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Raqamiyat is a new series that will be featured on ArabNet’s website to keep you up-to-date with the latest news in the digital industry.

PAYFORT announces the official launch of its Egypt operation

Since launching in UAE last June, PAYFORT, the Arab world’s leading online payment, has processed over AED 2.5 billion in volume transactions, and now issues a statement announcing the launch of its second operation in Egypt.

The decision came in light of the country’s recent steps towards “adoption and implementation of a national e-Government strategy,” the statement said.

According to a 2011 report by VISA International which ranked e-Payment adoption by governments, Egypt ranked 56 despite the many challenges the country has faced in the last few years. With close to 40 Million Internet users and with 65% of the population under the age of 30, online payments in Egypt are expected to grow exponentially in the years to come from its current 9 percent users of online payment methods, according to the statement.

“Egypt’s online buyers today number over 3 million but this is expected to grow significantly as major offline retailers race to build their online channels which in turn increases the appeal of online purchases due to increasing supply and variety of products being offered online,” said Omar Soudodi, Managing Director of PAYFORT.

Haykal Media launches “Aliqtisadi London” and “Aliqtisadi Palestine” during the Abu Dhabi Media Summit 2013

During the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, Haykal Media announced the launch of both “Aliqtisadi London” and “Aliqtisadi Palestine,” part of the fast growing Aliqtisadi.com network. Aliqtisadi is a business news and information platform that covers several Arab countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.

Haykal Media publishes online and print titles out of Abu Dhabi’s Twofour54, and it’s most known for Aliqtisidadi.com.

Aliqtisadi London is the first Arabic business information and news portal to enter a European market. The target audience is the estimated 200K Arabic-speaking population in London, and will soon expand to target the remaining 5 million in Europe.

As for Aliqtisadi Palestine, it pledges the need for Palestine to have a reliable source of news and information on the business sector and the economic performance in Palestine. According to Haykal Media’s chairman, Abudlsalam Haykal, Palestine business leaders and entrepreneurs have thrived in the country despite some the hardships of the occupation.

LinkedIn reinvents its app for iPad and introduces new mobile features

LinkedIn has rebuilt its app for iPad from the ground to offer a fresh, new visual design, a personalized experience, and new functionality like search, jobs, channels, and influencers that shines on the tablet.

With the new app, users can see who is sharing, connecting, changing jobs, and much more. The new interface gives access to all the actions—such as sharing, liking, following, joining, and watching media—directly from the feed. The app also has an improved, personalized navigation that displays all icons visually, offering quick access to the areas that users visit the most.

LinkedIn also introduced LinkedIn Intro to its mobile app. LinkedIn Intro shows the users LinkedIn profiles in their iPhone Mail app, adding a rich, interactive, application-like experience right into the user’s iPhone Mail app.

The LinkedIn app for iPad will be available for download in 8 languages: English, Spanish, French, Itlaian, German, Portuguese, Turkish, and Korean. LinkedIntro will be available in English with support for Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, and iCloud.

Yahoo! to close down Cairo bureau by year end

Last week, the internet giant Yahoo! Inc. announced its plan to shut down its Cairo office by the end of the year, while vowing to make the transition fair to Cairo employees.

The decision is part of “Yahoo’s global efforts to streamline operations, encourage more collaboration and innovation by bringing more Yahoos together in fewer locations, and build a strong global business that is set up for long-term growth,” the statement said.

Yahoo will continue to serve users and advertisers across the MENA region with the same products and experiences they expect from Yahoo Maktoob.

Credit Libanais launches the first, one-of-a-kind mobile app, developed and designed by apps2you

Credit Libanais recently announced the launch of its mobile app, suitable for Android™, iPhone^®, and BlackBerry^®. CL e-bank mobile app has been designed and developed by apps2you.

The mobile app allows users with the Online Banking service to access their accounts through the app. It also features information about the products and services of the bank, allows users to calculate their loans and apply online, get direct access to Credit Libanais social media, stay up-to-date with the latest offers, and locate the bank’s branches and ATMs.

The app is now available to download for free: http://creditlibanais.mobi/