The announcement of UAE being the host for the Miss World pageant this year has triggered a stir in the NFC (near field communication) market – the fast rising business and communication process automation segment – with companies like Pcard hurrying up an aggressive expansion in terms of market reach and innovative product lineup.
The post-pandemic surge in the number of global and regional conferences, exhibitions and events lined up in GCC countries is the other major factor driving the industry players to move fast with their expansion plans.
Pcard, the Bahrain-based cutting-edge NFC technology player, said it is currently in the process of finalising an aggressive expansion plan into the UAE and other GCC countries to tap the emerging opportunities in various sectors.
“We will also soon be making an announcement on introducing ‘Smart Event Badges’ and ‘Smart Wristbands’ – two innovative products that will allow for a more seamless and organised experience for events, exhibitions and trade shows,” Faisal Birch, founder and chief executive officer of Pcard, told Arabian Business.
Miss World, beauty pageants and business opportunities
Industry observers said the company’s move on the two new products for the event industry is clearly with an eye on the upcoming mega beauty pageant in the UAE.
The Miss World event – the top beauty contest in the world – is expected to generate huge business opportunities for several industries and services sectors in the UAE, they said.
Birch, however, said: “Our aim is to provide event companies and organisers with a comprehensive solution that covers all aspects of their operations and communication.”
“Our innovative solutions will revolutionise the way businesses network and connect with their customers,” the Pcard founder said.
Faisal said the company will soon be expanding its product line to more industry segments such as education, fitness and healthcare.
Other leading players in the NFC segment such as 360 Smart Card, Ecotap, Kartee, and Meraiki Trading are also said to be eyeing major operational and product expansions in the region.
NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that lets NFC-enabled devices communicate with each other.
The products in the segment allow sharing of small payloads of data between an NFC tag and an Android-powered device, or between two Android-powered devices.
Globally, the NFC market is projected to expand to a $17 billion industry by 2025.
Birch said the company already serves customers across the GCC region through its e-commerce store and the new plan is to set up operational centres in more and more markets in the region.
“Our target market is primarily the GCC and MENA region and the major prospective clients will be corporations and government entities. So far our corporate and government clients are based in Bahrain and we want to expand this to other GCC markets,” Birch said.
He also revealed that the company has already lined up more than 60 deals that are close to signing.
“Due to confidentiality policies, I cannot disclose the details [of these deals],” Birch said.
The Pcard founder also said the company was looking at fundraising opportunities to scale up and achieve faster growth.
Partnership deals are the other route the company is eyeing to expand faster in the UAE and other GCC markets.
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