DHL to invest $575 million in the Middle East

German parcel company DHL will invest $575 million in the Middle East over the next five years, with a heavy focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as it plans to use Gulf hubs as a gateway for a push into Africa.

Investments across all four of DHL’s divisions – DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Supply Chain, and DHL eCommerce – will “significantly strengthen the region’s logistics backbone,” DHL said in a statement.

The delivery giant sees health-care services in Africa and the Middle East as a major growth opportunity and is targeting time-critical shipments of vaccines, stem-cells and cryogenics, DHL’s Head of Life Sciences MEA Annette Naude told Bloomberg. The move will capitalize on Chinese investment in the region.

“We see America has come in and cut costs, but we do see other countries coming to the forefront and filling those gaps,” Naude said. “I went to China and met with a number of investors who are going to make investments on the African continent. Chinese investment in the region is really big.”

Demand for pharmaceuticals in Africa is rising, with revenues expected to reach $33.8 billion by 2030. Drugs and medical devices require specialized supply chains with reliable ultra-cold refrigeration and end-to-end tracking, which can be a major challenge in many parts of the continent.

Advanced insulin from China is among the sought-after medications by African governments, as emerging lifestyle diseases rise in priority next to established healthcare challenges such as malaria.

Dubai’s health expo projects global ambitions on Burj Khalifa

Bustling with new hospitals and medical startups, the UAE is a global center for innovative health care this week, proclaiming its aspirations from the world’s tallest skyscraper.

The annual Arab Health conference took over the 162-story facade of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa on Tuesday night to announce with a laser light show that it will henceforth be known as WHX – as in, the World Health Expo.

On hand for the event were some of the biggest names in the healthcare industry, including Merck, Baxter AG, the Cleveland Clinic, GE Healthcare, Siemens and the UAE’s PureHealth.

Abu Dhabi’s M42 – backed by Mubadala and G42 – showed off the integration of artificial intelligence into treatment regimens at hospitals and clinics across the country.

Over the three days of proceedings in the vast halls of the Dubai World Trade Centre, some 3,800 companies from 180 countries – including Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the U.S., the U.K., China, India, Singapore and Taiwan – are pitching their wares.

One exhibit that captured attention was a display of Dubai’s use of facial recognition by its ambulance services through an app that can identify unconscious residents who aren’t carrying an ID card.

“This event embodies Dubai’s long-term vision of building innovative and comprehensive health systems based on strong international partnerships and platforms that bring together thought leaders and experts,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai, hailing the city’s “growing status as a global hub for anticipating and shaping the future” of healthcare.

Also present at the conference were Mansoor Al Mahmoud, Qatar’s Minister of Public Health; Dr. Jaleela bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, Bahrain’s Minister of Health; and Dr. Khaled Atef Abdel-Ghaffar, Egypt’s Minister of Health.

What’s on tap at the Milken Middle East and Africa Summit: Day 2

☀️ Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of The Circuit’s special coverage of the Milken Institute’s 2024 Middle East and Africa Summit. Read here what to expect today as the conference wraps up with discussions on the transition to renewable fuels, regulating digital finance, controlling the costs of health care and investing the Gulf’s sovereign wealth.

The agenda opens today with brief remarks from U.S. Ambassador Martina Strong, who came to Abu Dhabi a year ago and has been a key Biden administration representative in the Middle East.

Following Ambassador Strong onstage, Michael Milken returns to kick off Day 2’s proceedings in a conversation about the future of world financial markets with TPG’s James Coulter, promising to hit on topics including deglobalization, decarbonization, and digitization.

Milken will also lead the conference’s concluding session in a chat with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, one of the country’s most influential leaders as Managing Director and Group CEO of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, and a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council The conversation promises to touch on how the UAE, Saudi Arabia and their Gulf neighbors have become a dominant force in the investment world, with venture capitalists and hedge fund managers making pilgrimages to tap their financial resources.

Other headliners today include U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of Los Angeles, who will join investors and real estate developers on a panel about the future of the world’s cities, with discussions on sustainable transportation, smart infrastructure and enhanced livability.

Among the showcase activities during the Summit has been interviewing and whittling down the list of competing startups for the annual $1 million Milken-Motsepe Fintech Prize, which aims to expand access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets. Nominees have been making pitches this week in hopes of competing in the final round taking place at the Milken Institute’s flagship Beverly Hills conference in May, where the prize is presented.

In an interview with The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie, Margaret O’Connor, the chairperson of Mauritius-based Launch Africa and a judge for the Milken-Motsepe award, said the program is a major incentive for the continent’s young companies. “I actually have goosebumps because we’re at a moment in time where we’re building systems to create systematic connectivity,” O’Connor said. ”The GCC needs African talent – AI talent and entrepreneurial talent and business talent. GCC also needs access to African markets [while] African entrepreneurs need access to GCC markets and capital.”

Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, told a packed ballroom that she’s proud of the progress made by the Biden administration in advancing medical care and education about women’s health after years of neglect. “I remember going to my husband and saying, ‘Joe, this can’t go on.’”

Actor Ed Norton, who is U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, on “The Art of Storytelling” in a lunch discussion yesterday: “To get people involved in the story, you have got to make it transparent and about them. People respond well because of the authenticity of the story. When everyone sees that everyone is working from their heart, they will put in their efforts.”

Grant Verstanding, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Red Cell Partners during a panel on artificial intelligence: “The whole world changed after Newton. The whole world will change after AI.” 

Read our full recap of Day 1 at the Milken Middle East Africa Summit here and subscribe to our Daily Circuit newsletter for the latest on the Middle East business landscape each day here.