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Shomoul Holding, a subsidiary of Mabanee Company, has announced the signing of an agreement with Alshaya Group, a leading international retail franchise operator of around 70 world-class brands. 

Under the agreement, which represents an investment of $150 million by Alshaya Group, the company’s world-famous brands will open across a total leasable area of more than 50,000 square meters in 100 stores at The Avenues — Riyadh, creating jobs for 2,500 Saudi nationals.

Set to become one of the largest and most prominent shopping and leisure destinations in the Middle East and Africa region, The Avenues — Riyadh will span a land area of 390,000 square meters, with a gross leasable area of 370,000 square meters. This landmark project will feature a wide array of global retail outlets alongside exceptional leisure and entertainment concepts and is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2027.

Waleed Alsharian, CEO of Shomoul Holding, said: “The Avenues — Riyadh represents a major milestone in our journey to create exceptional, integrated destinations that seamlessly combine retail, leisure, and hospitality. The addition of these prestigious brands from Alshaya Group will further elevate the visitor experience at one of the most anticipated shopping and entertainment hubs in �������� and the wider region.”

John Hadden, CEO of Alshaya Group, added: “We are delighted to be part of The Avenues — Riyadh, which reflects our ongoing commitment to bringing the finest global brands and outstanding retail and leisure experiences to our customers in ��������. With over 100 stores — including many flagship stores from our famous brands including our new partner Ulta Beauty, our first DreamWorks entertainment center, and more new brands to follow — our investment demonstrates our support of growth in the Kingdom and the employment of Saudi nationals.”

Alshaya Group’s portfolio at The Avenues — Riyadh will include a diverse range of brands including Starbucks, American Eagle, Footlocker, Victoria’s Secret, H&M, Bath and Body Works, Charlotte Tilbury, Raising Cane’s, Shake Shack, and Chipotle, as well as recently announced new partner Ulta Beauty. The first Ulta Beauty store in the region will open in The Avenues, Kuwait, in November. 

Last year, Alshaya Group also announced a strategic partnership with DreamWorks Animation and Universal Live Entertainment to launch the Middle East’s first DreamPlay interactive and creative entertainment center. The region’s first DreamPlay will also open at The Avenues — Riyadh, further strengthening its position as a premier, fully integrated family leisure hub.

The destination will also feature more leading entertainment experiences from Alshaya Group, including Masha and the Bear, Zafari, Cube Karting, and Sports Ultimate.

The Moscow Startup Summit, held on Oct. 1–2, welcomed startups from around the globe to showcase future technologies. Organized by Sber and the Moscow government, the event featured more than 60 sessions and presentations by over 150 experts from Russia and abroad.

The summit’s agenda covered five key tracks catering to all participants. Main stage sessions explored global tech trends and the impact of generative AI on innovation-driven businesses. Topics included macro-trends and autonomous entrepreneurship, highlighting how generative AI transforms markets, supply chains, and partnership models.

The opening remarks were delivered via a video message by Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin, who stressed the significance of collaborating with BRICS and SCO nations to promote tech startups.

Highlights included a panel discussion featuring Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and CEO and Chairman of the Sberbank Executive Board Herman Gref, stressing the importance of advancing new technologies, creating jobs, and attracting talented professionals by offering a comfortable lifestyle.

Gref said that Moscow now offers distinctive living conditions. These include a comfortable urban environment, an expanded subway system, and overall improvement in transportation infrastructure. Ultimately, these developments create superior living conditions for young people, encouraging them to remain in their home country, while also fostering unique opportunities for startup ventures.

Moscow, noted Sobyanin, possesses all necessary conditions for growing high-tech industrial enterprises. Entrepreneurs and businesses are actively returning to the city due to highly skilled and motivated talent pools unavailable elsewhere.

Creating a welcoming environment and new employment opportunities, Moscow invests heavily in industrial sector upgrades. Priority lies in import-substitution technologies, whose advancement fuels adjacent industries.

Both Gref and Sobyanin concurred that having the right environment is vital for fostering startups. Creating opportunities for work and living encourages young professionals to stay in their home country and pursue pioneering ideas locally.

Gref added that building environments in Russian cities is a social duty and mission of Sber. Employees at Sber take pride in their accomplishments, striving to make each project a benchmark for the nation.

A tech exhibition displayed 60 booths showcasing startups. Forty-one Russian teams joined forces with 19 international startups from Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Pakistan, ��������, Uzbekistan, and France.

Another highlight was the Demo Day of the international IT accelerator Sber500. Any angel investor or venture fund representative could declare investment readiness online — either fully funding or partially joining syndicated rounds. Startups received over 1.2 billion Russian rubles ($14.6 million) in investment proposals from angels, VC funds, and investor clubs.

Final presentations were given by 30 startups, including 25 graduates of the main track and five participants from the AI-focused Sber500-GigaChat track. Session moderator Alexander Vedyakhin, Sberbank’s first deputy chairman of the executive board, said that nearly 70 percent of finalists utilized generative AI, with 48 percent classified as deep-tech projects.

Six of the 25 finalists were international, originating from India, Algeria, the UAE, South Korea, and Pakistan, while two teams had co-founders from Denmark and Iran.

Applications for the sixth wave of the accelerator program exceeded 1,900 submissions from 42 countries. Following bootcamp evaluations, 150 startups progressed, resulting in the selection of the top 25 teams. Almost 85 percent worked with AI, and 70 percent leveraged generative AI. Twelve finalists presented deep-tech projects.

Finalists demonstrated solutions spanning biomedicine (33 percent), industrial robotics and tech (15 percent), corporate software (12 percent), fundamental technologies (12 percent), construction and development (7 percent), and cybersecurity (7 percent).

Notable innovations included diagnostic platforms detecting mental disorders via lipidome blood tests, next-generation neuroprocessors turning ordinary gadgets into intelligent systems, and AI-powered photo-to-detailed-3D-model conversion technology. Also shown were 3D printing technologies for buildings of varying heights, IoT sensors with deep AI analytics for industrial machinery, and portable breath trainers paired with personalized AI assistants.

Capping the summit was the presentation of Startup Summit Awards. The award was initiated by the Moscow Government and Sber and is intended to recognize best practices in innovation and encourage large companies and investors to support tech entrepreneurs.. More than 1,700 applications were received from 79 regions of Russia. On Oct. 2, winners were honored across 17 categories, encompassing startups, investors, corporations, universities, and media outlets.