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UAE: e& money to expand offerings with co-branded cards, lending services and wealth management

Evision eyes more acquisitions and also plans to launch digital advertising services in Mena

E& money, the fintech arm of e& life, aims to become a leading financial super app by expanding its portfolio into three main areas of co-branded cards, lending services, and wealth management.

“We aim to focus on customer satisfaction and enter into partnerships that facilitate international money transfers, expand networks for receiving and delivering money worldwide, and provide smooth and secure digital customer experiences. To achieve these goals, we will continue to update the application’s design, improve the user experience, facilitate service execution, build a special algorithm for lending services, design a loyalty programme, pursue partnerships, and seize investment opportunities,” said Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO of e& life.

Super apps allow users to access a variety of services through a single application without the need to switch to others.

e& recently acquired a majority stake in Careem’s super app to expand the scope of digital services and offerings. The super app offers over 12 services, including food and grocery delivery, micro-mobility, electronic payment, and other services like home cleaning, car rental, and laundry.

Al Shamsi revealed that there are plans to leverage e&’s expertise in financial technology and multimedia to enhance the Careem Super App’s position. “The partnership will allow for expansion into new regions and countries.”

Supers apps critical for e&

Al Shamsi added that super apps are a critical part of the new growth strategy at e&, formerly known as Etisalat, as they have the potential to revolutionise multiple sectors and also provide accurate risk analytics.

Al Shamsi added that e& money aims to enrich its financial services by expanding international and local transfers, bill payment, top up, gifting, card payments, lending and many more financial services.

e& money app has over half a million users, with app downloads increasing three-fold in 2022 compared to 2021. It also expanded its funding channels to include open banking and debit cards, resulting in a doubling of funding volume in 2022 compared to 2021. The app has seen a five times growth in international money transfers in 2022.

Al Shamsi added that the objective is to expand financial technology services in the UAE and maintain its position as the largest entertainment content conglomerate in the region.

“We aim to expand the scope of digital financial services and explore partnerships and opportunities in different markets to achieve growth and development. We plan to strengthen our value proposition by enriching our financial services and expanding our customer base,” he added.

Citing examples, the super apps can improve access to healthcare services by enhancing disease diagnosis and treatment, enabling remote healthcare, improving prevention and early diagnosis, and improving healthcare outcomes. While in the insurance sector, they can improve processes, develop new products and services, and enhance customer experience, including purchasing, managing, updating insurance documents within the app, and accelerating application processes.

Evision eyes more acquisitions

Al Shamsi further elaborated that evision, a subsidiary of elife which provides multimedia content in 22 countries and has launched six new channels, aims to be the region’s largest provider of digital content and multimedia by enriching its entertainment content, enhancing its Arabic content portfolio, and expanding in multiple areas, including video, music, digital games, and other new solutions.

It plans to form vital partnerships with leading players in the sector, launch new digital projects, and explore acquisitions to become the region’s largest player. Evision recently acquired video streaming and video-on-demand subscriptions platform Starzplay, adding over 3.2 million subscribers to its portfolio.

The digital entertainment sector in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is expected to reach a market value of approximately $10 billion by 2025. While on-demand video services are estimated to earn around $5.5 billion through 29 million users in the region.

Al Shamsi revealed that the company also plans to launch digital advertising services in the Middle East and North Africa, which will play a pivotal role in enhancing revenues and customising digital ads according to partner needs.