The Middle Eastern e-commerce landscape is undergoing a significant transformation.

No longer confined to static product catalogues and traditional online storefronts, retail in the region is rapidly pivoting towards social commerce and interactive live shopping. Capitalising on this behavioural shift, Jeddah-based startup Rwaj has recently raised US$1.2mn (SAR 4.5 million) in a pre-seed funding round. The investment aims to scale the company's live social shopping and auction marketplace across the region, reflecting a broader trend of formalising the social retail economy.

Across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), independent sellers, boutique brands, and local merchants have already embraced live selling. However, this burgeoning sector has historically operated through highly fragmented channels. Until recently, sellers would showcase their merchandise via social media livestreams, collect orders through direct messages or scattered comment threads, and manually coordinate payments and logistics on separate platforms.

While this grassroots approach to social commerce demonstrates clear consumer demand and high engagement, it introduces substantial friction. The lack of integrated infrastructure often results in security risks for buyers and heavy administrative burdens for sellers. Managing inventory, tracking payments, and dispatching couriers manually is not scalable. The digital retail space has urgently required a robust solution to standardise these interactions, bringing reliability and trust to a sector that heavily relies on real-time product demonstration.

Standardising social commerce

Rwaj, founded in 2024 by Taher Alblowe, was established specifically to build secure, reliable infrastructure around this existing consumer behaviour. By consolidating livestream selling, auction mechanics, digital payments, and shipping into a single application, the platform aims to eliminate the logistical headaches associated with independent social retail.

The start-up is utilising its $1.2 million capital injection to accelerate product development and regional growth, focusing heavily on delivering an Arabic-first bilingual experience tailored to the local demographic. Rather than restricting its marketplace to a specific category of goods, the platform accommodates any product that benefits from live demonstration, from electronics to fashion and collectables.

Rwaj’s integrated system provides several key operational features designed to streamline the sales pipeline:

• Flexible Sales Formats: Sellers can stream live and choose to offer their inventory at fixed prices or run timed auctions where buyers submit bids in real time.

• Secure Payment Escrow: To eliminate the transaction risks associated with informal social commerce, funds are held securely in escrow until the buyer confirms the successful delivery of their item.

• Diverse Payment Integration: The platform supports seamless, immediate checkouts using Mada, Apple Pay, and standard debit or credit cards.

• Automated Logistics: Shipping is handled directly through integrated carriers, completely removing the need for sellers to manually book external couriers or manage tracking numbers.

This deep consolidation of services ensures that neither the buyer nor the seller needs to migrate to a third-party application to finalise a sale.

“We built Rwaj so a seller can go live, sell at a fixed price or by auction, get paid, and ship without leaving the app, and a buyer can purchase or bid knowing their money is protected until the item is in their hands,” said Taher Alblowe, Founder and CEO of Rwaj.

Building a retail community

The ambition behind formalising livestream retail extends beyond simply providing a transactional utility. Rwaj is strategically positioning itself as a social marketplace. The digital ecosystem is designed to foster ongoing, long-term relationships between merchants and consumers. Buyers are actively encouraged to follow their favourite sellers, discover new retail entrepreneurs through the wider community, and consistently return for future scheduled livestreams. This infrastructure gives independent retailers a measurable way to build a loyal audience that persists well beyond any individual broadcast.

The next critical phase of growth for the digital economy in the Middle East will depend on whether these existing social selling behaviours can be permanently migrated onto dedicated, structured platforms. For Rwaj, this means leveraging its GCC-wide seller network as a foundation for broader regional expansion. Furthermore, the platform’s structured payment and shipping integrations provide local sellers with a viable, risk-free pathway to reach an international buyer base, effectively opening up global markets from a smartphone camera.

This pre-seed funding round signals a rapidly maturing market. As interactive shopping transitions from informal social media streams to dedicated, escrow-protected environments, the standard for online retail in the Middle East is being redefined.

The final day of Middle East Energy 2026 in Dubai has officially brought down the curtain on a landmark three-day summit, uniting more than 1,900 energy companies from over 150 countries and roughly 35,000 industry professionals.

As the event concluded at the Dubai World Trade Centre, discussions pivoted heavily towards execution, cross-border cooperation, and actionable strategies required to accelerate the region's ongoing energy transition. With global electricity demand surging—driven largely by rapid digitalisation, industrial expansion, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence—the conversation across exhibitions and conference halls underscored an urgent mandate: transforming power infrastructure from strategic planning into tangible, large-scale delivery.

AI, digitalisation, and grid resilience

A central theme throughout the concluding sessions was the intricate intersection of advanced technology and modern power systems. As artificial intelligence data centres, smart cities, and heavy industrial applications place unprecedented loads on traditional grids, stakeholders examined innovative engineering solutions to ensure long-term stability and reliability. Industry experts emphasized that grid modernization cannot wait, requiring immediate and sustained investments in advanced software, automation, and real-time monitoring tools.

Furthermore, panel discussions explored how digital transformation optimizes energy efficiency across generation, transmission, and distribution networks. Leaders from government bodies, municipal utilities, and private enterprises noted that enhanced regional power interconnections will play a vital role in building highly resilient energy systems. These networks are uniquely positioned to handle intermittent renewable energy supplies while simultaneously safeguarding overall grid reliability and mitigating operational risks.

Scaling renewables, storage, and infrastructure

The exhibition floor served as a dynamic, interactive hub for showcasing cutting-edge electrical hardware, including high-efficiency transformers, advanced switchgear, and robust energy storage systems. Exhibitors from across the globe demonstrated how modern technological integration is revolutionizing renewable energy deployment across the Middle East. Key highlights and focal points from the exhibition floor included:

• Over 1,900 global exhibitors showcasing pioneering innovations in electrical transmission, distribution, renewable generation, and critical power solutions.

• Specialized co-located zones focusing extensively on battery energy storage systems (BESS), solar photovoltaic technology, and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure.

• The accelerated deployment of major utility-scale solar and wind energy projects across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, which continues to boost regional demand for high-grade electrical equipment.

• Strategic framework discussions addressing the seamless integration of distributed energy resources, decentralised power grids, and advanced microgrid architectures.

Strategic collaboration and capital investment

Beyond technical equipment displays, the final day placed a strong, analytical spotlight on the financing mechanisms and regulatory policy frameworks necessary to fuel long-term infrastructure development. Financial institutions, policymakers, and engineering leaders convened in high-level closed-door sessions to align capital availability with overarching sustainable development goals.

With international commitments officially shifting from high-level climate targets to execution-focused capital deployment, participants emphasized the vital importance of robust public-private partnerships. Navigating complex supply chain resilience, securing critical mineral corridors, and streamlining regulatory approvals were universally identified as non-negotiable milestones for maintaining momentum.

Charting the path forward for regional utilities

As utilities and regulatory bodies navigate the complexities of modernizing legacy infrastructure, regional cooperation remains the cornerstone of success. Leaders at the summit stressed that shared knowledge and harmonised standards will allow Middle Eastern nations to bypass traditional developmental bottlenecks. By embracing cross-border grid links, countries can effortlessly balance peak loads, share surplus renewable generation, and stabilize energy costs across borders. This collaborative ethos not only reinforces national energy security but also positions the wider Middle East as a global leader in sustainable power management and technological innovation.

Moreover, discussions touched upon workforce readiness, highlighting the necessity of cultivating the next generation of engineers and technicians equipped to manage smart power grids. As the curtain falls on this year's edition, the overarching message from Dubai is definitive: the technological tools and robust financial frameworks required to build a sustainable, tech-driven energy future are already within reach, setting the stage for a cleaner, smarter, and more interconnected regional economy.

Chinese engineering and construction firm SEPCOIII has officially announced the full commercial operation of the Saudi Red Sea Utility Infrastructure Project.

This achievement marks a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 programme. By seamlessly blending renewable power generation, substantial battery storage, and advanced water management, the multi-utility project sets a new global benchmark for sustainable tourism development. It demonstrates how luxury hospitality can thrive independently of interconnected national power grids, offering an operating example for similar isolated networks globally.

The vision for off-grid tourism infrastructure

The Red Sea development is engineered to be one of the world's most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations. However, establishing a luxury footprint in a remote, ecologically sensitive coastal region requires a radical departure from conventional utility solutions. Extending traditional transmission lines and water pipelines is frequently uneconomic and environmentally disruptive.

To address these distinct geographical and ecological challenges, the mega-resort relies entirely on a self-sustaining microgrid. The successful commercialisation of this integrated utility project underscores the kingdom's serious commitment to sustainable infrastructure within its giga-projects. For investors and developers eyeing the wider region, reliable, green utility infrastructure is a fundamental differentiator, enhancing long-term value and livability while safeguarding natural habitats.

Integrated systems powering the Red Sea

SEPCOIII, a wholly owned subsidiary of POWERCHINA, delivered the venture under an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) agreement. It is widely recognised as the first utility-scale commercial installation globally to integrate multiple complementary power and utility systems of this magnitude.

Rather than just focusing on power generation, the comprehensive package provides all essential services to luxury hotels and tourism facilities across the destination. Under the EPC contract, the interconnected infrastructure components delivered include:

• A 358 MWac solar photovoltaic (PV) generation plant.

• A battery-based energy storage system (BESS) featuring a capacity of more than 1,300 MWh.

• Robust electrical grid systems and telecommunications infrastructure.

• Seawater desalination plants paired with potable water distribution lines.

• Complete wastewater conveyance networks and advanced sewage treatment facilities.

• Sustainable solid-waste processing and district cooling setups.

Setting global records in renewable energy

The transition to full commercial operation represents the completion of the wider multi-utility package, bringing online assets that have been progressively commissioned since 2023. The project was developed under a public-private partnership structure, bolstered by a long-term offtake agreement supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Key technology partners included major Chinese suppliers for the energy storage and solar modules.

Because of its unprecedented scale and innovative integration, the multi-utility microgrid has garnered substantial international acclaim. Its technical advancements and eco-conscious construction methods have resulted in numerous industry accolades:

• A Guinness World Record in 2025 for the world's largest off-grid battery energy storage project by capacity.

• The prestigious 2022 MUSE Design Gold Award.

• The 2026 Renewable Energy Innovation of the Year Award.

• The 2026 Sustainable Construction Project of the Year Award.

Economic and Environmental Impact

Beyond the immediate environmental benefits of displacing fossil fuels and preserving the pristine coastal ecosystem, the utility mega-project delivers robust economic advantages. The broader Red Sea development, propelled by this foundational infrastructure, is projected to create approximately 70,000 jobs. Furthermore, it is expected to contribute an estimated SAR 22 billion to the national GDP.

By successfully bringing this colossal system to full commercial operation, SEPCOIII has demonstrated that large-scale renewable energy, storage, water, and waste systems can be seamlessly combined to support sustainable tourism in isolated locations. The technical and operational lessons learned from this record-breaking installation will undoubtedly pave the way for future off-grid developments, proving that high-end luxury and absolute sustainability can cohesively coexist.