Dubai Police has equipped its Ferrari Mansory patrol car with a smart bag containing assistive technologies designed to help people of determination communicate with officers and access police services more easily.

The initiative, unveiled on the opening day of AccessAbilities Expo 2026 on October 19, features the “Himmah X” smart bag, which carries electronic devices and assistive tools intended to address different accessibility needs. The equipment is being deployed through the Tourist Police Department under Dubai Police’s General Department of Criminal Investigation, a Dubai Police news report said.

The move aims to bring assistance closer to people of determination, particularly at tourist destinations, by integrating accessibility tools into police field operations rather than relying solely on services provided at dedicated centres.

Smart technology moves into police patrols

The Himmah X bag brings a range of assistive technologies into a portable kit carried in the Ferrari Mansory patrol.

The equipment is designed to facilitate communication and interaction with people across different disability categories, reduce barriers and help officers respond to individual needs in the field.

Read more: Dubai Police bust gang selling driving licences for Dhs10,000 without tests

Equipping a luxury patrol with accessibility tools also highlights a broader application for specialist police vehicles: providing practical services alongside their conventional public-facing and tourism roles.

By making the technologies available through field patrols, Dubai Police aims to make it easier for people of determination to seek assistance while visiting tourist sites and other destinations. The approach is intended to support a safer and more accessible environment for residents and visitors.

Dubai Police is presenting the initiative at its stand in Za’abeel Hall 6 at AccessAbilities Expo 2026, under the theme “Limitless Abilities… Aspirations Shape the Future.” The stand features a range of services and community initiatives focused on accessibility, inclusion and public engagement.

Police council highlights practical applications

Major Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Mazrouei, acting chairperson of the People of Determination Empowerment Council at Dubai Police, said the force’s participation in the exhibition reflected its focus on developing services that address the needs of people of determination and support their participation in society.

“Innovation at Dubai Police is not limited to developing systems, vehicles, and modern technologies, but is based on employing these capabilities to serve society and create a tangible positive impact on the lives of its members,” Al Mazrouei said.

He said the Himmah X bag was intended to bring assistive technologies into police field services, providing more flexible solutions for people who may otherwise face communication barriers when seeking help.

Al Mazrouei added that the exhibition also offered an opportunity to highlight cooperation between Dubai Police’s various general departments and police councils. He said the force was seeking to develop proactive services that account for different needs, in line with Dubai’s ambition to become a more accessible city for people of determination.

Making assistance easier to access

Mohammad Al Hajjaji, secretary of the People of Determination Empowerment Council at Dubai Police, said the smart bag was designed to make assistive technology a practical part of frontline police services.

He said the equipment offered solutions for people with different needs, helping them communicate with officers and obtain assistance more easily.

“What distinguishes the smart bag ‘Himmah X’ is the idea behind it, which is to make assistive technologies part of the field services system, so that a person of determination is not always forced to search for the appropriate means of communication or assistance,” Al Hajjaji said.

“Rather, we seek to bring these means closer to them and make them available within a more flexible and inclusive service environment,” he added.

Al Hajjaji said the decision to feature the technology in the Ferrari Mansory patrol was intended to demonstrate that the value of luxury police vehicles extended beyond their design and performance.

“True excellence, we believe, lies not only in the power or luxury of the vehicle, but in our ability to employ technology and our capabilities to serve people and overcome the challenges facing people of determination,” he said.

Interactive initiatives focus on inclusion

The Himmah X bag and Ferrari Mansory patrol are among several initiatives featured at the Dubai Police stand.

Visitors can take part in the “Determination Challenge,” a game featuring 20 daily questions intended to raise awareness about appropriate ways to interact with people of determination.

The stand also features “Our Touch Creates Art,” an initiative delivered in cooperation with the Positive Spirit Council, and the “Little Translator” programme. The latter involves students from Hemaya Schools and aims to encourage sign language learning and improve communication between members of the community.

Together, the initiatives combine demonstrations of assistive technology with activities intended to build public awareness and encourage more inclusive interactions.

Dubai Police is continuing to present its services and community programmes to visitors at AccessAbilities Expo 2026 in Za’abeel Hall 6. The exhibition provides a platform for the force to showcase its accessibility initiatives and explain how technology can be incorporated into public services.

The Himmah X initiative places the focus on a practical question for frontline policing: how assistive tools can help people of determination communicate with officers and access support when they need it. Its deployment through a tourist patrol is intended to bring those capabilities closer to the public, including at destinations where visitors may need police assistance.

The UAE will ban the use of ciprofloxacin in its veterinary sector from November 1, 2026, as part of efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance and protect the effectiveness of antibiotics used in human medicine.

The Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) announced that the prohibition will cover veterinary medicinal products and raw materials containing ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic belonging to the fluoroquinolone group.

The decision affects nine veterinary products, including eight imported products and one locally registered product.

The regulator has instructed relevant establishments to stop manufacturing, importing and supplying the affected products and withdraw existing stocks from the UAE market before the ban takes effect.

Remaining quantities must either be re-exported or disposed of in accordance with approved procedures.

Why is the UAE banning ciprofloxacin in veterinary medicine?

According to EDE, fluoroquinolones are classified as Critically Important Antimicrobials (CIAs) for human medicine because of their role in treating certain bacterial infections.

The regulator said inappropriate use of these antibiotics in animals could contribute to antimicrobial resistance, potentially reducing the effectiveness of treatments available for human patients.

The decision follows a scientific assessment of antimicrobial resistance data, including studies submitted by United Arab Emirates University.

The findings were used to support the regulatory decision and strengthen national measures aimed at limiting antibiotic resistance.

Dr Ruqaya Aqeel Al Bastaki, Acting Executive Director of the Medical Products Regulation Sector at EDE, said regulating antimicrobial use requires a risk-based approach that considers the potential impact of each substance on treatment priorities across different sectors.

She emphasised that scientific evidence plays a central role in determining when regulatory intervention is necessary.

Al Bastaki added that EDE remains committed to aligning its decisions with scientific developments to preserve treatment effectiveness, strengthen pharmaceutical security and protect public health.

Veterinary businesses ordered to withdraw affected products

Under the new requirements, establishments dealing with the affected veterinary medicines must complete the necessary withdrawal procedures before November 1.

Businesses will also be required to submit supporting documentation confirming that the products have been withdrawn and that remaining stocks have been re-exported or disposed of in accordance with approved procedures.

EDE said it has already identified the products and raw materials covered by the ban and notified the relevant establishments.

The regulator is also preparing a monitoring plan to assess compliance and verify that businesses complete the required procedures within the specified timeframe.

The decision forms part of EDE’s broader efforts to strengthen oversight of veterinary medical products and promote responsible antimicrobial use.

The authority said the measures would support national initiatives to combat antimicrobial resistance while helping safeguard both human and animal health.

From impaired decisions and costly mistakes to workplace safety risks, employee fatigue could be undermining business performance in ways that never appear as a separate line item on the balance sheet.

As sleep becomes a bigger part of the wellness economy, the question for employers is whether they are paying enough attention to the people powering their businesses.

The business cost hiding in plain sight

A missed detail in a financial report. A decision made too hastily. An employee taking twice as long to complete a task that would normally require little thought. A moment of delayed reaction on a factory floor, behind the wheel or in a hospital corridor.

Individually, these incidents may look like ordinary workplace errors. But what if some of them have a common, overlooked contributor? What if the problem is not a lack of talent, inadequate training or inefficient processes, but something much more fundamental: employees who are simply not getting enough sleep?

For businesses, fatigue presents an uncomfortable problem. Unlike rising energy bills, higher borrowing costs or increasing payroll expenses, the consequences of insufficient sleep rarely arrive with a clear financial label. They may be buried in slower output, repeated mistakes, missed deadlines, poor decisions, absenteeism or avoidable safety incidents.

Companies may track how much employees produce, how quickly they complete tasks and how effectively teams meet targets. Yet the conditions affecting their ability to deliver those results can be considerably harder to measure.

That creates a potentially expensive blind spot. Businesses invest heavily in technology, infrastructure, training and performance management, but the people expected to make those investments pay off also need adequate rest to think clearly, respond quickly and make sound decisions.

Dr Imran Khan, specialist pulmonologist at Aster Clinic, Muteena, said the effects of inadequate sleep extend well beyond feeling tired.

Research has shown that insufficient sleep can impair attention, memory, learning, reaction time and psychomotor performance. Decision-making and executive function can also suffer, he said.

“Sleep is probably one of the most underestimated forms of productivity infrastructure,” Khan said. “We tend to think of productivity infrastructure as technology, offices, software, data, or processes. But sleep supports the human system operating all of those things.”

The implication for business leaders is difficult to ignore: an organisation can have the right people, the right systems and the right strategy, yet still struggle to extract their full potential if fatigue undermines the people responsible for executing its plans.

The fatigue tax: When tiredness becomes a commercial problem

The danger is not necessarily that a sleep-deprived employee will fall asleep at their desk. It is that they may remain at work, appear functional and continue completing tasks while operating below their usual cognitive capacity.

Khan said sleep restriction can reduce attention, working memory and sustained concentration, potentially forcing employees to spend longer completing tasks and increasing the likelihood of errors.

The consequences can extend across an organisation. A mistake may require additional checks. An incomplete task may delay another team. A poorly judged decision may need to be reversed. In safety-critical workplaces, impaired reaction time or judgment can carry much more serious consequences.

“Sleep loss can create a measurable competitive disadvantage at the organisational level, not just make individual employees feel tired,” Khan said.

Poor sleep is also associated with poorer health and may contribute to increased sick leave and reduced employee retention, creating additional recruitment and training costs, he said.

These effects are not necessarily easy to separate from other causes of underperformance. Workload, management practices, personal circumstances and health conditions can all influence an employee’s output. Nor does every workplace error indicate that someone is sleep-deprived.

But that uncertainty is precisely what makes fatigue difficult to identify. Its consequences can be recorded as operational problems without the underlying contribution of inadequate rest ever being investigated.

The result is a potential fatigue tax: a collection of productivity losses, errors, health-related absences and safety risks that may be spread across different departments and never recognised as part of the same problem.

The available interviews do not establish how much this costs businesses in the UAE or how widely employers currently measure fatigue. They do, however, raise a critical question: if sleep affects the very capabilities businesses pay employees to use, why should it remain outside the productivity conversation?

When the boss is tired, the stakes get higher

The consequences become particularly significant when fatigue affects people responsible for high-value decisions.

Consider two executives with comparable experience, technical knowledge and professional skills. One is consistently well-rested; the other routinely operates with insufficient sleep. Both may attend the same meetings, analyse the same figures and face the same commercial pressures. But their ability to process information and evaluate risks may not be equivalent.

Khan said a well-rested executive is better positioned to sustain focus on complex issues, assess competing options, exercise cognitive flexibility and maintain balanced communication and interpersonal judgment.

A chronically sleep-restricted executive, by contrast, may experience more lapses in attention, greater distractibility and a stronger tendency towards impulsive or rigid decisions.

“They find more difficulty integrating complex information, and are at greater risk of conflict and poor communication,” Khan said.

For businesses, that could matter at precisely the moments when clear thinking is most valuable: during negotiations, financial reviews, crisis management, strategic planning or decisions involving significant commercial risk.

An executive who struggles to weigh competing options may overlook important information. A manager whose judgment is impaired may react poorly to disagreement. A tired team leader may communicate less effectively, creating friction that spreads across a department.

Sleep deprivation does not automatically cause these outcomes, and individual responses to inadequate sleep vary. But the potential effect on judgment, attention and emotional regulation makes fatigue a relevant consideration in any discussion about leadership performance.

The issue also reaches beyond senior management. Employees at every level depend on memory, concentration and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. When those capabilities are compromised, the consequences can accumulate across the working day.

For companies seeking an advantage through innovation, speed and better decision-making, protecting the conditions that support cognitive performance may be just as important as upgrading the tools employees use.

The 24-hour economy has a rest problem

The challenge becomes even more pressing in industries that cannot simply close when the working day ends.

Healthcare, aviation, hospitality and manufacturing depend on shift-based teams to maintain continuous operations. Their employees may work nights, rotate between shifts or operate during hours when the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle makes alertness more difficult to sustain.

In these environments, fatigue is not merely a question of whether an employee has adopted a good bedtime routine. It is also a question of how work is scheduled, how much time separates shifts and whether workers have a realistic opportunity to recover.

Khan identified shift-work design as a priority for employers operating around the clock, recommending sensible rotation patterns, adequate recovery time and protected rest periods.

He also highlighted the importance of monitoring working hours, overtime and after-hours communication.

Flexible schedules can help employees align work with their sleep patterns, he said, while reducing expectations that they remain constantly available outside working hours.

The distinction is important. Telling employees to sleep better is unlikely to be sufficient if their working arrangements repeatedly restrict their opportunity to rest.

A worker who finishes a late shift and returns with limited recovery time faces a different set of circumstances from someone with a consistent schedule. Similarly, employees who receive work messages late at night may find it difficult to establish a reliable boundary between professional responsibilities and personal time.

For employers, the issue is operational as much as personal. Staffing arrangements, shift rotations, overtime policies and expectations around availability all influence the conditions in which employees work and recover.

The question is whether businesses are examining those conditions systematically or waiting until fatigue manifests itself as a mistake, a safety concern or a performance problem.

Why another wellness programme may not be the answer

As awareness of sleep and recovery grows, companies may be tempted to respond with wellness campaigns, relaxation sessions, educational workshops or employee engagement initiatives.

Such measures can be useful. But they risk missing the central issue if the working conditions contributing to fatigue remain unchanged.

“If employers want to improve employees sleep, they should prioritise changing the conditions that disrupt sleep over adding another wellness programme,” Khan said.

His recommendations include more flexible schedules, closer attention to overtime, reduced expectations of constant availability, appropriate shift design and education about sleep hygiene, circadian rhythms, caffeine, alcohol and light exposure.

Employees should also have timely access to healthcare when they experience clinically significant problems, including insomnia or sleep apnoea, he said.

The distinction between a lifestyle issue and a medical condition matters. Employers can help create working environments that support rest, but they cannot assume every sleep problem can be resolved through a change in routine.

The same principle applies to the products increasingly marketed as part of the sleep economy. Comfortable bedding and a suitable sleeping environment may support rest, but they are not substitutes for clinical assessment or treatment where necessary.

Roger Chedid, founder of Minoa, a sleep essentials brand, said bedding primarily influences the environment in which people sleep, including temperature, comfort and the materials in contact with their skin.

“A pillow is not going to fix a clinical sleep disorder, and anyone in this category who suggests otherwise is overselling,” Chedid said.

For businesses, the broader lesson is that no single intervention can address every source of fatigue. Better education, supportive environments and wellness initiatives may all play a role, but they need to sit alongside sensible working arrangements and access to appropriate healthcare.

Sleep is becoming big business. Workplaces are next in line.

The growing commercial interest in sleep offers a revealing contrast with how rest has traditionally been treated at work.

Consumers are increasingly willing to examine their sleep routines, track their sleeping patterns and spend money on products designed to improve their sleeping environment. Businesses in the wellness sector are responding to a market that increasingly views recovery as something to be actively managed.

Chedid believes sleep is following a trajectory similar to fitness and skincare, which have expanded from relatively narrow categories into broader consumer industries.

“Fitness used to just mean exercise. Now it is nutrition, wearables, recovery, apparel, supplements, and an entire economy built around it,” he said. “Sleep is at the start of that curve.”

For Minoa, the shift has meant expanding beyond bedding into sleepwear, towels and children’s sleep products, Chedid said. He sees consumers becoming more discerning about fabric composition, temperature regulation and product durability.

“Consumers are going through the same discovery now, just at scale,” he said, referring to the growing scrutiny of products used in the bedroom.

He also believes awareness is the driving force behind the category’s growth. Wearables have helped make sleep more measurable, while consumers increasingly ask questions about what products are made from and how they perform over time.

But the bigger change, he said, is the recognition that sleep is not simply what happens after a person finishes everything else.

“We have optimised almost every hour we are awake. Sleep is just the last eight we never bothered with,” Chedid said.

That consumer shift is relevant to employers because it reflects a growing recognition that performance depends on more than activity alone. The opportunity for businesses is to translate that awareness into working practices that support recovery, rather than treating sleep as a personal concern employees must manage entirely on their own.

The wellness industry is selling recovery. Employees are asking for it.

Shalin Balasuriya, co-founder of Spa Ceylon, said customers across professional and personal backgrounds are increasingly seeking help with stress, relaxation and sleep.

“There really isn’t one typical customer anymore, and I think that in itself is telling,” Balasuriya said. “We see professionals, entrepreneurs, parents and younger customers all coming in with a similar concern: they are finding it increasingly difficult to properly switch off.”

He attributed the shift partly to a modern lifestyle that keeps people moving between work, phones, notifications and social commitments without a clear transition into rest.

Customers are also becoming more conscious of how recovery affects concentration, mood, energy and performance, he said.

“Previously, relaxation may have been seen as a pleasant outcome of a spa experience. Today, for many customers, it is the reason they are coming in,” Balasuriya said.

He added that customers increasingly want practices they can carry beyond the treatment room, including breathwork, meditation, calming sensory experiences and consistent evening routines.

One of the most common concerns he hears is: “I’m exhausted, but I can’t switch off.”

That description captures a tension that extends beyond the wellness industry. Employees may finish a demanding day physically exhausted while continuing to think about unfinished tasks, upcoming deadlines or messages that require a response.

Balasuriya said simple routines can help people transition towards sleep, including reducing stimulation, limiting bright light and screen use, slowing the breath and creating a calmer environment.

However, the responsibility cannot rest entirely on individuals. Where workplace pressures regularly extend into evenings and weekends, a bedtime routine alone may not resolve the underlying problem.

For employers, the challenge is to ensure that expectations around availability, workload and working hours do not continually undermine the recovery employees are being encouraged to prioritise.

Can technology measure the problem without making it worse?

Wearables and sleep trackers have made sleep more visible, giving consumers estimates of sleep duration, patterns and other indicators. Smart thermostats, lighting systems, blackout solutions and noise-control devices can also help create more suitable sleeping environments.

Khan said technology can help identify irregular sleep schedules, frequent awakenings and possible signs of sleep-disordered breathing.

But there is a risk that the pursuit of better sleep becomes another source of pressure.

“Technology can improve sleep, yet too much technology around sleep can make sleep worse,” Khan said.

Chedid has also observed how sleep scores can encourage people to compete with themselves, sometimes becoming frustrated when the numbers do not meet their expectations.

For employers considering fatigue monitoring, this raises an important question about what should be measured and why.

Working hours, overtime patterns, shift rotations, safety incidents and employee feedback may help organisations identify working conditions that deserve closer attention. But no single metric can provide a complete picture of an individual’s health or readiness to work.

Consumer wearables should not be treated as definitive medical assessments, and employee health information requires appropriate privacy protections.

The purpose of monitoring should be to identify risks, improve working arrangements and support employee wellbeing, not to create another performance score or penalise people for reporting fatigue.

Companies also need to distinguish between collecting data and acting on it. Identifying a pattern of excessive overtime, for example, is of limited value if staffing arrangements and workload expectations remain unchanged.

The real test is whether measurement leads to better decisions.

Rest could become a competitive advantage

For years, working long hours and sacrificing sleep have sometimes been treated as evidence of commitment. But the relationship between time spent working and the quality of work produced is not always straightforward.

An employee who remains at a desk for longer may not necessarily be more productive. A manager who answers messages late into the night may not necessarily make better decisions the following morning. In some circumstances, prolonged working hours may come at the expense of the attention, judgment and consistency businesses need.

Balasuriya said attitudes towards rest are changing, particularly among younger customers who increasingly discuss burnout, mental wellbeing and the need to protect their energy.

Older customers may approach recovery through the lens of longevity and maintaining health, he said, but both groups are increasingly recognising its importance.

“For a long time, productivity culture almost celebrated sacrificing sleep. I think we are now seeing the beginning of the opposite movement, where good sleep and proper recovery are becoming recognised as essential parts of living and performing well,” Balasuriya said.

For business leaders, that shift presents an opportunity to reconsider how performance is supported and measured.

Companies do not need to assume that every mistake is caused by fatigue, nor do they need to turn sleep into another corporate optimisation target. They do need to recognise that inadequate rest can affect the capabilities employees rely on to do their jobs.

That means examining shift patterns, overtime, after-hours communication, recovery time and access to healthcare, alongside existing productivity and safety indicators.

It also means acknowledging the limits of consumer wellness products and ensuring that sleep education complements, rather than replaces, changes to workplace conditions.

The bottom line: the most expensive mistake may be the one nobody connects to sleep

The cost of tired employees may never appear as a distinct expense on a balance sheet. Instead, its potential consequences may be scattered across slower workflows, repeated errors, avoidable safety risks, employee absences and decisions that fail to reflect the full capabilities of the people making them.

The interviews do not quantify the financial impact of fatigue on individual companies, and the scale of the problem will vary across industries and workplaces. But the evidence on sleep’s role in attention, memory, reaction time and decision-making makes it difficult to dismiss as merely a personal wellness issue.

Khan’s argument is straightforward: sleep supports the human system behind every other investment a company makes. Chedid’s business reflects a growing consumer interest in improving the conditions for rest, while Balasuriya’s observations point to a wider shift towards treating recovery as an essential part of wellbeing.

The business challenge is to connect those developments to the workplace.

Better bedding, sleep trackers and relaxation treatments may support individual routines, but they cannot compensate fully for schedules that leave employees insufficient time to recover. Nor can an employer reasonably expect workers to protect their sleep while simultaneously demanding constant availability.

The starting point is to ask a question many organisations may not yet be asking systematically: are working hours, shift patterns and performance expectations creating conditions in which employees can consistently work at their best?

For businesses, the answer could have implications for productivity, safety, retention and the quality of decisions made every day.

In the race to improve performance, companies have spent years investing in the tools employees use, the systems they operate and the processes that govern their work.

The next competitive advantage may come from paying closer attention to something far less visible: whether the people behind those investments are getting enough rest to make them count.

Apple is preparing to unveil a new generation of MacBook Pro laptops in late October, with its first touchscreen Mac expected to headline a product lineup that could reshape the company’s approach to personal computing.

The company has confirmed an event in Los Angeles on October 28, titled “Pro and tell,” where it is expected to introduce updated MacBook Pro models alongside a refreshed iMac and a redesigned iPad mini with a sharper display, according to Bloomberg News.

Read more: What the iPhone 18 launch did to the UAE’s second-hand market

The launch comes as Apple expands its product lineup with recent updates to its HomePod mini, Apple TV and other devices. However, the MacBook developments could prove more significant, marking a departure from the company’s longstanding position against combining the Mac and iPad user experiences.

M6 MacBook Pro could take a different path

Apple’s next entry-level MacBook Pro is expected to feature its upcoming M6 processor, with the 14-inch model likely to retain its existing design. The upgrade would follow the launch of the M5-powered MacBook Pro in October 2025, keeping Apple’s entry-level laptop on an approximately annual refresh cycle.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company is preparing the M6 model alongside other hardware updates. Macworld has reported that the standard M6 MacBook Pro is expected to focus primarily on processor improvements rather than a major redesign.

The distinction matters for buyers weighing whether to purchase a current model or wait for the next release. While the M6 could deliver a performance boost, the more substantial changes are reportedly being reserved for higher-end MacBook Pro models.

Those premium machines are expected to feature OLED displays, touchscreen functionality and a redesigned chassis. The shift to OLED would bring a new display technology to the Mac, while touch input would represent a notable change in how users interact with the laptop.

Touchscreen models could arrive with older chips

Despite the expected hardware redesign, the premium touchscreen MacBook Pros may not receive Apple’s next-generation M6 Pro and M6 Max processors. Instead, reports indicate that the company plans to retain the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips introduced in March.

The new models are also expected to borrow the Dynamic Island interface from the iPhone, potentially giving users a more interactive way to view alerts and ongoing activities. Together, the OLED display, touchscreen and interface changes would mark a significant departure from previous MacBook designs.

Apple’s reported chip strategy adds another complication for customers. Rather than introducing an M6 processor across the entire Mac lineup, the company is said to be concentrating resources on its M7 generation, which is expected to incorporate technologies aimed at artificial intelligence workloads.

According to a report by MacRumors citing Gurman, high-end MacBook Pro models with M7 Pro and M7 Max chips are expected “at the end of next year.” An entry-level MacBook Pro with an M7 chip is also reportedly planned for next year, while an M7 Ultra chip could arrive in the first half of 2028.

Buyers face a difficult upgrade decision

The overlapping release plans could leave customers choosing between three options: buying an M6-powered entry-level MacBook Pro, waiting for the redesigned touchscreen models or holding off for the subsequent M7 generation.

For buyers who prioritise processing power, the M6 could offer a straightforward upgrade. Those seeking a substantial change in design and functionality may find the OLED touchscreen models more appealing, even if they retain the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max processors.

Apple’s reported plans suggest the company is separating major design changes from its processor upgrade cycle. If the reports prove accurate, customers may have to decide which matters more: a newer chip, a redesigned laptop or the prospect of waiting another year for both.

Fast delivery has become one of the defining promises of e-commerce, but speed alone is no guarantee of a sustainable business. As retailers invest in dark stores, micro-fulfilment centres and increasingly sophisticated technology, the pressure is on to make each order profitable.

Rodrigue Nacouzi, who built temperature-controlled logistics business Transcorp before its acquisition by Green Dome Investments in 2025, knows the challenges of scaling first-hand.

In this interview with Gulf Business, he discusses the economics of quick commerce, where automation and artificial intelligence can deliver value, and what he looks for in new investments through Enablers Ventures.

You built Transcorp from the ground up before its acquisition by Green Dome Investments in 2025. What did that journey teach you about scaling a logistics business in the UAE — and what would you do differently today?

Building Transcorp taught me that growth places demands on a business well before it produces returns. Every contract brings commitments in infrastructure, people, working capital and service expectations. Managing that balance becomes increasingly important as the company expands.

In temperature-controlled logistics, there is very little room for inconsistency. The customer is entrusting you with the integrity of their product and, ultimately, their reputation. Earning that trust opens doors, but maintaining it at scale requires strong management, reliable systems and a detailed understanding of profitability across customers and operations.

As you scale, small inefficiencies become expensive. You need visibility into profitability by customer, route and facility, alongside managers who take ownership of those numbers. Revenue growth can hide weaknesses for a while, but eventually they surface in service quality or cash flow.

If I were starting again, I would invest earlier in management depth, operational data and clearer accountability. I would also be more selective about contracts. The right customer helps you build a stronger network; the wrong commercial terms can leave you financing someone else’s growth.

Quick commerce has promised consumers ever-faster delivery, but the economics can be difficult. What separates a sustainable quick-commerce model from one that is simply chasing speed and market share?

A sustainable model understands exactly what it earns and spends on each order and how those economics change as volumes grow. Order weight, basket size, product margin, picking productivity, delivery distance and wastage all matter. A busy operation is not necessarily a profitable one.

Speed should follow good network design. When stock is positioned near demand, inventory is accurate and fulfilment runs efficiently, fast delivery becomes more economical. When those foundations are missing, businesses end up paying for speed through discounts, excess staffing and expensive delivery capacity.

I am comfortable with a planned investment period, including initial losses, provided there is a defined budget, a deadline and measurable progress towards profitability. The important distinction is whether growth is improving the economics or simply increasing the loss.

Location has become increasingly important to fulfilment. How are dark stores, micro-fulfilment centres and commercial real estate changing as retailers try to get closer to the customer?

A fulfilment property has to be assessed as part of an operating network. The rent is only one component of its cost but a major one. That said, a cheaper site can end up being much more expensive if it adds delivery time, limits loading access or creates inefficient picking and dispatch.

The assessment needs to include customer density, SLAs, demand patterns, access, power capacity, site design and how the location interacts with other sites. Two individually attractive locations may serve largely the same customers, adding cost without enough additional reach.

This is the connection we are developing through Urban Solutions Group: bringing property selection, site preparation, micro-fulfilment and facility management into the same conversation. The objective is to choose spaces that work commercially and operationally from the outset, with enough flexibility to adapt as demand changes.

Automation and robotics are becoming a bigger part of logistics and fulfilment. Where do you see the strongest business case for automation today, and where is the industry at risk of overinvesting in technology?

The business case for automation depends on the space available, the volume handled and the productivity gains it can deliver. Large robotic installations can require substantial capital and changes to the facility, so the operation needs sufficient throughput to justify that commitment.

Quick commerce introduces a different dynamic. Dark stores bring inventory closer to customers, but they generally operate in compact urban premises where every square metre has a cost and a purpose. Any technology introduced must fit around storage, picking and dispatch without creating additional constraints.

In these locations, I see a stronger immediate case for selective automation: light-guided picking, wearable scanners and software that improves picking routes, replenishment and order coordination. These solutions can improve speed and accuracy within the existing footprint. Compact robotic storage can also be relevant, particularly where it improves storage density, provided the volumes and economics support it.

The risk is investing ahead of operational need, based on volumes that have yet to materialise. My priority would be to improve the productivity of the space and people already in place, then introduce more sophisticated robotics where the return is demonstrable.

You are developing an AI-powered decision intelligence platform for physical locations. What decisions can AI genuinely improve in areas such as real estate and logistics, and which decisions still require human judgement?

Many location decisions depend on information scattered across reports, spreadsheets, maps and people’s experience. We are developing a platform to bring that evidence together and help executives assess what to do, where and why.

AI can help compare locations, identify demand patterns, test assumptions and explore scenarios: what happens if rent increases, demand develops more slowly or a competitor opens nearby? It can also highlight missing or conflicting evidence before a decision is made.

Human judgement remains essential in assessing relationships, negotiating terms, understanding local conditions and deciding how much uncertainty to accept. The platform should make the reasoning behind a recommendation visible, including its limitations. My aim is to give decision-makers a stronger basis for judgement while keeping responsibility clearly with the people making the decision.

International e-commerce and marketplace companies continue to expand in the Gulf. What are they looking for when entering the UAE, and where are the biggest gaps in the infrastructure currently supporting that growth?

In my experience, they are looking for speed to market, predictable costs, consistent execution and partners who can grow with them. A facility or a fleet is only part of the requirement. They need local teams who understand how to bring property, approvals, staffing, technology and daily operations together.

The gap I focus on is coordination. A suitable property may still need substantial work before it can operate. A launch can be delayed because the facility, workforce and systems have been planned separately. Each individual supplier may fulfil its scope while the overall operation falls short.

There is a strong opportunity for partners who take responsibility across those interfaces, provide clear performance visibility and maintain consistent standards across multiple sites. International companies need confidence that expansion will be repeatable.

Enablers Ventures has completed six partnerships in the UAE over the past eight months. What kinds of businesses or technologies are attracting your attention now, and what does an investment need to demonstrate before you are prepared to back it?

We are particularly interested in technologies that address problems we understand through our operating businesses: logistics software, q-comm models, automation and decision intelligence. We also look at complementary businesses where our commercial relationships and industry experience can help accelerate growth.

Before backing an opportunity, I want to understand the problem, who will pay to solve it and why the team is capable of delivering. The evidence depends on the stage. An early business may demonstrate a strong understanding of its customers and credible demand; a more developed business should show paying customers, retention and a believable route to profitability.

Recurring revenue is attractive when customers continue paying because the product delivers value. I also look closely at governance, capital requirements and founder alignment. Completing six partnerships reflects our activity, but the real measure will be how those businesses perform and the value we help them create.