface that simplifies portfolio management. Whether investing in traditional or virtual assets, the platform provides a streamlined user journey from sign-up to investment, catering to the needs of modern investors.

By combining regulatory assurance, diverse investment options, and a user-friendly experience, Wio Invest is redefining the investment landscape in the UAE, positioning itself as a leader in the region’s evolving financial sector.

By: Rob Mortimer, Director, Fuelre4m

Modern ships are already starting to bristle with technology to measure vessel efficiency, yet one thing stands out over all the results, tech and noise. The importance of the efficiency of fuel isn’t quite understood or calculated. You’ll hear reference back to SFOC (Specific Fuel Oil Consumption) at any time fuel consumption is measured, yet while the principal is right, the measuring and calculating is far from ideal.

Heavy Fuel Oil has an energy density of between 39MJ/kg and 42MJ/kg when burnt. That’s a wide range and depends very much on the source and quality of the fuel. How is it stored, transferred, settled, heated and purified to remove pollutants, particulate, water and reduce the ‘drop’ size to help with better atomisation when introduced into the engine. Large drops of fuel don’t fully combust in the engine. They undergo secondary combustion and turn into heat energy and emissions. Our goal, and what should be the goal of the whole shipping industry, irrelevant of fuel, vessel size and function, should be to be able to account for every drop of fuel consumed.

The Fuel System Lockdown:

MFM Bunker to Bunker

The first challenge is to know and agree what is being bunkered onto the vessel in the first place. To know the mass of the bunker, we must be using a correctly ranged Mass Flow Meter.

MFM Bunker to Settling Tank

When using Fuelre4m’s Re4mx Fueloil re4mulator, we need to dose the correct amount of product for the weight of fuel that is being treated either in the bunker or in the settling tank.

MFM Settling to Purification

 Having a mass flow meter after the settling and before purification isn’t wholly necessary, but can be beneficial in understanding the temperature and density of transferred fuel, as well as understanding what the percentage of water and waste material has been lost to this point.

MFM Before Mixing Column, Pre Main Engine – Fuel In

This is the last reference check point of the fuel before it is injected into the engine. What will be reported as accurately as possible from this point will be how much fuel by weight is now passing through for combustion.

MFM Post Main Engine – Fuel Out

To understand the fuel consumption of the main engine, it’s important to be able to measure as close to the Fuel In and Fuel Out points as possible. Fuel consumption of the Main Engine should be as simple as MFM IN minus MFM OUT.

Torque / Shaft Power Meter

So, we’ve locked down the mass of the fuel flowing into the engine, now how do we measure the power produced?  Despite how it sounds, a torque meter does not measure torque. It simply measures time and distance. As forces against the propellor change, the amount of power needed to maintain the same turning speed will also change, and the propellor shaft with ‘twist’ with torque.

Why is the ranging important? Because the maximum power rating of the engine changes depending on the quality of the fuel and the energy it can release.

If your fuel produces 1kWh for 160g, 1000kg of fuel will produce 6,250kWh of power. If your fuel produces 1kWh for 180g, 1000kg of fuel will produce only 5,550kWh of power. If the maximum Fuel In capacity of the engine, from where the power rating is calculated, is 1000kg, your maximum power rating of that engine, and with it, the SFOC, has now changed.

Power Cards / Power Curves

The taking of indicator cards, allows the ship’s engineer to receive more information about the combustion process (via the draw or out of phase card), measure the cylinder power output of the engine (via the power cards), and check the cleanliness of the scavenging process (via the light spring diagram).

For the purposes of measuring the efficiency of the fuel, the power cards can be used to calculate the energy release of the fuel. This can then be used to build an algorithm to ‘range’ or adjust the power readings from the torque meter to the quality of the fuel.

MFM Auxiliary Engines – Fuel In

The auxiliary engines, strangely, are probably the easiest to prove fuel efficiency and the efficiency of the fuel on. Why? Because they’re generating electrical power that can easily be measured.

MFM Auxiliary Engines – Fuel In

A common fuel flow in and fuel flow out MFM will suffice if all of the auxiliary engines are sharing a common fuel flow system.

Auxiliary Engines – Constant Power Meter

Being able to monitor the amount of power produced at a given moment is not enough. Electrical loads can vary, and at the time once an hour that the kW reading is taken, or the kWh counter is recorded, the load just two seconds later could change. The fuel consumption for 100kWh over 3 minutes is vastly different than 100kWh over 1 hour.

Boilers & Cargo Offload Systems

Some vessels use boilers to generate steam power, running off the same fuel as the main engines. It is important to lock down all fuel consumers to understand where the fuel is being consumed.

MFM Boiler – Fuel In

Often fed straight from the settling tank without needing to go through further purification, the boiler directly combusts the fuel to generate steam from water.

To be able to calculate the boiler and fuel efficiency, we now need to firstly look at how much fuel in mass is being consumed.

Volumetric or MFM – Water In

Fresh water has a very well-known density of 1g per ml, but this is also affected by temperature. The use of a temperature compensated mass flow meter will improve accuracy of water used to produce the required steam.  

Recordable Pressure Gauge

The last variable? How much water and fuel is being used to produce the same amount of steam pressure.