Mars Gulf has partnered with supermarket retailer Choithrams to launch a UAE-wide competition inviting young people to redesign the future of grocery retail, with the winning concept set to be piloted in select stores.

The initiative, titled “It’s MY Z-Store”, challenges UAE residents aged 18 to 24 to develop new retail concepts tailored to Generation Z, covering areas such as store layout, digital experiences, sustainability and community-focused design.

Open to teams of three to four participants, the competition aims to give young innovators hands-on exposure to solving real commercial challenges while working alongside industry leaders.

Ahmed Abdel Wahab, general manager of Mars Gulf, said the initiative recognises the changing expectations of younger consumers.

“The future of retail will be shaped by a generation with very different expectations of how, where and why they shop. Rather than trying to predict what Gen Z wants, we want to give them a seat at the table and the opportunity to show us,” he said.

“Together with our partner Choithrams, we’re creating a platform where fresh thinking can translate into real-world retail innovation, while giving our youth valuable exposure to how ideas move from concept to execution.”

Himani Maharshi, people and organisation director for Mars Middle East & Africa, said the programme is designed to help participants develop workplace skills while contributing ideas for the future of retail.

“This generation doesn’t just want to be marketed to. They want to be involved in shaping what comes next,” she said. “With ‘It’s MY Z-Store,’ we are inviting the next generation to co-create a retail experience that reflects their expectations today, while building the skills and confidence that will support them in the workplace tomorrow.”

According to Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, more than 60 per cent of the Middle East’s population is under the age of 30, while nearly half of UAE residents are between 15 and 35 years old. Mars Gulf said the competition supports the UAE’s We the UAE Vision 2031 by encouraging youth innovation and future-ready skills.

The competition will run through four themed stages linked to Mars brands—Kellogg’s Knockout, Pringles Power-up, Snickers Strategy and the M&M’s Mega Finale—with shortlisted teams receiving mentorship from Mars Gulf and Choithrams executives.

Participants will also compete for bonus “Bounty Coins” through additional challenges before presenting their final concepts to a panel of senior industry leaders.

Unlike a traditional innovation contest, the winning proposal will be refined with support from Mars Gulf and Choithrams before elements are implemented at selected Choithrams stores across the UAE.

The winning team will also receive an all-expenses-paid visit to Mars’ London office, including a factory tour and meetings with the company’s global business teams.

Applications are open until 21 September, with the competition running from September to December 2026.

Digital wealth management platform Sav has partnered with Emirates Gold to introduce an automated recurring investment feature for physically backed gold and silver, expanding its precious metals offering across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the UK and India.

The new “Recurring Buy” feature allows users to schedule daily, weekly or monthly purchases of UAE-refined gold and silver through the Sav mobile app, enabling systematic investments in precious metals using either a fixed monetary amount or a specified weight.

The partnership brings together Sav’s digital investment platform with Emirates Gold’s refining capabilities, allowing investors to build holdings backed by physical 24k 999.9 pure gold and 999 purity silver refined in the UAE.

Unlike many digital gold offerings, Sav said every transaction is linked to physical bullion stored in secure UAE vaults. Investors receive a unique Vault ID that provides traceability to their holdings and can request physical delivery of their assets at any time through logistics provider Transguard.

Mithil Ajmera, co-founder and COO of Sav, said the partnership combines the convenience of automated investing with the stability of physical asset ownership.

“Given its historic status as a safe-haven asset, gold remains a compelling asset class to diversify portfolios and we are delighted to partner with Emirates Gold to offer physically vaulted, UAE-refined gold,” he said.

“With the launch of Recurring Buy we are combining convenience with the stability of real, physically vaulted asset ownership. Over a 15-year horizon, this disciplined compounding approach can generate approximately three times the value of the initial principal, mitigating the impact of daily price fluctuations.”

Abhijit Shah, CEO of Emirates Gold, said the collaboration supports broader efforts to showcase UAE-refined gold to international investors.

“Emirates Gold has long been a pillar of the region’s gold industry and a proud champion of the ‘Make in Emirates’ vision. Partnering with Sav allows us to offer UAE-refined and vaulted, 999.9 pure gold instantly accessible to global investors who are looking for secure, long-term wealth preservation,” he said.

The launch marks another step in the growing convergence of fintech, digital wealth management and precious metals investing, as platforms increasingly seek to offer retail investors easier access to alternative assets through automated investment tools.

Six commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down from 11 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of around 13, preliminary shipping data showed on Thursday.

A very large gas carrier, two long-range fuel tankers, one Supramax tanker and one Panamax tanker entered the strait from the Gulf of Oman, Kpler data showed as of 0405 GMT. A laden VLGC exited the strait into the Gulf of Oman.

The number of vessels transiting the waterway could change as some ships typically switch off transponders during the voyage.

Iran added more ships it deems non-compliant and subject to fines, confiscation or detention if they try to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a government website, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The restricted list includes very large crude carriers, liquefied natural gas and liquefied ⁠petroleum gas tankers, and clean product vessels, among others.

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday that an Iranian attack on an oil tanker owned by its national shipping company had killed two Filipino seafarers.

In the Bab el-Mandeb strait, 31 commodity vessels crossed that waterway on Wednesday, the highest number since August 24 and above the 10-day average of 25 vessels, Kpler data showed.

On Tuesday, 17 vessels transited the waterway, the data showed.

Etihad Salam Telecom Company (Salam), a leading provider of telecommunications services and digital infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, has announced partnerships with fintech company HALA and e-commerce platform Zid to launch SOHO, an integrated digital infrastructure and services ecosystem designed for the operational needs of the Kingdom’s growing community of freelancers and independent professionals.

The agreements with HALA and Zid represent the first partnerships in a wider ecosystem that Salam plans to expand with additional partners. For the initiative, Salam is collaborating with Future Work, a national company focused on strengthening Saudi Arabia’s freelance ecosystem through freelancer license validation, flexible work models and labor-market innovation.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at LEAP 2026, where Salam is participating as a strategic sponsor under the theme “Powering what’s next.”

Image credit: Supplied

Building an ecosystem for independent professionals

The launch marks an evolution in Salam’s strategy from providing connectivity and individual products to delivering a broader digital experience for the freelancer segment. The company is working with specialist partners to bring together the services Saudi Arabia’s freelancers need to establish, operate and grow their businesses.

SOHO is designed to put professional-grade tools within reach of independent professionals while offering the complete ecosystem at a better value than freelancers would typically pay when sourcing infrastructure and services individually.

Freelancers and independent professionals have become an increasingly important part of Saudi Arabia’s economy, with more than two million individuals registered on official freelance platforms in the Kingdom.

Salam said the segment needs access not only to reliable connectivity but also to integrated services that bring finance, payments and digital commerce together. SOHO is intended to address that gap by creating a unified experience around the day-to-day needs of independent businesses.

Amr El Dessouky, chief commercial officer (CCO) at Salam, said: “The SOHO segment is where much of the Kingdom’s freelance economy is being built, and until now it has been served by tools designed either for large enterprises or for consumers. Salam is championing this segment by assembling both the digital infrastructure and the services ecosystem an independent business needs from its first day.”

“HALA and Zid are the first partners in that ecosystem, and more will follow. This is what it means to power what’s next: assembling the ecosystem that makes ambition operational,” El Dessouky added.

Finance and payments from day one

As part of the initiative, Salam is bringing HALA and Zid together to give freelancers access to essential business services from the beginning of their operations.

Through the partnership with HALA, freelancers will have access to a dedicated IBAN account, debit cards and the ability to accept payments both in person and online. The offering is designed to provide clearer cash-flow management and greater visibility into transactions.

Yasser Al Mussirii, CEO of HALA Payments, said: “HALA has long been committed to empowering freelancers with professional payment solutions that enable them to receive and manage their payments with greater ease, efficiency, and confidence.”

“Our partnership with Salam builds on this foundation, bringing together HALA’s payment capabilities with Salam’s telecom solutions to create a stronger, more connected experience for freelancers,” Al Mussirii said.

He added that combining professional payment services with connectivity would enable independent professionals to work, get paid and grow through solutions designed around the way they operate.

“This partnership marks another step forward in building an ecosystem that empowers freelancers to operate professionally and unlock greater opportunities in the digital economy,” he said.

Connecting freelancers with customers

The partnership with Zid adds an e-commerce layer to the ecosystem, allowing freelancers to build an online store and manage sales through a single platform. The aim is to reduce the technical burden associated with establishing an online presence and reaching customers.

By combining connectivity, financial services and digital commerce, Salam is positioning SOHO as an end-to-end digital experience tailored to the needs of independent professionals.

The company said its approach is based on identifying an underserved niche and assembling specialist partners around the specific requirements of freelancers.

Future Work will support the initiative through Freelance Work Certificate verification, while HALA will provide financial services and Zid will contribute e-commerce capabilities.

Together, the partnerships are intended to create a unified customer journey in which banking, payments, connectivity and commerce work together rather than as separate services.

Salam said the SOHO ecosystem will continue to expand as it brings additional partners into the platform, with the broader objective of supporting the Kingdom’s evolving freelance economy and giving independent professionals the infrastructure and tools needed to turn their businesses into sustainable digital enterprises.

Kuwait is stepping up efforts to strengthen regulatory compliance across key business sectors while introducing smarter procedures for traffic enforcement, with new measures covering anti-money laundering obligations and vehicle impoundments.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued Decisions 172 and 173 of 2026, setting out anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) requirements for companies operating in the gold, gemstones and precious metals sectors, as well as real estate brokerage firms.

In a statement to KUNA on Tuesday, the ministry said the decisions aim to raise compliance levels and regulate the obligations of sectors operating under its supervision, supporting broader national efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, according to the Kuwait News Agency.

New compliance requirements for businesses

Under Decision 172, establishments and companies operating in gold, gemstones and precious metals must establish policies, procedures and internal control systems that reflect the size and nature of their operations, as well as the level of risks they face.

Decision 173 introduces similar requirements for companies and establishments engaged in real estate brokerage. The ministry said these businesses must implement appropriate policies, procedures and internal control systems based on their operational scale, nature of activities and associated risks.

Read more: Kuwait moves ahead: Gulf rail link design contract signed

The measures place greater emphasis on risk-based compliance and internal controls, reinforcing the responsibilities of businesses operating in sectors that can be vulnerable to financial crime.

At the same time, Kuwait is moving to modernise how traffic-related vehicle impoundments are carried out, with drivers set to receive an alternative to keeping their vehicles in government garages.

Smart home impoundments begin Sunday

From Sunday, September 6, drivers whose vehicles are impounded for violations covered by the approved regulations will be able to keep their vehicles at a designated location under a smart home-impoundment system adopted by the General Traffic Department.

A smart device will be fitted to the vehicle at the scene of the violation. The impoundment period will begin at midnight on the same day, giving drivers time to move their vehicles to the location designated for home impoundment.

The system applies to vehicles whose violations require impoundment under existing regulations and procedures, the Ministry of Interior said in a post on its official Instagram account.

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Installing the device will cost KWD10, followed by KWD2 for each day of impoundment. Vehicles already being held at traffic impoundment garages can also be transferred to the smart system for the remainder of their impoundment period, the department said.

According to a report in Kuwait Times, drivers will receive a notification through the government’s Sahel app when the impoundment period ends. They must then visit one of the locations designated by the General Traffic Department to complete the vehicle release procedures.

The department said the smart system forms part of the Ministry of Interior’s strategy to develop services, simplify procedures and expand the use of smart technologies.

It also urged drivers to comply with traffic laws and avoid violations, stressing that adherence to regulations is essential for their safety and the safety of other road users.