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Marquee Awards 2026 Honours Brands Redefining Marketing
By Sophia Bennett (6 days ago)
The Marquee Awards in Dubai honoured 24 winners across 20 categories, spotlighting the ideas and execution setting new benchmarks for marketing excellence.
Marquee Awards 2026: The Winning Brands and Campaigns Defining Modern Marketing
By Martechvibe Editorial (6 days ago)
The gala awards in Dubai honoured 24 winners across 20 categories, spotlighting the ideas and execution setting new benchmarks for marketing excellence.
6 Marketing Shifts Driving Middle East’s Next Phase
By Ashutosh Zutshi (7 days ago)
Across the conversations at Vibe Marketing Tech Fest, Dubai, one idea surfaced repeatedly: marketing is becoming less about isolated metrics, channels and functions, and more about connecting the entire customer and business equation.
Marquee Awards Recognises Marketing Excellence at Gala Celebration
By Sophia Bennett (September 07, 2026)
The Marquee Awards will culminate in a gala celebration on September 10 in Dubai, bringing together marketing and technology leaders to recognise outstanding digital campaigns, innovation, and technical excellence across the Middle East.
VMF 2026 Shapes the Marketing Discourse on What Comes Next
By Sophia Bennett (September 01, 2026)
Vibe Marketing Tech Fest 2026 will bring together senior marketing, technology, and CX leaders in Dubai on September 9-10 to discuss navigating change and driving transformation in a dynamic environment
Customer Context Layer is Becoming the New Role of the CDP
By Ashutosh Zutshi (August 31, 2026)
As enterprises move beyond simply unifying customer data, the next challenge is making that context actionable across marketing, AI and commercial systems, says Mohamed Ali, RVP MENA at Zeotap.
Shopping Apps Grow 15% as Paid Acquisition Gains Ground in 2026
By Martechvibe Editorial (August 28, 2026)
The latest report finds shopping app sessions up 15% globally, with North America and Singapore leading growth as paid acquisition takes a larger share of the media mix.
From Chatbots to Concierge: Inside Retail’s Agentic CXM Shift
By Anushka Pandit (August 24, 2026)
Merkle MENA’s Deepak Mankani outlines that only retailers who move from fragmented stacks to integrated, agentic CXM will bag higher conversion, bigger baskets, and lower service costs.
Adobe & Merkle Join Vibe Marketing Tech Fest Dubai 2026 as Strategic Partners to Re-Imagine Retail Journeys
By Sophia Bennett (August 18, 2026)
The joint Adobe x Merkle partnership will show how agentic AI, data, and design are reshaping shopping journeys and CX across the Middle East.
UAE's Summer Heat is Rewriting the Restaurant Playbook
By Alexander Ponomarev (August 03, 2026)
As footfall drops and delivery consolidates around fewer, more reliable restaurants, UAE F&B brands built for destination dining are missing the habitual, convenience-driven customers who are actually ordering right now.
Treating Acquisitions and Pricing with Separate P&Ls is Where Value Leaks
By Ashutosh Zutshi (July 31, 2026)
According to Álvaro Martínez, Sr. Director MENA - Growth Marketing and Pricing, talabat, the question is always: what channel drives the cheapest CPA versus which channel drives the best user cohort at an acceptable cost. Small semantics, big difference.
When Bots Click, What Does Performance Marketing Really Buy?
By Nasser Oudjidane (July 13, 2026)
As AI agents and automated traffic reshape digital advertising, performance marketers must prioritise traffic quality over clicks to improve bidding accuracy, reduce wasted spend, and drive meaningful conversions.
What the Biggest Martech Deals of 2026 are Really Buying
By Anushka Pandit (July 06, 2026)
From influencer clouds to data clean rooms and sports media, a new wave of EU‑anchored acquisitions is quietly building the operating system for post‑cookie, AI‑powered marketing.
How Can Brands Win with Retail Media Networks (RMNs)
By Sophia Bennett (June 11, 2026)
Leaders from retail, commerce, advertising, and adtech explored how retail media networks (RMNs) are evolving beyond ad inventory into data-driven growth engines that deliver measurable business outcomes across channels.
Azerion Integrates Spotify Ad Exchange into Hawk DSP
By Sophia Bennett (May 29, 2026)
The integration reinforces Azerion’s commitment to building an omnichannel DSP, one that consolidates global premium inventory within a single platform.
DemandBird Launches New B2B Social Media Management Platform
By Sophia Bennett (May 27, 2026)
The new DemandBird platform helps B2B marketing teams manage social media scheduling, approvals, analytics, and client reporting.
Purpose-Driven Engagement: Bridging Values and Innovation
By Sophia Bennett (May 27, 2026)
Olena Lemeshko explores how brands in MENA can combine cultural relevance, authentic storytelling, and technology-driven engagement to build stronger emotional connections with consumers.
The Illusion of Efficiency: Why One-Platform Retargeting Isn’t Enough
By Jaysen Gillespie (May 25, 2026)
As brands pursue efficiency through platform consolidation, many are unknowingly limiting growth. A diversified retargeting stack can improve performance, reduce dependency, and uncover audiences that single-platform strategies often miss.
Memorable Experience is the New Growth Engine
By Ashutosh Zutshi (May 22, 2026)
Memorable experience is the part of the product that survives commoditisation, and it is what gives the customer a reason to advocate, says Darius LaBelle, Managing Director, Middle East at November Five.
Full-Funnel Strategies to Boost Search and Consumer Intent
By Sophia Bennett (May 21, 2026)
Tahir Kheshgi explores how full-funnel strategies help brands capture evolving consumer intent, strengthen search visibility, and drive stronger business outcomes through connected customer journeys.
InMobi Announces Acquisition of MobileAction
By Sophia Bennett (May 08, 2026)
The acquisition strengthens InMobi Advertising’s ability to help brands reach new app users across the iOS ecosystem, both through organic growth, and AI-powered optimisation.
Audion Raises $15M to Expand AI Audio Advertising into US
By Sophia Bennett (April 28, 2026)
The funding will also accelerate the development of its proprietary technology, Audion AI, which delivers outcome-driven audio advertising campaigns.
Scaling Across Channels Without Sacrificing Retail Relationships
By Sophia Bennett (April 10, 2026)
Andrey Dorosh explains how brands can balance direct-to-consumer growth with retail partnerships, differentiate across channels, and prioritise retention to drive long-term profitability and customer value.
Samsung Ads Launches TotalView for Unified TV Ad Reach Measurement
By Sophia Bennett (March 31, 2026)
Powered by insights from Samsung Smart TVs, TotalView gives advertisers a unified view of reach across linear and streaming, enabling smarter planning, precise targeting, and more holistic campaign measurement.
Streaming Is Becoming a Profitable Path for Advertisers
By Antonia Faulker (February 23, 2026)
Streaming growth across the Gulf is accelerating the rise of Connected TV advertising, as Smart TVs, FAST channels, and data-driven targeting reshape how brands reach engaged audiences in MENA.
Intelligent Architecture Is the New Driver of Marketing Success
By Ankit Utreja (February 16, 2026)
In Martech’s new playbook, intelligence - not just speed - is the real advantage. Intelligent data architecture is becoming the backbone of digital transformation, enabling enterprises to scale personalisation, compliance, and AI-driven engagement with speed and precision.
Overheard at the Inner Circle by Martechvibe
By Yolande DMello (February 13, 2026)
Martechvibe conducted its first-ever Inner Circle, a gathering of business leaders mapping the future of marketing movements in the Middle East. Here’s what we learned…
Martechvibe Launches the Marquee Awards to Celebrate Breakthrough Digital Campaigns
By Sophia Bennett (January 08, 2026)
The Marquee Awards will recognise brands and agencies that showcase excellence in strategy and technology implementation to deliver marketing impact. The gala award ceremony will take place on September 10, 2026, in Dubai.
Martechvibe Launches the Marquee Awards to Celebrate Breakthrough Digital Campaigns
By Sophia Bennett (January 08, 2026)
The Marquee Awards will recognise brands and agencies that showcase excellence in strategy and technology implementation to deliver marketing impact. The gala award ceremony will take place on September 10, 2026, in Dubai.
Meet the Martechvibe’s Expert Contributors for 2025
By Martechvibe Editorial (December 23, 2025)
Explore the marketing and CX experts featured on Martechvibe, offering actionable insights and guidance on 2025’s most impactful trends—from generative AI to sustainability and evolving customer expectations.
Mobile to Drive 70% of Food Delivery Orders in MENA
By Sophia Bennett (December 22, 2025)
Mobile ordering now dominates food delivery in the MENA region, driven by aggregator apps, social discovery, and AI-powered restaurant tech. New data reveals how mobile-first dining is reshaping restaurant operations, marketing strategies, and consumer behaviour.
In-Store Retail Isn’t Competition, It Complements Digital Channels
By Yolande DMello (November 24, 2025)
In-store retail is being reimagined, shares Andrey Dorosh, Regional Retail Director, MENAT markets at Samsung Electronics MENA. When paired with digital channels, physical retail becomes critical to a true omnichannel strategy—one that meets customers where they are, both online and offline.
Why Gen Z Trust Is Driving the Rise of Creator-Led Menus
By Alexander Ponomarev (November 03, 2025)
From pop-up collaborations to limited-edition drops, influencers and creators are stepping into the kitchen to co-create products that boost sales, drive engagement, and deliver shareable dining experiences.
How Can Marketers Win The GenAI Revolution
By Martechvibe Editorial (September 12, 2025)
Leaders from Rain, UM MENAT, LuLu Group, Wego, and Global Hotel Alliance shared how genAI is reshaping marketing. From domain-specific agents to governance and human oversight, they stressed the need to pair automation with empathy, creativity, and trust.
The Shift From Regional Thinking to Hyper-Local Precision
By Chandni U (September 08, 2025)
Matthieu Tebaus makes it clear: broad assumptions kill growth in MENA. Brands that generalise across countries or even within cities risk wasting spend and missing demand. He sees AI as a partner, not a replacement—empowering planners and sales teams to evolve from admin roles to trusted growth architects.
Why Your tROAS Campaigns Fail: The Real Cost of Invalid Traffic
By Nasser Oudjidane (August 18, 2025)
Invalid traffic is silently draining ecommerce ad budgets and corrupting tROAS signals. To scale efficiently, marketers must block fake clicks before they distort campaign data.
Why Brands That Don’t Own Their CX Data Are Flying Blind
By Chandni U (July 09, 2025)
Too many brands claim to be customer-obsessed while outsourcing their CX intelligence. Yara Milbes, VP of Marketing at Lucidya, shares why owning the data, and knowing when to step back, is the only way to build trust in MENA’s complex, privacy-conscious markets.
Martechvibe, CEQUENS Launch Report on Customer Service in the Age of AI
By Sophia Bennett (March 03, 2025)
The report discusses the attitudes and expectations towards AI in the customer service industry that are impacting business decisions.
Harnessing The Power of AI-Driven Conversations
By Ali Hussain (January 05, 2024)
Conversational AI is transforming customer engagement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, strengthening brand loyalty and competitiveness in this rapidly evolving market.
CX NXT Summit In UAE Takes on BFSI Challenges
By Sophia Bennett (December 07, 2023)
Martechvibe presents five customer experience challenges that the CX NXT BFSI Summit commits to address and help companies resolve.
Spotlight On The Next Future Martech Leader
By Chandni U (December 01, 2023)
Future MarTech Leader initiative throws the spotlight on Dina Barakat from Google.
Martechvibe’s Weekly News Round-Up
By Sophia Bennett (May 05, 2023)
In case you missed it, here’s a look at the top headlines in the marketing and technology landscape.
GIG Gulf Partners With MoEngage For Customer Journey Experience
By Sophia Bennett (May 04, 2023)
The partnership aims to improve its real-time customer journey experience right from claim initiation to real-time claim status and updates GIG Gulf, an insurance provider in the MENA region has partnered with MoEngage, an insights-led customer engagement platform, to enhance its real-time customer journey experience.  MoEngage will enable GIG Gulf to improve its real-time customer […]
Sprinklr Appoints Haitham Elkhatib As Senior VP Of Growth Markets
By Sophia Bennett (April 27, 2023)
In this role, Elkhatib will be responsible for accelerating the growth of Sprinklr’s platform and capitalising on the strong demand in MEA and APJI. Sprinklr, a unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform for modern enterprises, announced the appointment of Haitham Elkhatib to Senior Vice President, Growth Markets. In this role, Elkhatib will be responsible for […]
Snap Unveils Latest Features To Help Creators Monetise
By Sophia Bennett (April 25, 2023)
The platform implements dozens of new tools for Creators including Snap Map and ARES Shopping Suite  Snap unveiled an array of new features and advancements that will drive innovation in AR & AI technology, retail as well as the creator ecosystem.  Highlights included core product updates such as brand new story formats that allow the […]
Tapping Into CX Trends to Deliver Meaningful Experience
By Chandni U (April 21, 2023)
Martechvibe spoke to Abdullah Asiri, Founder and CEO at Lucidya, about how enterprise leaders must keep up with CX trends and give customers everything they want.
Botify Launches Botify Assist With ChatGPT
By Sophia Bennett (April 06, 2023)
Botify’s enhanced capabilities will provide a deeper level of analysis and insight to uncover new opportunities and optimise content. Botify, providers of a performance marketing platform for organic search, has launched Botify Assist, a collection of ChatGPT-powered tools to provide additional insight and content recommendations for greater organic search impact. Botify’s enhanced capabilities will provide […]
Qualtrics To Be Acquired By Silver Lake And CPP Investments
By Sophia Bennett (March 14, 2023)
Upon completion of the deal, Qualtrics will become a privately held company and will continue to be led by CEO Zig Serafin Private equity firm Silver Lake, in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), will acquire Qualtrics for approximately $12.5 billion. Upon completion of the deal, Qualtrics will become a privately held […]
Find Out the Can't-miss Sessions At CX NXT, KSA
By Sophia Bennett (March 09, 2023)
CX NXT – The Customer Experience Summit, 2023, will be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on March 14-15, 2023. The summit will have a range of sessions, from keynote addresses to fireside chats and panel discussions, which will help delegates and CX experts sharpen their focus and align with the changing business […]
Avoiding Martech Waste in The Age of Austerity
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (March 06, 2023)
The five big tech companies collectively lost $3.9 trillion in market value. In the same vein, marketing teams are being asked to deliver more with less. Martechvibe spoke to industry experts about how to trim the fat without compromising business goals in the year of efficiency The tech industry witnessed one of its worst years […]
Snap Partners With MMS To Launch Lenses for Saudi Idol
By Sophia Bennett (February 14, 2023)
This is Snapchat’s first initiative in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to launch AR lenses in collaboration with content partner entertainment shows. Snap has announced its exclusive partnership with MBC Media Solutions (MMS), the commercial arm of MBC Group, to launch new augmented reality (AR) lenses for the first-ever season of Saudi […]
Syrve Integrates with Face Id System
By Sophia Bennett (January 30, 2023)
Syrve, MENA’s second largest restaurant management software, has started to integrate one more food-tech trend in the UAE market — Face ID system. The company equips with Face ID functionality in the UAE restaurants in pursuit of digitization and automation aligned with Dubai policy (The UAE Digital Government Strategy 2025) of making the life of […]
Veteran Advice On Creating Future Martech Leaders
By Anushka Pandit (January 06, 2023)
2023 FUTURE SCOPE – We spoke to ten marketing and CX veterans who share advice for fresh talent on building a career, using technology to do your job better, and dealing with industry challenges in 2023 Where does marketing stop and tech begin? It doesn’t! When we say “technology in marketing,” the programmatic, AI-enabled automation […]
Trends That Will Shape The Media And Advertising Industry In 2023
By Sophia Bennett (December 30, 2022)
2023 calls for a period when firms sharpen their attention on marketing and advertising trends to make an impression as consumers grow more cautious about which brands they spend their time on. Dubai-based, Nested VFX, a post-production and visual effects studio, shares its projections in the marketing and advertising sector for the upcoming year:  Back […]
Top Five Data Trends That Shaped Mobile App Marketing In 2022
By Sophia Bennett (December 28, 2022)
AppsFlyer has released its Top 5 Data Trends of 2022. Here are the key trends: Total app installs grew 10 per cent in 2022 despite post-covid digital cooldown, privacy changes, and economic downturn 15 years after the first iPhone was released, it seems smartphones have been embedded in our lives for years now. In other […]
CPA In 2023: What Trends Will Define The Partnership Industry
By Zeid Nasser (December 26, 2022)
During 2022, partner (affiliate) marketing continued to grow in the MENA region, driven by the fast-paced increase of the ecommerce market and the emergence of innovative publishing channels. Brands are no longer content with the simple benefits of the CPA model. Recent regulatory changes and new challenges for the global economy are forcing them to […]
Retention Learnings From Martech Power List Awards 
By Sophia Bennett (December 20, 2022)
What makes your customers churn, and how can you solve this challenge? More than 80% of CMOs in the Middle East are planning to invest heavily to improve engagement with their users, says Hetarth Patel, Managing Director – UAE & Vice President MENA at WebEngage. In an exclusive award ceremony in Dubai last week, Martechvibe […]
Loyalty Learnings From The Martech Power List Awards
By Sophia Bennett (December 20, 2022)
Brands have an opportunity to give something back, and help consumers navigate the economic downturn, says Paul Wallis, Director of Growth at Epsilon in MENA In an exclusive award ceremony in Dubai last week, Martechvibe acknowledged 30+ enterprises in two categories – retention and loyalty to celebrate the teams using marketing technologies to further their […]
Martechvibe Reveals Retention Power List 2022
By Sophia Bennett (December 16, 2022)
In an exclusive award ceremony in Dubai, Martechvibe acknowledged 30+ enterprises in two categories – retention and loyalty to celebrate the teams using marketing technologies to further their strategies. The most highly anticipated event in the martech community in the Middle East took place on December 15 when Martechvibe, in partnership with WebEngage announced the […]
Martechvibe's 2022 Power List Revealed
By Sophia Bennett (December 15, 2022)
In an exclusive award ceremony in Dubai, Martechvibe acknowledged 30+ enterprises in two categories – retention and loyalty to celebrate the teams using marketing technologies to further their strategies. The most highly anticipated event in the martech community in the Middle East took place on December 15 when Martechvibe, in partnership with Epsilon and WebEngage, […]
Appetito & Jumlaty Announce Merger to Join Forces with Nomu
By Sophia Bennett (December 14, 2022)
Two foodtech eGroceries startups, Saudi-based Jumlaty and Egypt-based Appetito, announce their merger into a new entity, NOMU. Aiming to become MENA’s leading food-tech supply chain platform, NOMU is currently present in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, with the capacity to cover the existing infrastructure of 25 million people and 100,000 F&B stores including strategic […]
What to Expect at the Martech Power List Awards
By Sophia Bennett (December 14, 2022)
The Martech Power List will reveal leading enterprises using martech to further growth strategies tomorrow at an exclusive gala event with performances by UAE’s King of Comedy Ali Al Sayed and DJ Martin Avari. The Martech Power List award ceremony will be held on 15 December at Palazzo Versace in Dubai. Over 100 marketing leaders, […]
Modus Leads Koble’s $1.2M Pre-Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (December 09, 2022)
Koble, an AI-powered platform that empowers investors to make better, data-driven investment decisions, has raised a $1.2 million pre-Seed funding round to re-engineer startup investing with AI. The round was led by Modus, a Venture Platform in Mena, and Pitchdrive, a Belgium-based VC. A group of angel investors dedicated to exploring the disruptive potential of […]
SIDEUP Raises $1.2 million Seed, Relocating HQ to Riyadh
By Sophia Bennett (December 06, 2022)
SIDEUP, the Mena region’s e-commerce services platform, has announced the completion of a $1.2 million seed round. This round saw participation from leading global and regional investors in early-stage growth startups, including Launch Africa VC, 500 Global, Riyadh Angels, Alex Angels,  Al Tuwaijri Fund and Saudi angel investor Faisal AlAbdulsalam. Launched in 2019, SIDEUP empowers […]
Place Your Mobile App In A League Of Its Own During The Qatar World Cup
By Paul Wright (December 01, 2022)
With the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, is your company prepared to take advantage of its incredible marketing opportunity? The region is seeing a huge influx of visitors and fans, and with the world’s attention firmly focused here, brands are gearing up to take advantage of this major opportunity. For mobile marketers, in particular, […]
Presenting the Martech Power List for Retention Leaders 
By Sophia Bennett (November 28, 2022)
The editorial-led awards show will take place on Dec 15 at Palazzo Versace Dubai. The Martech Power List celebrates individuals and enterprises leading the charge via retention strategies that are driven by data, and powered by technology. Martechvibe in partnership with WebEngage, the full-stack retention operating system for consumer businesses, will honour Retention Marketing leaders […]
Qashio Raises $10M Accelerate KSA Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (November 23, 2022)
UAE-headquartered fintech Qashio has raised $10 million in a seed round, with participation from strategic international and regional investors to accelerate expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The seed funding round is supported by global investors such as One Way Ventures (early investors in Brex), MITAA, Cadorna Ventures, as well as regional investors such […]
What Drives Consumer Loyalty Has Changed: Paul Wallis, Epsilon
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (November 23, 2022)
“Loyalty programmes are becoming value-led rather than just transaction-based. That’s the main differentiator between traditional and modern-day loyalty programmes that drive engagement through personalisation,” says Paul Wallis, Director of Growth at Epsilon in MENA. When Paul Wallis entered the loyalty marketing space, it was still revolving around reward programmes. Utilising his 12 years of experience […]
CX NXT Celebrates CX Strategy Stalwarts
By Sophia Bennett (November 16, 2022)
The annual Customer Experience awards was launched to acknowledge the region’s leaders and enterprises enhancing customer experience through technology. This year, the CX Strategy Stalwarts award was presented during CX NXT – the Customer Experience summit taking place in Dubai on November 16-17, 2022. Dalia Mansour, Field Marketing Manager, Middle East and Africa at Sprinklr, […]
Order Raises $1 million Pre-Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (November 15, 2022)
Order, a Saudi SaaS startup that provides technical solutions for F&B owners, announced it has successfully raised $1 million In the pre-Seed Funding Round led by several angel investors. This round comes as the company’s first steps in increasing its market share and enhancing the innovation and development of its services. Faisal AlAnazi, ORDER Founder […]
Institutions Must Invest in Career-relevant Education: Kais Zribi, GM at Coursera
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (November 14, 2022)
“Institutions must invest in their human capital by making education more accessible and career-relevant” says Kais Zribi, General Manager for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) at Coursera. Employers say candidates having micro-credentials next to their degrees stand a better chance at employability, as revealed by a Coursera survey. Started by Stanford professors […]
Swftbox Closes $2 million Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (November 10, 2022)
Swftbox, the AI-powered, same-day delivery platform, has closed a seed round worth $2 million. MENA Technology Fund led the funding, joined by Polymath Ventures, AirAngels and Ithraa Investment Company alongside strategic investors from the United States, Europe, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The Abu Dhabi-based Hub71 company will continue to scale its services across the region, […]
Tarjama Group Acquires Subtitling & Dubbing Firm Screens
By Sophia Bennett (November 08, 2022)
Tarjama, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s language technology and services provider, is acquiring Screens, the subtitling, dubbing, and localisation company in the region, expanding Tarjama’s offering to include these vital media services. Founded in 1991 in Lebanon, Screens has evolved into the subtitling and dubbing powerhouse it is today, working with major […]
valU Invests In Live e-Commerce Platform Hoods
By Sophia Bennett (November 04, 2022)
valU, MENA’s Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle-enabling fintech platform, announced its investment in Hoods, the first live entertainment commerce platform in the Middle East. valU’s investment aims to capitalise on Hoods’ unique platform to penetrate the fast-growing virtual shopping space and diversify its offering to both new and existing valU customers and merchants. The investment in […]
Abu Dhabi's Hub71 Introduces Capital Club for Family Offices
By Sophia Bennett (November 01, 2022)
Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has launched a new platform dedicated to increasing capital investment in technology companies, including startups from the region’s leading family offices. Tech ‘Barza’ – meaning majlis – is an exclusive capital club that targets regional family offices for exclusive access to Hub71’s vibrant community of almost 200 startups to […]
Capital Bank of Jordan Revampes Mobile Banking 
By Sophia Bennett (October 31, 2022)
Leveraging Codebase Technologies’  Digibanc platform, the two teams have created a widget-based banking app experience. Capital Bank of Jordan, one of Jordan’s leading banks with a strong regional presence, has launched its new mobile banking app for customers, powered by Codebase Technologies’ Digibanc platform. Launching the revamped mobile banking experience is a milestone in the […]
Global CX Leaders Will Be Speaking at CX NXT 
By Sophia Bennett (October 31, 2022)
With only a few weeks to go until the CX NXT – the Customer Experience Summit is taking place, in Dubai. Martechvibe highlights the international CX experts who will headline this summit. Steven Van Belleghem, who has authored five international bestsellers about customer experience, will be a keynote speaker. Diego-Tarek de Aristegui – Chief Marketing […]
commercetools To Join Seamless Saudi Arabia 2022
By Sophia Bennett (October 28, 2022)
The conference will take place in Riyadh on November 2 and 3, 2022. To present modern ecommerce solutions for a growing market, commercetools -a next-generation digital commerce solutions provider and creator of the term ‘headless commerce’ — will participate in the Seamless Saudi Arabia 2022 event to discuss challenges and demonstrate how modern, flexible eCommerce […]
Quick Commerce Needs to Understand the Value of Consistency
By Aishwarya Rasane (October 24, 2022)
Diego-Tarek de Aristegui, Chief Marketing Officer at MANO and an expert in quick commerce, spoke about Gen Z’s expectations from brands creating a two-way conversation using an increasingly growing democratic toolkit. Diego-Tarek de Aristegui, Chief Marketing Officer at MANO has over 14 years of experience in leading roles at Leo Burnett MENA and Diageo Innovation […]
spocto Unveils Expansion Plan For MENA
By Sophia Bennett (October 21, 2022)
A risk mitigation platform for lenders, spocto leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to provide lenders with an enhanced CX. spocto, a Yubi company, has launched in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with regional headquarters in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). As a leading risk mitigation platform, spocto is establishing a […]
Zamna Partners With AACO
By Sophia Bennett (October 21, 2022)
Zamna will bring innovative digital intelligence solutions within the travel and intelligence solutions. London-based software company Zamna a tech with expertise in innovative digital intelligence solutions within the travel and aviation sector, has signed an Industry Partnership Programme Agreement with the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO). The agreement will see Zamna’s digital identity technology made available […]
MaxAB Gets $40 million pre-Series B round
By Sophia Bennett (October 20, 2022)
MaxAB plans further geographic expansions to see full geographical coverage of Morocco by the end of 2023 and an entry into the KSA MaxAB, the food and grocery B2B ecommerce and distribution platform serving a network of traditional retailers across Egypt and Morocco has announced the close of a $40m pre-series B equity round to […]
Five Big Takeaways From Vibe Martech Fest, Saudi Arabia
By Sophia Bennett (October 20, 2022)
#VMFKSA Vibe Martech Fest took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 18 and 19, 2022. In case you missed it, here are the big learnings from the summit Vibe Martech Fest, Saudi Arabia, was attended by over 150 marketers. The summit took on challenges like adapting to a modern marketing funnel, the evolving definition […]
Subscription Models Are An Iterative Process, Says Vilhelm Hedberg – Founder of ekar 
By Sophia Bennett (October 19, 2022)
#VMFKSA Understand what your pricing and bundle is going to be, suggests Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder of ekar, as he shares his experience with subscription strategies ekar is the Middle East’s largest personal mobility company providing users on-demand access to thousands of car-share, subscription leasing vehicles, and other mobility options, all within its ‘Super App.’ But […]
GROCART To Expand Its Operations In MENA
By Sophia Bennett (October 19, 2022)
Post-pandemic, Grocart boosted operations of Over 1000 One-Stop-Shops in the UAE, helping them thrive and survive. Grocart has delivered over 10,000 orders and signed partnership agreements with market-leading suppliers, with over 3000 products on Grocart from over 200 brands. The company hopes to expand its smart B2B operations across the MENA region after a successful […]
Must-Attend Sessions at Vibe Martech Fest KSA
By Sophia Bennett (October 13, 2022)
The Saudi Arabia edition of Vibe Martech Fest will take place on October 18 and 19, 2022, at voco, Riyadh. It puts together a fantastic line-up of topics such as modern marketing funnel, progressing role of Martech, the powerhouse for digital transformation, and value of retention with personalisation. Global Martech leaders Neil Patel and Fraser […]
Saudi Banks Fail To Meet Digital Experience Expectations Of Customers
By Sophia Bennett (October 11, 2022)
Complaints around digital experience occur when consumers transact more, like during month-end. A new report finds Saudi banks fail to meet customer expectations of digital experience. Saudi Arabia’s digital services market is considered the largest in the MENA region, with annual digital transformation spending reaching SR12 billion ($3.19 billion) annually. For Saudi banking customers, however, […]
AI Technology Functions Best Alongside Humans
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (October 11, 2022)
Jay Gupta, Director of Product Marketing – AI, Automation & Analytics, Talkdesk, speaks about how using conversational AI to field basic customer queries is often an accessible starting point for brands looking to expand their AI capabilities. Gupta said that with the emergence of low- and no-code AI technologies, companies don’t need to rely on […]
Center3 Launch To Enhance Digital Economy Growth In KSA
By Sophia Bennett (October 07, 2022)
The new company will own the digital infrastructure assets owned by stc Group, including data centres, submarine cables, international points of presence, and internet exchange points. stc Group, the digital enabler, inaugurated one of its largest projects, Center3 Company, the regional digital centre for the Middle East and North Africa. The new company will own […]
Ecommerce At High-Growth Stage In MENA
By Sophia Bennett (October 07, 2022)
Around 91% of respondents said they regularly shop online, up from 87 per cent in 2021. Ecommerce in the MENA region has settled into a stable, high-growth era, with increased opportunities for ecommerce players. Data from leading global payment solutions provider Checkout.com’s report: Digital Transformation in MENA 2022, proves that the ecommerce trends accelerated by […]
Global Martech Expert Neil Patel to Speak at Vibe Martech Fest, KSA 
By Sophia Bennett (October 06, 2022)
Vibe Martech Fest’s (VMF) Saudi Arabia edition will take place in-person on October 18 and 19, 2022. Marketing influencer Neil Patel will be headlining the summit Vibe Martech Fest’s KSA edition will be a two-day in-person summit that will engage the marketing leaders’ community in the Kingdom to discuss solutions to the most pressing Martech […]
Events that Pivot with People's Changing Behaviours
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (October 06, 2022)
Event enablers are adapting technological advancements to make events a seamless experience for both online and offline participants. Linkedin released a survey report highlighting the popular trends among event organisers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Over 1,800 marketers in the region participated in the study. Four out of five respondents agreed that […]
Martech Spaces: Twitter
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (October 05, 2022)
In July this year, Marvel tweeted about its upcoming release Wakanda Forever, with a modern version of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry playing in the background. Millions of Marvel fans scrambled onto Twitter timelines to find an answer to the big question, “Who is the next Black Panther?” This undying curiosity compelled 1.3 million […]
CardoO Raises $660,000 Seed round
By Sophia Bennett (October 04, 2022)
CardoO, an Egyptian startup, aims to become the leading Arab brand that provides users with premium and price-effective smart devices CardoO, The Egyptian-based startup, has managed to attract its seed investment round of $660,000 led by The Alexandria Angels, with the participation of Sofico Investments, angel investors from Saudi Arabia, and the European Bank for […]
Omantel, Spitch & Datalyticx Launch Arabic Speaking Virtual Assistants
By Sophia Bennett (September 30, 2022)
Companies forge strategic partnerships to develop Arabic-speaking omnichannel virtual agents unique to the Middle Eastern market. Omantel, the leading telecommunications provider in Oman, Spitch, the provider of Conversational AI solutions, and Datalyticx, an Omani-based startup, will be launching Virtual Assistants. It will ensure better customer service and boost efficiency in Omantel contact centres. This strategic […]
TikTok Launches MENA Creator Hub 
By Sophia Bennett (September 30, 2022)
Introduces promising opportunities for creative content creators to highlight their talents and capabilities. TikTok MENA announced the launch of the Creator Hub program in the UAE, unlocking opportunities for new talents to add their voice to the region’s burgeoning creative economy and contribute to a global cause. The new TikTok initiative aims to identify talents […]
September Tech Roundup: All The Tech News You Need To Know
By Aarti Chawla (September 30, 2022)
Our monthly list of carefully selected news stories ensures that you don’t miss out on technology advancements. September has been a month of technological advancement across industries. From acceptance of metaverse to the latest highlights from Dubai’s biggest tech event of the year, GITEX Global 2022, we have you covered. Metaverse Acceptance Is Growing The […]
SRMG & Warner Bros. Discovery Team up to Launch 'Asharq Discovery'
By Sophia Bennett (September 29, 2022)
Asharq Discovery will be launched to MENA users in 2023 through broadcasts, streaming, and third-party local apps, with a catch-up facility available on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) has entered into a long-term partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to launch ‘Asharq Discovery,’ a new Arabic language channel exclusively for audiences […]
UAE's Tabby, Paymob Announce Partnership
By Sophia Bennett (September 28, 2022)
Two firms have joined to allow Paymob customers to use Tabby’s split payment service. UAE-based “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) provider Tabby and payments company Paymob have announced a partnership that they say will fuel retailer growth in Egypt. Paymob users will now be able to use the Tabby BNPL system, allowing them to split […]
Meet The Speakers At CX NXT, UAE
By Sophia Bennett (September 28, 2022)
With only a few weeks to go until the CX NXT’s UAE edition, Martechvibe highlights the global and regional CX experts that will be headlining the summit. The in-person summit will take place on November 16 and 17, 2022, at Dubai Marina, UAE. The summit will cover a wide range of topics, including customer experience, […]
Cars Are Simply Computers On Wheels
By Yolande DMello (September 26, 2022)
Today, 25 per cent of new cars produced are ‘connected’. By 2026, this number will increase to 60 per cent. Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder of ekar, speaks about cultural considerations, subscription plans and fueling the mobility market with data In an interview with Martechvibe, Vilhelm Hedberg, Founder of ekar, spoke about ekar’s journey,  and how it […]
Meet The Speakers At VMF in Saudi Arabia 
By Sophia Bennett (September 26, 2022)
Less than a month to go for the Vibe Martech Fest (VMF), KSA edition. A flag bearer summit in the region, VMF has a history of tracking and predicting where the martech landscape is headed through veteran voices. The evolution of marketing technology in the Kingdom is at a critical moment. Martech leaders in KSA […]
Yazle Partners With Aswaaq To Provide DOOH Services
By Sophia Bennett (September 22, 2022)
The first fully Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) partnership focuses on bringing premium, relevant advertising to the local Emirati communities. Yazle –a global digital media company specialising in innovative and creative digital advertising campaigns, has signed an agreement with Aswaaq, the local brand delivering a retail experience in a friendly shopping environment. The agreement entails Yazle providing […]
PayTabs Launches Social Commerce In Gulf
By Sophia Bennett (September 20, 2022)
Paymes will serve as PayTab’s social commerce platform across the MENA region. Micro merchants and freelancers across UAE & KSA can set up free web stores and receive social media payments with Paymes. PayTabs announced that millions of freelancers, artisans, consultants, home-based business owners, personal trainers and micro vendors across the United Arab Emirates and […]
Nanovo Enters MENA With Phygital Retail Concept
By Sophia Bennett (September 16, 2022)
European Company designs and implements In-Store Solutions for the first Phygital Retail Space in the Region – 6thStreet.com at Dubai Hills Mall Nanovo, a technology company specialising in creating digitised retail and service spaces, announced that they’ve set up a regional office in the UAE. Hitting the ground running, the company has already firmly established […]
Instagram Launches Parental Supervision Features For Teens 
By Sophia Bennett (September 16, 2022)
The tools and resources are available across the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Instagram announced new tools and resources designed to support parents, guardians and teens on the platform. The tools and resources are available across the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. The new suite of supervision tools will allow parents […]
LYVE Global Acquires Majority Stake In Shopini World
By Sophia Bennett (September 14, 2022)
The latest deal aligns with Lyve’s $150m acquisition strategy to expand its digital ecosystem and geographical expansion. Lyve Global announced acquiring a majority stake in Shopini World. Lyve is Abu Dhabi-based B2B logistics SaaS platform enabling businesses to digitise their customer journey from order to payment to delivery. Shopini World is a leading cross-border ecommerce […]
Gettransfer.com Considering Expansion Across MENA
By Sophia Bennett (September 14, 2022)
The company is seeking further MENA and Asia expansion across the GCC and other MENA regions that demand transport services. Gettransfer.com launched in Dubai earlier this year, followed by Turkey, looking to expand further across Asia, and started operations in Australia. GetTransfer.com, headed by Alexander Sapov, is a global travel mobility marketplace offering customers a […]
How The Metaverse is Shifting the Content Conversation
By Sophia Bennett (September 14, 2022)
Overheard at VMF: The Metaverse promises next-level experiences driven by the three Cs; co-presence, continuity and co-creation. Priya Patel-Chomel, Head of Product Marketing, Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Meta, decodes how brands can put the first foot forward Vibe Martech Fest, the Middle East’s largest marketing and technology leaders summit, concluded last week with […]
Vibe Martech Awards: Recognising The Stellar Performers
By Sophia Bennett (September 09, 2022)
Marking the end of the Vibe Martech Fest’s fourth edition was the annual Vibe Martech Awards (VMA) at Address Dubai Marina, UAE. With a mission to recognise the extraordinary achievements of the region’s marketing professionals, VMA provides an annual distinction of the visionary people pushing boundaries in the martech space. Winners were selected following careful […]
Twitter MENA Reports a 16% Increase In mDAUs in Q2
By Sophia Bennett (September 08, 2022)
Twitter’s Q2 earnings announced a 16 per cent year-on-year growth in average monetisable daily active users (mDAUs) recorded in 2022 (237.8million), with a 39 per cent increase in Tweet engagement. Twitter MENA hosted an event in Riyadh for partners highlighting the platform’s plans for the fourth quarter of 2022. Twitter’s Q2 earnings announced a 16 […]
TOD Comes To MENA Big Screens Across Android-supported TVs
By Sophia Bennett (September 08, 2022)
Compared to other OTT platforms in MENA, TOD also exclusively houses and live streams sports content, which is a significant differentiator. TOD, the Middle East’s homegrown OTT platform with more than 35,000 hours of premium entertainment and sports content, announced its big-screen launch across 21 countries in MENA. The platform can be installed in Android-supported […]
Making Your Martech Stack Future-ready 
By Sophia Bennett (September 07, 2022)
Day one at Vibe Martech Fest saw Martech leaders share critical learnings on how marketers must consolidate tools, invest in tech and create an organisational culture that aligns people and processes Vibe MarTech Fest’s (VMF) fourth in-person edition attracted over 380 delegates on the first day at its Dubai venue. Sowmya Iyer, Founder & Chief […]
Egypt's el-dokan Raises $550,000 Pre-Seed Fund
By Sophia Bennett (September 06, 2022)
el-dokan provides ecommerce APIs for large- and medium-sized retailers and startups, enabling them to build highly customised and personalised ecommerce stores. el-dokan, a company offering enterprise ecommerce technology in MENA, has announced that it successfully secured a $550,000 pre-seed round, led by a cluster of local and regional investors, including EFG EV and Flat6Labs, 500 […]
PIF Launches National Real Estate Registration Services Company
By Sophia Bennett (September 05, 2022)
The company will promote digital transformation and drive development in Saudi Arabia’s real estate sector. The Public Investment Fund announced the launch of the National Real Estate Registration Services Company, which aims to contribute to the digitisation and development of the local real estate sector through a comprehensive digital platform in cooperation with the Real […]
valU And PayTabs Egypt, Partner With notchnco
By Sophia Bennett (September 05, 2022)
Collaboration enables an end-to-end WhatsApp shopping experience in Egypt. valU, MENA’s leading Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) lifestyle promoting fintech platform, PayTabs Egypt, the award-winning payment processing solution, and notchnco, an independent software vendor (ISV) for meta products, announced a collaboration. It will allow valU’s clients to enjoy a unique WhatsApp shopping experience. For the first time […]
Majid Al Futtaim launches SHAREPay
By Sophia Bennett (September 05, 2022)
Leading loyalty programme enables members to ‘Pay, Earn and Redeem’ points in just one tap, using innovative FinTech solutions to enhance customer experience Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia added a new payment solution – SHAREPay – to its SHARE rewards programme. […]
Oliver Wyman Acquires Booz Allen Hamilton's MENA Consulting 
By Sophia Bennett (September 02, 2022)
Deal bolsters Oliver Wyman’s hallmark industry expertise across financial services, energy, the public sector and more while deepening its capabilities and services across cyber, climate and sustainability. Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm and a business of Marsh McLennan, announced the completion of the acquisition of Booz Allen Hamilton’s strategy consulting business serving the […]
Martech Spaces: All Eyes on YouTube
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (September 01, 2022)
An average person spent 100 minutes each day watching online videos in 2021, up from 84 minutes in 2020. With these numbers in place, no wonder marketers are striving to make themselves heard and seen on their dedicated YouTube channels. French footballer Thierry Henry, an assistant coach for the Belgium national team, recently participated in […]
Stake Raises Over $12 M Funds
By Sophia Bennett (August 31, 2022)
Funding marks the largest capital raised by a real estate investment platform in the MENA region. Stake, a Dubai-based digital real estate investment platform, secured over eight million US in an oversubscribed pre-series A funding round. It follows a four million USD seed round the company closed back in June 2021, bringing their total raised […]
AWS Launches Region In UAE
By Sophia Bennett (August 31, 2022)
The second AWS Middle East (UAE) Region allows customers to run workloads and store data securely in the UAE while serving end users with even lower latency. Amazon Web Services announced the launch of its second region in the Middle East, the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region. Developers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, enterprises, government, education, and nonprofit […]
August Round-Up: All The Tech News You Need To Know
By Aarti Chawla (August 31, 2022)
To ensure that you don’t miss on technology advancements, here is our monthly round-up consisting of carefully chosen news stories. August has been a month of technical advancement across industries, from the cloud, NLP development, and cybersecurity to CX, digital banking transformation, and growth in the metaverse. Here is our monthly round-up of carefully selected […]
UAE ArabyAds, Ad Tech Company, Raises $30M
By Sophia Bennett (August 29, 2022)
ArabyAds, through its technology platforms for influencer marketing (iConnect), Coupon based advertising (Boostiny), helps advertisers in customer acquisition and retention. UAE-based ArabyAds, an Adtech company, has raised $30 million in a pre-series B funding round from Africinvest. ArabyAds will use the new financing to expand its footprint and further invest it to accelerate its technological […]
Raqmiyat Partners With Codebase Technologies
By Sophia Bennett (August 26, 2022)
Partnership will accelerate digital banking transformation in UAE & KSA. Raqmiyat, a leading systems integrator and digital transformation solutions provider, has partnered with Codebase Technologies (CBT), a leading global open API banking fintech. The partnership will accelerate digital banking transformation in UAE & KSA, with Raqmiyat serving as a regional business partner and authorised reseller […]
Likee's Short Videos Popular In MENA 
By Sophia Bennett (August 25, 2022)
Likee, a popular short-video platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is transforming how people consume content and acquire knowledge. Likee, a popular short-video platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, is transforming how people consume content, acquire knowledge, and become familiar with various fields such as health, cooking, art, […]
Adverty, Yazle Partner For In-Game Ad Partnership In MENA
By Sophia Bennett (August 25, 2022)
With this partnership in place, Yazel to exclusively represent and sell Adverty’s inventory in MENA. Adverty AB unveiled an exclusive partnership with Yazle –a global digital media company specialising in innovative and creative digital advertising campaigns. This agreement allows the digital agency to exclusively represent and sell Adverty’s inventory in MENA. It will enable regional […]
Speakers You Can’t Miss at Vibe Martech Fest 
By Sophia Bennett (August 24, 2022)
With only a few days left until the Middle East’s biggest marketing technology summit – Vibe Martech Fest. The fourth edition of VMF ME will take place on September 06 and 07, 2022. The summit will cover a wide range of topics such as building a Martech Stack, delivering stellar customer experiences, omnichannel transformation and […]
ADIB-Egypt, Simplifi Announce Partnership 
By Sophia Bennett (August 23, 2022)
The partnership extends SimpliFi’s footprint into five markets across MENA & Pakistan SimpliFi, the Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for banking and fintech industries in MENA and Pakistan, and ADIB Egypt, one of the digitally focused sharia-compliant banks in Egypt, have joined forces to help catalyse payment digitisation for companies in Egypt. This partnership […]
Emirates NBD Launches Metaverse Startup Accelerator
By Sophia Bennett (August 19, 2022)
Accelerator will enhance the customer experience for the new virtual economy in partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Hive Emirates NBD, a banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey), has launched a global accelerator programme for metaverse startups. It will enhance the customer experience for the new virtual […]
Publicis Sapient Acquires Changi Consulting
By Sophia Bennett (August 18, 2022)
A Cloud Solutions Company and a Leading Salesforce Partner in MENA come together. Publicis Sapient, a digital business transformation company, announced the acquisition of Changi Consulting, a cloud solutions company.  Based in Dubai, UAE, Changi was founded in 2010. As Salesforce’s longest-running partner in the UAE, Changi has represented Salesforce in the UAE over the […]
AFS Launches Proprietary BPay App
By Sophia Bennett (August 17, 2022)
Users can use BPay for online purchases, send money by CPR, telephone number of My QR code, and store money for future needs. Arab Financial Services (AFS), the digital payment solutions provider and fintech enabler in the MENA region, launched a new digital wallet and upcoming payments app, BPay. Owned and operated by AFS, BPay […]
GrubTech, Geidea Team Up For E-payment At Restaurants In Egypt 
By Sophia Bennett (August 16, 2022)
This cooperation will add value and merits for GrubTech’s clients in the Egyptian market. Egypt – GrubTech, the UAE’s cloud kitchens, and restaurants tech solutions provider signed an agreement with Geidea — a leading e-payments and fintech platform — to provide its services for the PoSs of GrubTech’s clients. This cooperation will add value and […]
Convertedin Raises $3 Million To Transform Data-led Marketing
By Sophia Bennett (August 11, 2022)
A marketing operating system for brands, Convertedin to launch operations in Brazil while expanding presence in Egypt and Saudi Arabia Convertedin, a marketing operating system for ecommerce brands, has announced it has raised a $3 million seed round from global and regional investors. This round was led by Saudi Arabia headquartered Merak Capital and saw […]
Dubai Attracted 7.12 Million International Visitors In 2022
By Sophia Bennett (August 09, 2022)
Dubai attracted 7.12 million international overnight visitors between January and June 2022, recording more than 183 per cent growth in visitors compared to the same period in 2021. Dubai attracted 7.12 million international overnight visitors between January and June 2022, recording more than 183 per cent growth in visitors compared to the 2.52 million tourists […]
HOODS Seeks Seed Funding To Support Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (August 04, 2022)
The pre-seed fund of $350,000 helped this entertainment shopping platform in ME to build a technology platform and provide various payment and financing solutions. Hoods, the first live entertainment shopping platform in the Middle East, is seeking a seed funding round to support its expansion plan. Hoods was founded by Mostafa Hanafy in Egypt at […]
85 per cent Of Consumers In MENA Embrace Digital Payments
By Sophia Bennett (August 04, 2022)
Consumers are also making purchases in increasingly diverse ways, including through voice assistants and social media apps, revealed Mastercard’s New Payments Index 2022. Some 85 per cent of people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have used at least one emerging payment method in the last year, including tappable smartphone mobile wallets, BNPL, […]
WebEngage Raises $20 Million 
By Sophia Bennett (August 03, 2022)
WebEngage showcased frugality and resilience in its 11-year journey filled with ups and downs, burning only ~$6 million in capital to reach a $20 million revenue run rate WebEngage, a full-stack retention operating system and B2B SaaS startup, announced having raised $20 million in Series B led by Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund and SWC Global, […]
Tarjama Ushers In A New Era With T-Portal 2.0
By Sophia Bennett (August 02, 2022)
Clients using T-Portal get access to dashboards any time, allowing them greater control, centralised view, and real-time order status. Tarjama, the MENA’s language service provider, unveiled its new and improved language and content services platform, T-Portal. T-Portal is the gateway to multilingual content services, including content creation, subtitling, transcription, transcreation, translation, localization, machine translation, reviewing, […]
The MEA Online Payment Gateway To Reach $21 Billion by 2028
By Sophia Bennett (August 01, 2022)
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and UAE are the leading ecommerce markets in the region and thus, offer lucrative opportunities for the online payment gateway providers. According to RationalStat’s analysis, in the Middle East & Africa, online payment gateway is expected to reach $ 21 billion by 2028 from $ 3 billion in 2020, growing at a […]
Why is Google Delaying the Cookie Deadline?
By Kaumudi Kashikar Gurjar (August 01, 2022)
Experts are in no mood to decelerate their efforts to be ready for the cookieless era. The marketing community is preparing to use data to make decisions in the more private world. Google has further delayed the deadline to phase out third-party cookies till 2024. Earlier, the company had announced its plans to get rid […]
July Round-Up: All The Tech News You Need To Know
By Khushbu Raval (July 30, 2022)
Here is our monthly round-up of carefully selected news stories so you don’t miss out. From cloud and digital payment solutions to cybersecurity tools, from Meta’s digital payment tool to Google’s google earth, July has been a month of technological growth across industries, especially in the ecommerce and banking industries. We’ve been keeping track of […]
Data-Driven Marketing Platform ChatFood Raises Funds
By Sophia Bennett (July 28, 2022)
UAE-headquartered omnichannel ordering and data-driven marketing platform, ChatFood, has announced a bridge round of $3 million led by Antler with a reserved amount for key strategic Saudi partners. The funds will be primarily applied towards setting up operations in Saudi Arabia, where the market is expected to reach over $25 billion by 2026, as well […]
Egypt’s The Fashion Kingdom Raises Funds
By Sophia Bennett (July 27, 2022)
The Fashion Kingdom, Egypt’s curated fashion, beauty and home accessories ecommerce marketplace with 360 value proposition for brands, announced the successful completion of a $2.6 million seed funding round. Proceeds will be used to accelerate TFK’s efficient growth, build scalable technology and grow the team. Another strategic priority is to strengthen and scale TFK’s 360 […]
Digital Agency Croud Expands To MENA With Ooredoo Group
By Sophia Bennett (July 27, 2022)
Croud, a global digital marketing agency, announced that it was appointed by Ooredoo Group, a Qatar-headquartered telecommunications company, as its lead digital agency. The appointment will mark Croud’s expansion into the MENA market. Croud will service Ooredoo Group and its MENA companies – including Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq – with paid search, paid social, programmatic, […]
National Bank Of Bahrain Extends Partnership With Mastercard
By Sophia Bennett (July 25, 2022)
The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and global technology company Mastercard have announced a strategic seven-year partnership to elevate their existing offerings. It providea NBB’s customers a differentiated, digital-first experience with value-added benefits. The partnership signing took place during Mastercard’s MENA Executive Council’s inaugural event that was held in Paris, France. The collaboration and consultancy […]
Unicommerce, RedTag Team Up To Automate Operations
By Sophia Bennett (July 22, 2022)
Unicommerce, an integrated SaaS platform, has teamed up with RedTag, the Middle East’s value fashion and homeware brand, to strengthen its ecommerce operations by streamlining the supply chain and ensuring faster delivery. Unicommerce will enable the brand with its order management solutions to manage the rising ecommerce order volumes and ensure that RedTag patrons get […]
UAE ecommerce Platform CNNB Solutions Expands To Kuwait
By Sophia Bennett (July 20, 2022)
CNNB Solutions, MENA’s ecommerce and direct-to-consumer specialist, has announced its regional expansion into Kuwait. The company has established a new office in Kuwait City, as it grows its operations and team. CNNB Solutions already has regional offices in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, supporting a headcount of more than 50 experts from nine different nationalities. […]
Stllr Network Raises Funds For Regional Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (July 19, 2022)
Stllr Network closed a six-figure investment amount after a public beta launch from 500 Global, angel investors through Women Spark and Falak Angels. Stllr provides companies with a plug-and-play marketing model through experimenting with different campaigns like SEO, media buying, social media and more. The funds will be used to hire local talent and regional […]
Microsoft, Majid Al Futtaim Partner To Empower Regional Startups
By Sophia Bennett (July 19, 2022)
Microsoft announced that it plans to join forces with Majid Al Futtaim to empower regional startups and SMEs through the Dubai-based retail giant’s Launchpad Program. As a partner in the Majid Al Futtaim Launchpad accelerator initiative, Microsoft intends to commit resources and expertise to startups and SMEs across the Middle East and North Africa. “The […]
GetExperience Platform Utilises Metaverse For Future Expansion 
By Sophia Bennett (July 13, 2022)
Alexander Pershikov founder of one of the world’s most popular mobility marketplace – GetTransfer.com and founder of GetExperience.com believes the ‘metaverse’ is not some gamers fantasy, but very soon about to come reality. GetExperience.com is a platform that provides users who are getting ready for holiday, or even just exploring around town with adventures, and […]
Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate Partners With TIER Mobility
By Sophia Bennett (July 13, 2022)
Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate has announced a partnership with Berlin-headquartered, TIER Mobility to operate e-bike micro-mobility services in Dubai Festival City. The partnership aims to make movement throughout the area seamless and affordable as well as provide a more environment-friendly method of transport to get around the destination and community. Dubai Festival City is a […]
Martech Spotlight: Mashreq Bank 
By Chandni U (July 13, 2022)
Mashreq is known to be the first bank in the UAE, but its success reflects in the digital-first approach and innovative products How would a parent feel about allowing their children to handle a bank account and be responsible? Mashreq Bank’s latest product innovation is its digital banking proposition – Neo NXT – catering to […]
80% Of People Feel More Included In The Metaverse Than In Real Life
By Sophia Bennett (July 11, 2022)
A global study by Momentum Worldwide, metaverse partners to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), found that 80 per cent of people feel more included in the metaverse than in real life. Consumers are now looking to the metaverse to fill three core aspects of life—inspiration, individuality and inclusion. The global research was conducted using […]
The Role of AR In The Purchase Journey 
By Sophia Bennett (July 09, 2022)
AR technology has been exponentially leveraged across userbases, and industries. Where does AR fit in a marketer’s toolkit? AR allows customers to try on make-up, see what new furniture looks like in their living room, and playfully interact with the brand. Can it be more for a marketer? While AR ads are fun, it can […]
YouTube Shorts Celebrates A Year In The MENA, Releases Insights
By Sophia Bennett (July 08, 2022)
A year ago, YouTube introduced Shorts in the Middle East & North Africa to further its mission to give everyone a voice and help creators grow their audiences and be inspired by new video formats. Since its inception, YouTube Shorts has grown a community of more than 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users globally. As YouTube […]
VMLY&R Unites Three Brands For Fully Connected Offering For MENA
By Sophia Bennett (July 06, 2022)
VMLY&R announced the appointment of Nick Walsh as MENA CEO, uniting under his leadership three brands and companies – VMLY&R, VMLY&R COMMERCE, and GTB – to deliver a seamlessly end-to-end brand experience, customer experience and commerce offering to clients on a global scale. In his new role, Walsh will be responsible for unifying and expanding […]
MEmob+ Integrates Blockchain, Accepts Crypto Payments
By Sophia Bennett (July 05, 2022)
MEmob+ has invested substantially in blockchain technology to offer its clients the most advanced and effective advertising services. Aside from that, MEmob+ now accepts cryptocurrency as payment. With this initiative, MEmob+ extends its hand to not only assist entrepreneurs, crypto investors, agencies, and brands but also decentralised apps (DAPPs), data oracles, blockchain firms, and crypto […]
Anghami Acquires Live Events And Concerts Company Spotlight
By Sophia Bennett (July 05, 2022)
Anghami, the music and entertainment streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced the acquisition of Spotlight Events, an events and concert company specialised in managing and executing live events and concerts in the region. The partnership will see Spotlight Events become Anghami’s arm for live events and concerts, including offline […]
Wearable Tech Brands Under Pressure To Deliver Seamless Experience
By Joe Byrne (July 05, 2022)
Over the past few years, we have seen an acceleration in the adoption of wearable medical technology. A new global study by Cisco AppDynamics has found that 47 per cent of consumers in the UAE currently use at least one wearable health technology device, and this number is set to increase, with 88 per cent […]
1 In 2 MENA Consumers Are Excited About The Metaverse: Study
By Sophia Bennett (July 04, 2022)
GfK, a provider of consumer and market intelligence, analytics, and consulting services, unveiled an exclusive Consumer Pulse Study. The study is aimed at understanding how Middle East Consumers feel about key evolving trends happening globally as well as here in the Middle East and seeks to uncover key trends, barriers, needs, gaps, and drivers impacting […]
Amazon Opens Largest Delivery Station in Abu Dhabi
By Sophia Bennett (June 24, 2022)
Amazon announced the opening of its largest delivery station in Abu Dhabi. The 4,700-sq-m state-of-the-art delivery station is the second largest in the country and provides same-day and one-day deliveries to customers across the city, including those located in outer areas, such as Al Samha, Al Shawamekh, Yas and Saadiyat Islands, Bani Yas, and Al […]
Digital Staffing Platform Jobop Raises Funds 
By Sophia Bennett (June 20, 2022)
Morocco-based on-demand temporary staffing platform Jobop has raised $1 million in a seed round led by Azur Innovation Fund, with participation from Plug and Play, and business angels. The round was closed in April this year. Jobop was launched early 2021. The funds will be used to further improve its tech product and expand to […]
UAE, KSA Retain Regional CSR Leadership: Report
By Sophia Bennett (June 17, 2022)
The UAE and KSA have emerged as regional leaders in the awareness and adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices based on the findings of the second edition of the MENA CSR Survey Report. The survey was conducted by Cicero & Bernay Communication Consultancy (C&B), a leading MENA agency headquartered in Dubai, in partnership with […]
Incubeta Acquires Digital Marketing Agency, Bruce Clay MENA
By Sophia Bennett (June 16, 2022)
Digital marketing group, Incubeta announced its acquisition of Dubai-based integrated digital marketing agency Bruce Clay MENA, specialists in search, social and creative. This acquisition, the fourth in 12 months for Incubeta, will expand its global presence in the Middle East and North Africa, allowing the group to continue driving growth for clients through their expertise, […]
Egyptian Digital Logistics Startup Khazenly Raises $2.5 Million
By Sophia Bennett (June 16, 2022)
Khazenly, the Cairo-based on-demand digital warehousing and fulfilment platform, announces its successful seed fundraise of $2.5 million. The funding round was co-led by leading regional venture capitalists Arzan Venture Capital – which specialised in innovative, early-stage startups, and Shorooq Partners focused on seed-stage tech funding across MENAP. Other investors included Fintech-focused fund – Camel Ventures, […]
Digital Assistant Tool DXwand Raises $1 Million
By Sophia Bennett (June 13, 2022)
The omnichannel conversational AI and digital assistants tool, DXwand, has announced the closing of its pre-Series A investment round of $1 million. The round was led by Huashan Capital, with commitments from angel investors Mr Mohsen Abulleil and Mr Ahmed Bakeer. US-based VC firm SOSV, the earliest investor in DXwand’s seed round, has also supported […]
Alibaba Cloud Adds Innovative Solutions To Accelerate MENA Digitisation
By Sophia Bennett (June 10, 2022)
Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, bringS a set of end-to-end innovative products and vertical solutions to better support local digitalisation and ecosystem innovations in the MENA region. It targets key focused sectors with huge demands in digital transformation, including retail, finance, transportation and sustainable energy. The vertical products and […]
Balto Offers Its Conversation Excellence Solutions On Talkdesk 
By Sophia Bennett (June 09, 2022)
Balto, a real-time guidance platform for contact centres, announced it is launching its suite of conversation excellence solutions on Talkdesk AppConnect. It empowers businesses to seamlessly combine real-time guidance, real-Time coaching, and real-time QA with their existing Talkdesk CX Cloud solution. “Talkdesk has built a top-tier marketplace for contact centres to find AI solutions that […]
Retail Growth SaaS Startup Gamiphy Raises Funds
By Sophia Bennett (June 09, 2022)
Retail- growth SaaS startup, Gamiphy has raised $1.55 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Kuwait-based Al Muhallab VC with the participation of Jordan’s Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund (ISSF), Bank of Palestine, and a group of angel investors, in addition to funding from the Innovative Private Sector Development (IPSD) project. Gamiphy allows […]
Telephony Communications Technologies Launches TCTx
By Sophia Bennett (June 08, 2022)
TCTx is the metaverse arm of Telephony Communication Technologies, one of the early adopters of Web 3.0 technologies in MENA where customers will be able to access a wide range of solutions in digital, blockchain, finTech, Xaas, ICT, mobility, telco, and managed services to improve efficiency, transformation and grow their businesses. TCTx is one of […]
valU Expands To Saudi Market Through Partnership With Alhokair
By Sophia Bennett (June 07, 2022)
FAS Labs, owned by Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair Co. (“Alhokair”), the franchise retailer in Saudi Arabia, and Arabian Centres Company (“ACC”), the owner, developer, and operator of lifestyle shopping centres in Saudi Arabia, have entered into a strategic partnership with valU for Consumer Finance S.A.E. The agreement will accelerate the geographical expansion of the MENA region’s […]
e& enterprise, DataRobot Launch Enterprise AI As A Service
By Sophia Bennett (June 06, 2022)
e& enterprise, part of e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group), has entered into a strategic three-year alliance with DataRobot, a US-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform provider, to launch an Enterprise AI as a Service (AlaaS) offering to support government and private companies in their digital transformation journey. The Enterprise AI as a Service (AIaaS) is […]
Snap Launches Dynamic Travel Ads
By Sophia Bennett (June 03, 2022)
Snap. has announced the launch of Dynamic Travel Ads, a new ad product for advertisers in the travel industry. This is a significant category expansion for Snap’s Dynamic Ads offering and is uniquely positioned for travel and tourism advertisers including hotels, airlines, and online travel agencies. With Dynamic Travel Ads, advertisers can seamlessly and automatically […]
Over Half Of The UAE Population Use Digital Wallets: Survey
By Sophia Bennett (June 03, 2022)
A new survey by MENA payments solutions provider, Checkout.com, has found over half of the UAE population are using digital wallets for the first time. The survey reveals that security remains the most important factor for UAE residents when shopping online – with nearly 40 per cent of respondents trusting digital wallets as much as […]
Hyperpay Raises Funds Led By Mastercard
By Sophia Bennett (June 02, 2022)
KSA-based and MENA servicing payments services provider HyperPay has raised $36.7 million in a funding round led by Mastercard with investments from Amwal Capital Partners and AB Ventures. The transaction with Mastercard will help accelerate HyperPay’s expansion beyond payments to deliver a complete suite of financial products that meet the evolving needs of its customers […]
Zoho Announces Arabic ecommerce Store Builder And Integration
By Sophia Bennett (June 01, 2022)
Zoho Corporation, a global technology company, announced a right-to-left (RTL) Arabic website builder for its ecommerce platform, Zoho Commerce. In addition, Zoho announced its integration with Tap Payments, a payment solutions provider in the MENA region, to empower businesses throughout their digital transformation journey. “Zoho is committed to serving the local businesses in the UAE […]
Jafza, Dubai Trade Reveal Data-Driven Capabilities For ecommerce
By Sophia Bennett (June 01, 2022)
Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) and Dubai Trade, DP World’s trade and logistics hub and premiere trade facilitation platform are to showcase their dynamic capabilities at Seamless Middle East 2022. From design to distribution, the two companies offer the perfect environment for ecommerce businesses to thrive in the Middle East, with Dubai as their hub. […]
Mastercard, HyperPay Expand Digital Payment Rails In Mena
By Sophia Bennett (May 31, 2022)
A tie-up between Mastercard and HyperPay will see multi-rail capabilities and gateway solutions reach new customer segments across Mena through the adoption of innovative and frictionless payment ecosystems. Mastercard is a technology leader in the global payments industry, and Saudi Arabia-based HyperPay is the fastest growing ecommerce payments services provider in Middle East and North […]
Technostacks Launches MENA's Local Courier, Taxi Booking App
By Sophia Bennett (May 30, 2022)
Technostacks is a web and mobile application development company has launched MENA’s local courier, shipment, & taxi booking app to enable consumers and businesses to locally transport packages in the MENA region. The clubbed on-demand transportation application with courier services, shipment, and taxi booking functionalities is in the local language to facilitate users to handle […]
WebEngage Releases Customer Retention Playbook
By Sophia Bennett (May 27, 2022)
The report sheds light on some of the winning strategies in contemporary user engagement and customer retention strategies in the MENA region. Consumer buying behaviour has evolved and continues to grow dramatically. As a result, it has become mission-critical for brands to pivot to omnichannel approaches and engage the right customer at the right time […]
74% UAE’s Shoppers To Spend More Online In 2022: Survey
By Sophia Bennett (May 27, 2022)
Global ecommerce accelerator Pattern has polled online shoppers in the United Arab Emirates to understand their online buyer behaviour, including how they are using marketplaces such as Amazon and Noon. The results back up predictions of the growth in the UAE’s ecommerce market size from $10 billion in 2021, to $17 billion in 2025, according […]
mFilterIt Launches Insight-Driven Solution Suite
By Sophia Bennett (May 26, 2022)
mFilterIt has launched the second phase of its state-of-the-art, AI-powered solution suite, mScanIt. It allows quick commerce (Q-commerce) brands to keep ahead of the game and be the preferred outlet choice for consumers in a crowded online market. The mScanIt tool helps online retailers keep products at an optimal price, manage stock availability and safeguard […]
SmartBear and BCT Announce Strategic Partnership
By Sophia Bennett (May 25, 2022)
SmartBear, a provider of software development and quality tools, announced a strategic partnership with Bahwan CyberTek (BCT), a global provider of digital transformation solutions and services. Founded in 1999, BCT has a strong presence throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Asia Pacific, and North America. More than 4,000 BCT employees deliver innovative solutions and […]
UAE-Based Recruiting Platform Ogram Raises Funds 
By Sophia Bennett (May 24, 2022)
Ogram, the region’s digital on-demand staffing platform has announced a $3 million Series A funding round, led by Modus Capital and Aditum Investment Management. Dtec Ventures, the investment arm of Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus, and DAAL VC, among others. Ogram is a digital staffing marketplace that enables businesses to book and manage staff on-demand. Its […]
Tatweer Misr Signs MoU With Schneider electric For Smart Cities
By Sophia Bennett (May 20, 2022)
Schneider Electric signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tatweer Misr, a real estate developer in Egypt, to integrate technological innovation, starting from the design to the smart management phase of the project. The partnership will allow the pioneering developer to utilise the iTWO platform, established by Schneider Electric’s RIB Software, as one of the […]
BEDU, Omada Partner For Web3 And NFT eCommerce System
By Sophia Bennett (May 20, 2022)
BEDU, the Dubai-based leader of Metaverse and Web3 technologies in the Middle East, and Omada, the performance-based digital marketing and eCommerce advertising group in the MENA region, have announced a strategic partnership to jointly develop and deploy an NFT-based eCommerce marketing solution. The collaboration will leverage Omada’s relationships with more than 450 regional retailers through […]
Healthtech Startup Doxx Launches After Raising $1.5 Million 
By Sophia Bennett (May 19, 2022)
Doxx launches a fully integrated digital platform in the MENA region. The platform connects medical professionals and institutional healthcare providers to support the patient’s medical journey, increase accuracy, as well as improve the quality of service while reducing healthcare costs for the patient. The startup successfully raised $1.5 million in a seed round, with expansions […]
MMA Smarties MENA 2021 Winners Receive NFT Awards 
By Sophia Bennett (May 19, 2022)
MMA Smarties commemorated innovative and effective modern marketing campaigns that ran across the Middle East and North Africa region during 2021 with NFTs. Known as Smarties MENA Into The Metaverse, the tokenised awards were created by an Istanbul-based artist, Efe Balun. He designed four exclusive animated artworks representing the trophy categories (Bronze, Silver, Gold and […]
Do You Have A Strong Tiktok Ad Game? 
By Aarti Chawla (May 19, 2022)
Thinking about using TikTok marketing for your business? Well, you should. TikTok has around 6.72 million users within the UAE In 2021, TikTok extended a partnership agreement with eCommerce firm Shopify allowing brands to create shoppable video ads that could drive customers to online stores. You cannot underestimate the power of TikTok, which has more […]
Greek Tourism Partners With Qatar Airways, Wego
By Sophia Bennett (May 16, 2022)
The Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) has signed two strategic partnerships with Qatar Airways and online travel agent Wego at the recently concluded Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, UAE. The announcements were officially presented at a press conference on the GNTO stand hosted by the General Secretary of the GNTO, Dimitrios Fragakis, and comes […]
Is Augmented Reality the Future of Shopping?
By Aarti Chawla (May 13, 2022)
For retailers seeking for new ways to amaze their consumers, augmented and virtual reality is a perfect method to accomplish that. You saw a dress online that you really like. But you have doubts. Will it suit you? And even if it does, will it be what you have imagined? Enter AR-enabled shopping apps that […]
Demand For Ramadan Ads To Sell Properties Amid Decline In Demand In Egypt
By Sophia Bennett (May 10, 2022)
This year’s Ramadan witnessed a significant increase in advertising campaigns from real estate developers despite the noticeable decline in property sales caused by the global crisis kickstarted by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. In spite of a high number of innovative advertising campaigns for real estate development companies to showcase their new projects and the luxury they […]
Do Breadcrumbs Matter For SEO?
By Aarti Chawla (May 06, 2022)
Breadcrumb navigation is a way to show your users where they are and how they got there. It’s an essential part of SEO and shouldn’t be overlooked Remember Hansel and Gretel’s story of leaving breadcrumbs so they could find their way home if they got lost? Unluckily, birds ate the breadcrumbs. But thankfully, the internet […]
dubizzle Launches ‘dubizzle cars’ Campaign Across Enoc Stations
By Sophia Bennett (April 29, 2022)
dubizzle launches ‘dubizzle cars’ campaign to attract customers. In addition to an extensive array of ‘always-on’ social media campaigns, dubizzle cars’ wide-reaching and lively presence, many other out-of-home advertising platforms is a crucial facet of the company. The campaign creatives are designed to explain in simple terms how buying or selling your car with dubizzle […]
Tradeling Launches Another Fulfilment Centre 
By Sophia Bennett (April 28, 2022)
Tradeling, the MENA region’s eMarketplace focused on B2B transactions announced the launch of its second fulfilment centre in Dubai to meet market demand following the growth it witnessed in Q1 of this year. The new facility is also part of Tradeling’s larger growth strategy focused on strengthening its operations in the UAE and expanding its […]
Should Brands Be Investing In Metaverse Real Estate?
By Sophia Bennett (April 28, 2022)
Real estate sales in the metaverse reached $500 million in 2021, and the sales volume is expected to double in 2022. Brands are eyeing virtual property believing that the metaverse will change the game in the coming years. Taking the real out of real estate, the metaverse is becoming a huge real estate market with […]
88% Consumers To Pay More For A ‘Great Brand Experience’
By Sophia Bennett (April 28, 2022)
Some 88 per cent of consumers in UAE and KSA have revealed that they will pay more to receive a great brand experience, revealed TBWA\RAAD in their Next Innovation survey. About 92 per cent of consumers say they choose brands that surprise and delight them while 85 per cent of consumers say that having bad […]
Amazon Payment Services Announces New Country Head In Saudi Arabia
By Sophia Bennett (April 25, 2022)
Amazon Payment Services, a payment service provider operating across the MENA region, has announced the appointment of Mona Alsemayen as the Country Head, Strategy and Growth for Amazon Payment Services in Saudi Arabia. Peter George, Managing Director of Amazon Payment Services, said: “We are excited to welcome Mona into our team. In this critical role, […]
Saudi Startup Retailo Acquires eCommerce Marketplace DXBUY
By Sophia Bennett (April 25, 2022)
Saudi-based start-up Retailo, a business-to-business (B2B) platform for retail supply chains, has acquired Dubai’s eCommerce marketplace DXBUY for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition, which follows a Series A investment round early this year that raised $36 million, is part of the company’s growth strategy in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) region. DXBUY’s […]
AI Group Pixis Enters The MENA Market After Recent Funding
By Sophia Bennett (April 25, 2022)
Pixis, a contextual codeless AI infrastructure provider for demand generation and marketing optimisation, has announced its ingress into the MENA markets. Founded by Shubham A. Mishra, Vrushali Prasade and Hari V, Pixis is a California-based technology company that provides codeless AI infrastructure to enable customers to scale accurate data-driven marketing. It had recently closed a […]
Paymob Partners With Bank Alfalah To Drive Digital Payment in Pakistan
By Sophia Bennett (April 21, 2022)
Paymob, a digital payments provider in the MENA region, has announced a strategic relationship with Bank Alfalah. Paymob’s partnership with one of Pakistan’s private banks will drive financial inclusion and lead the way for swift payment acceptance and follow Paymob’s Pakistan market entry, and general Menap expansion strategy. Paymob has signed an agreement with Bank […]
How Logistics Can Shape The Future Of eCommerce
By Khushbu Raval (April 21, 2022)
One of the less often thought about digital and retail revolution components is how exactly customers and businesses will receive products. eCommerce is growing at a phenomenal rate and the logistics industry has an opportunity to increase profitability and reduce freight spending by overcoming the challenges of moving products globally. Faster, more flexible delivery and […]
Snap Introduces AR-powered Virtual Mall In The MENA Region
By Sophia Bennett (April 20, 2022)
Snapchat’s new virtual mall provides a true-to-life retail experience in partnership with leading brands such as L’Oreal, AL Futtaim- IKEA, Namshi and Samsung Consumers this Ramadan will be able to browse their favourite products through a unique shopping experience powered by the launch of Snapchat’s first-ever augmented reality (AR) led virtual mall in the MENA […]
How eCommerce Will Move To Unlimited Reality 
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (April 20, 2022)
To be ahead of the game, eCommerce companies will require to adapt and integrate technologies, such as virtual try-on, gaming and interactive storytelling concepts that increase engagement Imagine watching a TV show and buying the pretty dress one of the stars is wearing within the show’s environment. Or better, smart, interconnected appliances remembering to buy […]
‘OlaHub’ Online Social Gifting Platform Launches In Bahrain
By Sophia Bennett (April 19, 2022)
‘OlaHub’, an online social gifting platform, has been launched in Bahrain by Gulf Future Business (GFB) in partnership with Olahub Jordan. OlaHub introduces eCommerce within a social context. In addition to being able to buy for oneself, it keeps one connected with one’s family and friends to provide gifting options, as it’s the first platform […]
Google Launches Plus Codes In 18 Countries Across MENA
By Sophia Bennett (April 19, 2022)
Google has announced the launch of the latest Plus Codes feature on Google Maps in 18 countries across MENA including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt Morocco, Algeria and more. Plus Codes are free, open-sourced, digital addresses that provide simple and accurate addresses for any place on Earth, including for places that don’t have accurate […]
BEDU, UAE's Metaverse Pioneer, Has Officially Begun Operations In Dubai
By Sophia Bennett (April 19, 2022)
BEDU, Dubai’s leading innovator in Web3 technologies and solutions, announced its UAE launch along with a vow to provide enterprises, governments, and individuals with the tools and expertise they need to ‘create the next digital frontier.’ BEDU was established to attract global experience and investment to the UAE to speed the development of Web3, blockchain, […]
Egyptian Healthtech Rology Raises Funds For MEA Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (April 14, 2022)
Egypt-based teleradiology platform Rology, has closed a Pre-Series A round, with participation from Egypt Ventures, Sequence Ventures, Waseel, Tawaref, and Viktoria Ventures. Amr AboDraiaa, the co-founder and CEO Rology, said, “After the pandemic era, and the rapid increase in the radiology demand globally and in the MEA region, we have the responsibility to improve the […]
How Mashreq Neo Boosted Customer Adoption
By Yolande DMello (April 12, 2022)
Mashreq Neo leveraged MoEngage’s omnichannel customer engagement framework to streamline customer onboarding, boost debit card adoption, and increase its loyalty program consumption. In 2017, Mashreq Bank launched Mashreq Neo, a new full-service digital bank to cater to the day-to-day needs of a world on the move. The vision for the new digital bank was to […]
UAE-Based B2B Digital Platform Raises Funds For Business Growth
By Sophia Bennett (April 12, 2022)
Right Farm, a disruptive UAE-based B2B digital platform that sources fresh produce from local and international farms for the food and retail sector, announced that it has raised $2.8 million in its seed funding round. DisruptAD, ADQ’s venture platform, and Enhance Ventures, the venture studio for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, Turkey (MENAPT) region, […]
First Metaverse Incubator Launches In The Middle East 
By Sophia Bennett (April 12, 2022)
MetaIncubator is the first Metaverse Incubator in the Middle East and its goal is to incubate early-stage Metaverse and Web3 projects through Dubai as a hub. It aligns with the Dubai government’s digital strategy and provides engineering, tokenomics, marketing, and investment services to startups. It also helps startups that want to get into the growing […]
Metaverse May Not Be The Promised Land
By Chandni U (April 11, 2022)
Metaverse promises to revolutionise the way users shop and socialise. But not everyone is optimistic. Virtual space with advanced gadgets that might one day allow people to smell, or even feel the products on the virtual shelf is hoped to be the metaverse. The virtual world is already on the path of a business-focused Web […]
valU, OPPO Partner To Offer Financing Solutions To Customers in Egypt
By Sophia Bennett (April 08, 2022)
valU, a subsidiary of EFG Hermes Holding (HRHO), announced a partnership with OPPO, the leading smart device manufacturer. This partnership will enable OPPO’s customers to benefit from valU’s financing plans when buying products across the retail network of OPPO. Accordingly, customers can purchase a wide range of products offered by OPPO, including phones, tablets, earphones, […]
Social Empowers Brands To Do Good This Ramadan 
By Sophia Bennett (April 07, 2022)
#RAMADAN22 With social media becoming more scattered, brands must carefully craft their social media strategies to stand out. All it takes is a quick scan of the currency note through Snapchat’s new AR filter to make a WHO donation. That’s an easy technological solution to keep your Ramadan spirit going. Ramadan is when the usage […]
GLT Express Expands Into Egypt By Acquiring Gallop Express
By Sophia Bennett (April 07, 2022)
Saudi Arabia-based company GLT Express, the logistics arm of Global Logistics and Technology (GLT) Holdings, has extended its activities to the Egyptian market by acquiring the Egyptian logistics company Gallop Express. The acquisition is a part of GLT’s plans to expand its operations beyond the GCC countries and into further countries in the MENA region. […]
Visa and PopID Partner For Facial Verification Payments In The ME
By Sophia Bennett (April 06, 2022)
PopID, a consumer authentication service, and Visa, a digital payments provider, announced a partnership to collaborate on launching facial verification payment acceptance in the Middle East region. The partnership’s goal is to provide cardholders with new safe, secure, and innovative ways to pay. The first operators to welcome PopPay (PopID’s facial biometric payment solution) in […]
Snap Brings Over 70 Shows To Snapchat This Ramadan
By Sophia Bennett (April 05, 2022)
#RAMADAN22 Snap has announced a line-up of its Ramadan shows, as Snapchatters in the region continue to watch increasing content on the platform during the holy month. Snapchatters will be able to watch an exciting variety of content and shows from Discover partners over the month of Ramadan. This will include more than 70 shows […]
DHL Express Launches ME-Istanbul Route For Better Customer Service
By Sophia Bennett (April 04, 2022)
DHL Express MENA recently launched a direct flight from Bahrain to Istanbul, following a lease agreement with Texel Air whereby DHL has contracted the cargo operator’s Boeing 737-800BCF aircraft for this route. This move supports DHL’s Middle East network optimisation strategy, increasing air efficiencies and enhancing transit times. The new Bahrain-Istanbul-Bahrain flight will be operated […]
Turkey’s Martech Landscape Is Promising
By Chandni U (April 04, 2022)
In the last few years, Turkey’s marketing technology landscape has witnessed accelerated growth, especially in the eCommerce, SaaS and logistics sectors Two words that best describe Turkey’s martech landscape in the last few years are ambitious and determined. Turkey has seen a significant increase in business investments in the last few years. By the end […]
CallisonRTKL Unveils Key Trends Driving Middle East Retail Sector
By Sophia Bennett (April 01, 2022)
Physical retail environments are simplifying in-person transactions and are enabled by a mobile digital tool. They are offering more bespoke, localised and service-based experiences, stated CallisonRTKL (CRTKL), a global cultural agency specialising in architecture, planning and design, in its recent report identifying the key trends for the technological evolution in the retail sector.  Going forward, […]
Admix And JGroup Partner To Bring In-Play To MENA Brands
By Sophia Bennett (April 01, 2022)
Admix, the hypergrowth technology company guiding brands into gaming and the metaverse has joined forces with JGroup, the Dubai-based media powerhouse of subsidiaries across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, to bring In-Play advertising to the group’s clients. JGroup will now make Admix’s In-Play ad placements part of the media mix they offer for DOOH brand […]
Cloud-Based eCommerce Startup CommerceUp Debuts in MENA Region 
By Sophia Bennett (March 31, 2022)
CommerceUp, a start-up service provider of cloud-based eCommerce platform, has debuted in the MENA region to offer a next-generation end-to-end unified technology solution. Its solutions are designed to allow businesses to rapidly and efficiently scale online, thus enabling them to bring 100 per cent attention to their core products, brand and customers. Piyush Pathak, Founder […]
Fast Company ME Appoints DViO Digital MENA As Its Digital Marketing Agency
By Sophia Bennett (March 30, 2022)
DViO Digital, a global creative-tech and digital-first marketing agency, has been appointed as the social and digital media marketing agency for Fast Company Middle East. One of the fastest-growing digital agencies of 2022, DViO Digital will be leveraging its digital and social media expertise to strategise the launch of Fast Company in the Middle East […]
Vibe Martech Fest To Kick off South Africa Edition in July
By Sophia Bennett (March 30, 2022)
Vibe Martech Fest’s (VMF) second South Africa edition will take place on July 27 and 28, 2022.  The two day virtual conference will present experts in the field to talk through a practical approach to multi-touch attribution, securing first-party data, using low-code platforms to accelerate digital transformation, integrating MarTech with legacy systems and look ahead […]
Amazon Signs MoU With Monsha’at
By Sophia Bennett (March 30, 2022)
Amazon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Monsha’at, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, to enable independent businesses to sell their products to millions of customers across the kingdom on Amazon.sa.  As part of the MoU, Amazon will work with Monsha’at to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and empower them […]
Micromobility Startup SPIDERS Raises $1.4 Million
By Sophia Bennett (March 29, 2022)
SPIDERS, a Saudi micro-mobility rentals company has closed a $1.4 million pre-seed investment round led by Watheeq Capital. The company has been able to expand in vital areas in Jeddah and Riyadh cities in more than 16 different locations serving thousands of rides. SPIDERS is on a mission to enable people to move around in […]
Saudi Sary Expands To Pakistan By Investment In B2B eCommerce Jugnu
By Sophia Bennett (March 25, 2022)
Sary, the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce platform, announced it has taken a significant stake in the Pakistani B2B eCommerce platform Jugnu, leading Jugnu’s $22.5 million Series A round. Fueled by a $75 million Series C funding round for a combined $112 million in funding to date, Sary’s investment marks […]
Etihad Airways Ties Up With Citi To Enhance Automation, Efficiency
By Sophia Bennett (March 25, 2022)
Citi has renewed its cash management mandate with UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways, further assisting the airline with a major treasury transformation journey, helping to enhance its automation, digitalisation and overall efficiency. Etihad will gain access to Citi’s breadth of digital capabilities across working capital and liquidity management, payments and collections, reconciliation and visibility, as […]
FlapKap Raises Funds For MEA Expansion, Rapid Merchant Acquisition
By Sophia Bennett (March 23, 2022)
FlapKap, a company revolutionising eCommerce and SaaS growth in the MEA region, announces its launch and successful completion of a $1.2 million fundraise. The fundraising was led by A15, the leading MENA venture capital firm, and one of the most prominent backers of early-stage start-ups in the region. FlapKap is the regionally contextualised version of […]
Dubai-Based Visual Content Platform Flashy Raises Funds For Expansion 
By Sophia Bennett (March 22, 2022)
Dubai based visual content SaaS platform, www.flashy.ae, the first sophisticated AI-powered content solution tailor-made for brands across MENA, has secured pre-seed funding with the support of regional and global backers. The $400,000 pre-seed round will enable Flashy to expand the current team structure as it launches a new seed round raise of $2M, just seven […]
Our Audience Is In An Active Mindset
By Yolande DMello (March 21, 2022)
Snapchatters in MENA are adopting new behaviours that are changing the world. For example, users are twice more likely than non-Snapchatters to say they use AR to try-on products. Is the Snapchat Generation building the future of retail? Snap’s bringing AR to the population along with immersive video and gamification, and brands are hungry to […]
Lucky Raises Funds For ME Expansion, Building Reward Capabilities 
By Sophia Bennett (March 21, 2022)
Lucky, Egypt’s app for credit products, offers and cashback rewards, announces its $25 million fund Series A raise. The funding round, which is Egypt’s largest Fintech Series A round so far, was led by Nclude by global Ventures, and Egypt’s largest national banks – Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire. Major […]
Sitecore Announces Latest Developments At Symposium World Tour
By Sophia Bennett (March 18, 2022)
Sitecore the global leader in end-to-end digital experience management software, hosted its annual Symposium World Tour event in Dubai, while highlighting the company’s exciting regional strategy and announcing its latest developments. Hershna Langworth, Director of E-Commerce, Kerzner International said: “Partnering with Sitecore enabled a stronger digital presence for Kerzner International. Thanks to Sitecore and its […]
Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate Launches New Phase Of “Aura” Smart Homes
By Sophia Bennett (March 18, 2022)
Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE), the real estate development and operations arm of Al-Futtaim Group, announced the new phase of “Aura” apartments in Cairo Festival City (CFC). The launch comes after the outstanding business progress rate in “Aura” apartments, which has reached over 60 per cent, including 404 fully-finished smart units, with areas ranging from […]
Saudi Arabia Signs Deal With Amazon For eCommerce Development
By Sophia Bennett (March 17, 2022)
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment has entered a deal with US retail giant Amazon to develop the kingdom’s eCommerce sector. The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed on Tuesday, is also part of the government’s efforts to build local capabilities and attract sustainable investment practices to Saudi Arabia, the ministry said on Twitter. The ministry did […]
Can You Balance Privacy & Personalisation?
By Aarti Chawla (March 17, 2022)
Despite online shoppers’ desire for convenience, they are less likely to share data to improve customer experiences. Is it possible for them to have it both ways?  Personalisation and privacy are frequently discussed as though they are mutually incompatible. They don’t have to be in a world without cookies. Personalisation and privacy are driving a […]
C2C Marketplace Soum Raises Funds To Emerge From Stealthmode
By Sophia Bennett (March 15, 2022)
Soum, a Riyadh-based C2C marketplace, has emerged from stealth with $4 million in seed funding led by Outliers Venture Capital and Mazen Aljubeir. ‍Soum is reimagining recommence in the MENA region and beyond by building the most convenient, trustworthy, and transparent recommence marketplace, starting with consumer electronics in Saudi Arabia. The round also included participation […]
MBC Solutions, Snap Partner For Exclusive Content On Snapchat
By Sophia Bennett (March 10, 2022)
MBC Media Solutions (MMS), the commercial arm of MBC GROUP, has announced a new partnership with Snap to bring more exclusive MBC GROUP content to Snapchat. The agreement comes in the wake of the massive success and growth MBC GROUP experienced in 2021 on Snapchat, with MMS and Snap agreeing to develop this partnership to […]
SMS: A Goldmine for Retail Sector
By Raviteja Dodda (March 09, 2022)
Post adoption of SMS marketing, retailers have realised an uptick in sales, have enhanced their brands’ awareness and built loyal customers… World over, marketers have found a reliable way of reaching out to their customers. With an open and read rate of 98 per cent, SMSes is the most reliable way to send promotion or […]
UAE-Based Dukkantek Raises Funds To Accelerate GCC Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (March 09, 2022)
Dukkantek, the United Arab Emirates’ revolutionary store management platform has raised $5.2 million to facilitate the expansion of its operations across the GCC. This first round of fundraising will allow the innovative company to continually improve its technology stack, expand the platform’s reach, and serve its ever-growing merchant base. Mariam Kremer, Partner at Global Founders […]
AHOY Raises Funds To Deploy Its Tech Across Mobility-Related Sectors
By Sophia Bennett (March 08, 2022)
AHOY, a movement tech infrastructure company, is enabling a new future of movement and mobility digital networks through ground-breaking technology. It revealed the details of the latest funding round of $20 million, which takes the total investment from inception to $27 million. The company also plans to do a bridge funding round in the following […]
Look At Technology Vendors As Business Partners
By Victor Dey (March 08, 2022)
While the conversation about data-driven decisions is hotter than ever in the marketing world, fundamental challenges such as siloed data present a real operational problem. Maha Alaoui, Manager – Solution Engineering – Middle East & North Africa (MENA) at Salesforce speaks about the steps companies need to take to build a single system of record. […]
Key Takeaways From Mobile World Congress 2022
By Sophia Bennett (March 07, 2022)
There was plenty of technological innovation on display, spanning the metaverse and Wi-Fi 7 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which made a big comeback. Last week, thousands gathered at the event in Barcelona to hear the latest advancements in 5G and mobile technologies. Here are some highlights from the event that concluded last Friday.  […]
Are Changing Attitudes Closing The Gender Gap In Tech?
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (March 07, 2022)
Men might dominate technology, but the women successfully breaking into the industry and trailing a blaze report good things If you think women haven’t really caught up to men in the field of technology, you might be right. Barriers to entry for women in tech are numerous, and the number of women working in the […]
Chefaa Raises Funds To Digitise Chronic Illness Management, Expand Network
By Sophia Bennett (March 07, 2022)
Chefaa, Egypt’s patient-centred pharmacy benefits platform, has announced raising a venture round from Newtown Partners and Global Brain as well as GMS Capital Partners. The undisclosed round is part of Chefaa’s journey to further expand its network, support the release of its Chefaa Prime product, a complete medical insurance alternative designed for emerging markets and […]
How The Saudi Government Is Giving A Digital Push
By Yolande DMello (March 02, 2022)
From cognitive cities to blockchain boot camps, the Saudi Arabian ministry is pulling out all the stops to make sure Vision 2030 sees fruition Saudi Arabia aims to be the MENA region’s largest digital economy. There’s plenty of proof that this will soon be true. Consider the $6.4 billion in investments in future technologies and […]
Here’s Why Saudi Arabia Is A Digital Riser 
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (March 02, 2022)
The country has launched investments worth billions of dollars in future technologies as it races to diversify its economy Saudi Arabia is racing towards digital transformation, supporting tech innovation and entrepreneurship. The Kingdom, which is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into an economic transformation, known as Vision 2030, led by ruler Crown Prince Mohammed […]
B2B eCommerce Platform Sary Acquires Mowarrid For MENAP Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (March 02, 2022)
Sary, the B2B eCommerce platform in the MENAP has announced its acquisition of “Mowarrid”, one of the B2B marketplaces in Egypt. This acquisition reflects a strategic move for Sary toward its expansion plans throughout the North African markets starting from Egypt, the second-largest economy in Africa, and the third-largest in the Arab world with a […]
Company Close Up: It’s A CRM SugarRush
By Chandni U (March 01, 2022)
Laser-focused on high definition CX, SugarCRM is working on out-of-the-box solutions “Fifty-two per cent of sales leaders say their traditional CRM costs them revenue – that’s a frightening statistic. We believe firmly that it’s time to work smarter, not harder. It’s time for a change,” said Craig Charlton, CEO, SugarCRM. The last two years have […]
February Round-Up: All The Tech News You Need To Know
By Chandni U (February 28, 2022)
Here is our monthly round up of carefully selected news stories you may have missed. From cloud and digital payment solutions to cybersecurity tools, February has been a month of technological growth across industries, especially in the eCommerce and banking sectors. We’ve been keeping track of the major news announcements that we believe will play […]
OneOrder Launches To Address Egypt’s Supply Chain Inefficiencies
By Sophia Bennett (February 24, 2022)
OneOrder, the new logistics company solving Egyptian restaurants’ supply chain inefficiencies, announces its launch and successful completion of a $1 million fundraise. The fundraise was led by A15, the MENA venture capital firm, and renowned as one of the most prominent backers of early-stage start-ups in the region. OneOrder is the first company of its […]
Flipkart sells Cleartrip's Middle East business to Wego
By Sophia Bennett (February 22, 2022)
Wego, the online travel marketplace in the MENA region announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with the Flipkart Group, India’s homegrown eCommerce ecosystem, to acquire Cleartrip’s Middle East business. This transaction also includes the sale of Flyin.com and a technology cooperation agreement between Wego and Flipkart. The Boards of Directors of Wego and […]
MENA's cCommerce platform Zbooni launches in Egypt 
By Sophia Bennett (February 17, 2022)
Zbooni, MENA’s cCommerce (connected commerce) platform, has announced its official launch in Egypt. The rapidly scaling start-up, which is backed by regional and global investors, will support the backbone of the Egyptian economy by providing digital commerce tools for the estimated 3.5 million small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) across the country. ‘cCommerce’, enables businesses to […]
Evergent Partners With Streaming Service Shahid For User Optimisation
By Sophia Bennett (February 15, 2022)
Evergent, the customer management and monetisation innovator providing flexible monetisation tools for direct-to-consumer and B2B businesses, announced a partnership with MBC GROUP’S streaming service Shahid, the VOD and SVOD streaming platform in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. Through the agreement, Shahid will use Evergent’s comprehensive suite of customer management and monetisation tools […]
Logistics Solution Provider RedBox Raises Funds For Tech Development
By Sophia Bennett (February 14, 2022)
RedBox, a logistics solution provider company offering smart lockers announced its SAR 11.5m seed funding round led by Vision Ventures. The round also included participation by RAF Investments and prominent angel investors. RedBox eases last-mile delivery to eCommerce shops through its network of over 170 smart lockers around Saudi Arabia. RedBox was founded in 2019 […]
Grocery Delivery Firm Yalla Market Raises Funds To Expand in The UAE
By Sophia Bennett (February 14, 2022)
Dubai-based 15-min grocery delivery service YallaMarket raises $2.2 million in bridge round with the participation of Doha Tech Angels, Flyer One Ventures and AngelsDeck. The bridge round is coming after the closing of the first $2.3 million pre-seed round by Wamda and Dubai Angel Investors in November 2021. With the new funding, YallaMarket financing has […]
Are NFTs Racing Ahead Of Bitcoin?
By Chandni U (February 14, 2022)
As long as NFTs delight customers and play an essential role in the retail, commerce, and social media landscapes, there are chances it will overtake bitcoin. Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank investor and chairman of O’Shares Investment Advisors, aka Mr. Wonderful, believes non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will become more significant than bitcoin. It might just be true. […]
Are You Ready To Level Up Your NFT Game? 
By Aarti Chawla (February 11, 2022)
From McDonald’s and Ray-Ban to Adidas and Prada, we spotlight the most exciting forms brands used non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in their marketing mix Over the past few years, blockchain adoption has grown exponentially in businesses, including sports. After NBA partnered with Canadian-based Dapper Labs, makers of the CryptoKitties game, to make its version of a collectible […]
NEOM, MBC Group Partner For First AAA Games Studio In The ME
By Sophia Bennett (February 10, 2022)
MBC GROUP and NEOM signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to establish the first AAA games development studio in the region. Currently being incubated with developers from all over the world, the studio will relocate to NEOM’s Media Hub in 2023 and produce high-production-value games for local, regional and international gamers. The partnership highlights NEOM’s […]
Dubai CommerCity, Infotech Partner For Customised eCommerce Strategies
By Sophia Bennett (February 09, 2022)
Dubai CommerCity, has teamed up with eCommerce strategy consultant, Techies Infotech. By developing customised eCommerce strategies tailored to the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), the partnership aims to spur growth for local and international brands in the region. With the platform provided by Techies Infotech, eCommerce ecosystem leaders can connect, co-create, co-market, co-sell, […]
Oh Snap! What is Driving Snapchatters in the Middle East?
By Yolande DMello (February 03, 2022)
Snapchat in the MENA region enjoys higher consumption rates than the global average, with over 85 per cent of daily users interacting with Lenses every day.
Logistics Provider YFS Raises Funds For Innovation, Production, Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (February 02, 2022)
Yalla Fel Sekka (YFS), an on-demand logistics provider specialising in instant delivery and dark store management, announced a $7 million Series A round. This funding round was led by DisruptAD, ADQ’s venture platform. YFS provides an affordable instant delivery service for businesses in urban communities in Egypt – the largest and fastest-growing economy in the […]
Etisalat Group Acquires elGrocer To Enhance CX Services Under Smiles
By Sophia Bennett (January 31, 2022)
Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC (Etisalat Group) announced that it has completed the acquisition of elGrocer DMCC. Founded in 2015, elGrocer is an online marketplace for groceries operating in all seven Emirates of the UAE. It brings together major retailers and specialty stores on a single platform with more than 500 outlets and 120K products […]
Retail Ideas Company Liquid Launches Elev8 For eCommerce Distribution
By Sophia Bennett (January 27, 2022)
Liquid, the award-winning retail ideas company fully dedicated to ensuring brands sell by helping shoppers buy, has announced the launch of Elev8 – a service set to transform eCommerce distribution across the region. A first of its kind offering in the Middle East, Liquid’s new venture aims to disrupt the often ringfenced and disconnected world […]
Argaam Signs Advertising Deal With Speakol
By Sophia Bennett (January 25, 2022)
Argaam Investment Company, the owner of Argaam Portal, signed an exclusive advertising agency agreement with information technology service provider Speakol. Under the agreement, Speakol will serve as the advertising agent of Argaam’s platforms inside and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Argaam is Saudi Arabia’s go-to-portal for financial data and economic analysis. It provides investors, […]
GoDaddy Partners With Fawry To Build Digital Presence For StartUps
By Sophia Bennett (January 19, 2022)
GoDaddy, the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, has partnered with Fawry, the local leading online payment company, to facilitate the process of going online for startups and entrepreneurs in Egypt. In partnership with Fawry, GoDaddy will provide startups and entrepreneurs with unique services and tools, including GoDaddy E-store, to successfully build their digital presence, aiming […]
CXM Platform Lucidiya Raises Funds To Expand Product Offering
By Sophia Bennett (January 18, 2022)
Lucidya, the Saudi-based customer experience management platform, has announced its second round of funding of $6 million led by Rua Growth Fund with participation from M.A.L Ventures and AlRashed Group, and other international Venture Capitals. Existing Lucidya investors also participated in the round, including Venture Souq. Lucidya’s solution empowers organisations to understand and better serve […]
ExpandCart Raises Funds For eCommerce And Technology Growth
By Sophia Bennett (January 18, 2022)
ExpandCart, the eCommerce platform in the Middle East and North Africa, has secured $2.7 million in a pre-series B bridge round of financing, led by Hong-Kong based Betatron Venture Group with participation from existing investors; Sawari Ventures from Egypt, and Agility Ventures from Kuwait. Founded in 2016, ExpandCart is one of the largest eCommerce platform […]
GoDaddy Ties Up With MyFatoorah For Better eCommerce Payment Solutions
By Sophia Bennett (January 16, 2022)
GoDaddy, the firm that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, is tying up with MyFatoorah in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, to offer new payment solutions to GoDaddy’s eCommerce solution. MyFatoorah, a local UAE payments provider, specialises in secure, swift payment solutions across the GCC region. The new addition to the GoDaddy E-store offering in […]
3attar Raises Funds To Expand Customer Base With Marketing Acquisitions  
By Sophia Bennett (January 15, 2022)
3attar, a health-focused technology and eCommerce platform secures seed investment from AUC Angels, UI Investment & individual Angel Investors. Established in 2019, 3attar is a B2C online platform that provides value to its customers through online healthy product ordering, delivery service , and live-coaching programs and additional subscription and e-payment models. During the COVID-19 crisis, […]
Saudi TAAS Platform Squadio Raises Funds For Better Client Experience
By Sophia Bennett (January 10, 2022)
Saudi TAAS (Team as a Service) platform Squadio, which specialises in tech teams employment and management, announced their seed funding round with Riyadh-based SEEDRA Ventures. Founded in 2019 in Riyadh, KSA, as an app development company Squadio (previously Ibtikar technologies) successfully pivoted its model to support the growing need of startups and companies seeking to […]
FOODICS Acquires POSRocket For Payment, Supply Management
By Sophia Bennett (January 10, 2022)
FOODICS, the GCC restaurant-tech company based in Saudi Arabia, has announced its first acquisition, with the full ownership of POSRocket, the second largest restaurant cloud technology provider in Mena. This landmark acquisition is a strategic move by both companies and one that enables foodics to consolidate the market, as well as take a market leadership […]
Meet the Always-on Conversationalists
By Yash Raaj (January 06, 2022)
How conversational AI bots can help create contextual engagement Do you remember chatting with Clippy – Microsoft’s rudimentary bot? He is arguably one of the most famous virtual assistants, who would pop in the corner of the screen, ready to guide you through any Microsoft software. That was in 1997. Since then, chatbots have come […]
MENA qCommerce To Reach $47 Billion by 2030: Redseer
By Sophia Bennett (January 04, 2022)
The MENA qCommerce (on-demand or rapid delivery) model is set to reach $47 billion by 2030, growing at 17 per cent CAGR, according to a research report from Redseer. While the market is still predominantly driven by food delivery and grocery, the market split is drastically evolving. Nascent retail categories such as fashion and beauty […]
Jaafar Shop Raises Funding from Nama Ventures
By Sophia Bennett (January 03, 2022)
Jafarshop, the largest DIY platform in Jordan, announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round by ​Nama Ventures. The company uses video by experts and creates content in Arabic. Jafarshop provides hundreds of articles and videos in the Arabic language, a team of experts always available to answer your questions […]
22 Trends For 2022 
By Yolande DMello (January 03, 2022)
What’s next? Defining trends shaping the future of marketing. Rising pressure for rapid growth coupled with market changes has forced many marketing teams to accelerate their digital transformation. At the same time, budget reallocation means innovative campaigns don’t have comfortable timelines to prove their business effectiveness. Innovating on a deadline can be tricky. Moreover, the […]
Careem’s Last Mile Delivery Experienced 150% Growth In Daily Deliveries in 2021 
By Sophia Bennett (December 28, 2021)
The economic recovery in the Mena region and Pakistan has bolstered the growth of Careem, a multi-service platform, with mobility of people transactions growing by 2.6x compared to December 2020. Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and co-Founder at Careem, said, “This year, we started simplifying the lives of people in more ways than just seamless transportation. Customers […]
Aumet Acquires Egypt-Based Healthcare Supply Chain Startup, Platform One
By Sophia Bennett (December 26, 2021)
US-based and MENA-servicing B2B healthcare marketplace Aumet has announced its acquisition of Egypt-based Healthcare supply chain solutions startup Platform One to become fully active across Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan with more than 5,000 active pharmacies on its platform. Founded in 2015, Aumet connects Pharmacies with Pharmaceuticals Suppliers across MENA through its […]
Etihad Airways Partners With Ad-Lib.io For Advanced Digital Advertising
By Sophia Bennett (December 25, 2021)
Etihad Airways and Ad-Lib.io, the next-generation Creative Management Platform (CMP), have partnered to advance Etihad’s digital advertising capabilities. Etihad will leverage Ad-Lib.io’s platform for digital-savvy brand marketers. Following a rigorous RFP process, Ad-Lib.io’s platform was selected to deliver a user-friendly interface, simple scalability, and transparent workflow that would enable teams to collaborate on automated ad […]
Podcast Sponsorship is Driving Purchase Intent 
By Sophia Bennett (December 24, 2021)
The recent evolution of podcasting content, wherein various creators are discussing global scenarios, is bringing about numerous opportunities for market growth for brands. The subscriber base of podcasts pertaining to racism, patriarchy, and political disputes, among others, is significantly growing, thereby encouraging companies and creators to come up with more content that taps diverse audiences, […]
Dawatech Raises Funds for MENA Expansion, B2B Marketplace
By Sophia Bennett (December 22, 2021)
Jordan-based innovative healthtech company Dawatech has secured a seven-digit seed investment led by Access Bridge Ventures, with participation from ISSF and others to support its regional expansion into Saudi Arabia and other MENA markets. Dawatech is also launching its B2B marketplace. Designed and created by a pharmacist, Dawatech has spent the past two years developing […]
CaaS Platform SimpliFi Raises Funds To Accelerate ME Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (December 21, 2021)
SimpliFi, a Cards as a Service (CaaS) platform for Mena and Pakistan, has raised $5.1 million in funding to accelerate its expansion across the region following its beta launch in August 2021. This round of funding saw participation from Global Founders Capital, Raed Ventures, 4DX Ventures and Rally Cap Ventures. Both Raed Ventures and Rally […]
Technology, Experiential Marketing Are Driving Retail Growth: Kearney 
By Sophia Bennett (December 15, 2021)
Retailers in the UAE raked in a total of $71 billion in sales last year, helping the country’s retail sector secure its position as one of the most resilient globally, according to new data released by consultancy Kearney. The UAE, which has the highest GDP per capita among the emerging markets at $58,753, also leads […]
Aramex Partners With Virtuzone For eCommerce Accelerator Programme
By Sophia Bennett (December 15, 2021)
Aramex, the global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, announced that it has partnered with Virtuzone, the company formation specialists in the UAE, to launch AMP – the first eCommerce-focused accelerator programme in the UAE and the MENA region. As an official partner of Virtuzone for AMP, Aramex will provide AMP members with preferential […]
Agency Revolution Integrates With Automation Platform Fuse For BetterCX
By Sophia Bennett (December 14, 2021)
Agency Revolution, an FMG Suite company, serving independent insurance agencies, recently announced an integration that connects the company’s marketing automation platform, Fuse, with Partner Platform’s innovative web-based insurance agency management system(AMS). This much-anticipated integration enables mutual customers to leverage the power of the client and policy data in their Partner Platform AMS to trigger the […]
Can You Hear The Sonic Boom?
By Yash Raaj (December 12, 2021)
The audio marketing space has been growing, making it essential for brands to develop sonic identities Technology-based marketing has been aiming to be an immersive and sensory experience. Brands want to captivate the consumers, to perceive their products – see, touch, feel and even hear them before an individual buys them. To hear a product […]
Minly Acquires Oulo For Creator Economy Growth 
By Sophia Bennett (December 10, 2021)
Minly, the MENA region’s media & entertainment startup, announced the acquisition of Oulo, a Dubai-based celebrity shoutout platform focused on the Levant region. The acquisition of Oulo will accelerate Minly’s growth trajectory and customer reach. The merged business will operate under the Minly brand and roll out its combined experience offerings across the entire region. […]
Millennials are Driving Digital Adoption in the Middle East: MoEngage Report 
By Sophia Bennett (December 10, 2021)
Personalisation and digitisation will become key to engage with the rising wave of tech-savvy customers in the Middle East. Here is what consumer brands can learn A study revealed that 67 per cent of Middle East consumers are shifting to digital channels to engage with brands. These statistics indicate that consumer brands in the Middle […]
eCommerce Aggregator Opontia Raises Funds $42 Million Funds
By Sophia Bennett (December 09, 2021)
Opontia, a startup that acquires and grows eCommerce brands, announced that it has raised $42 million. The Series A funding round was a mix of equity and venture debt, with STV, the largest venture capital fund in the Middle East and North Africa, leading the equity investment. Further testament to Opontia’s potential and strong expansion […]
WaffarX Raises Funds For User Acquisition, MENA Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (December 08, 2021)
WaffarX, the first-ever cashback shopping service in the Mena region, has completed a multi-million dollar financing round led by the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Lobby Capital, marking the latter’s first investment in the Mena region. Lobby Capital is experienced in investing in successful cashback platforms, having been an early investor in the US firm […]
Meta and TBWA/RAAD Launch #LoveLocal Campaign To Promote SMBs 
By Sophia Bennett (December 08, 2021)
Meta has teamed up for the second year with regional creative agency, TBWA/RAAD to launch #LoveLocal consumer campaign on Facebook and Instagram during the holiday season. Aiming to amplify the voice of local small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the MENA region and inspire people to rethink the significance of their individual action, #LoveLocal brings […]
Tamatem Games Raises $11 Million For Arabic Market Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (December 07, 2021)
Tamatem Games, Arabic mobile games publisher, raises $11 million in Series B funding round led by South Korean video game developer KRAFTON, Inc. The round that was led by KRAFTON, Inc., makers of the phenomenally popular battle royale game PUBG, also saw participation from Venture Souq, Endeavor Catalyst and existing investors. Tamatem has seen great […]
AlHokair Partners With Merkle For Performance Marketing Strategy
By Sophia Bennett (December 07, 2021)
Merkle Saudi Arabia, a technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management company has been selected by AlHokair to deliver its performance marketing strategy across its fashion, beauty and sport retail brands including Decathlon, Aldo, GAP and Flormar in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The appointment follows a competitive pitch designed to consolidate performance marketing for Al Hokair’s […]
YouTube Launches Fund To Reward Short-Form Video Creation in the MENA
By Sophia Bennett (December 06, 2021)
YouTube announced the arrival of its YouTube Shorts Fund in each of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon and Morocco. Starting December 5, the company will reward creators and artists who make creative and unique Shorts for their contributions. The global US$100M fund was initially announced back in May […]
OptimizeApp Acquires Panda Media, Focus on eCommerce Growth in MENA
By Sophia Bennett (December 01, 2021)
Kuwait-based OptimizeApp, a platform that helps marketers intuitively launch, manage and track all their social media campaigns in one app, announced it has fully acquired Panda Media, a Kuwait-based online education company focused on entrepreneurs. The company’s new offering will provide local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs with exclusive educational marketing courses and […]
Yalla Market Raises $2.3 M Pre-Seed
By Sophia Bennett (November 30, 2021)
Dubai-based instant grocery delivery service YallaMarket raises $2.3 million in a Pre-seed funding co-led by Dubai Angel Investors and Wamda with participation from some Mena-focused angel investors. Founded in 2021 and currently operational in Dubai, in the JLT, Business Bay, and JVC areas of the city, YallaMarket the e-grocery startup has managed to cut its […]
Splashlight Studios Raises $1M in Seed Funding
By Sophia Bennett (November 30, 2021)
Splashlight Studios, a eCommerce digital solutions provider has raised Seed funding of $1 million from Eagle Ventures, a Dubai-based fund managed by Adit Mehta and Hitesh Ajmera. Backbay Advisors was the financial advisor to Splashlight Studios on the transaction. “The Seed fund is a great vote of confidence for Splashlight Studios and highlights the progress […]
Ever Fashion Moves IT to Google Cloud, Plans For eCommerce Platform
By Sophia Bennett (November 27, 2021)
Ever Fashion Luxury Group is one the first customers out of Qatar to be migrating its entire IT infrastructure to Google Cloud under the Rise with SAP offering, and also plans to launch an eCommerce Platform. Ever Fashion, the luxury brand retailer in Qatar, operates 21 high-end stores across the country, with additional locations in […]
Chalhoub Group And Instagram Team Up To Develop Fashion Startups in KSA
By Sophia Bennett (November 27, 2021)
The Greenhouse, Chalhoub Group’s space for innovation and entrepreneurship, and Instagram have teamed up to mentor and develop high-potential local fashion startups in KSA. The initiative came from the “Fashion Lab” program launched by Chalhoub Greenhouse to promote corporate entrepreneurship and innovation and identify disruptive and innovative Saudi Fashion brands. “Small businesses are the heartbeat […]
Virtuzone Launches eCommerce Accelerator Programme
By Sophia Bennett (November 26, 2021)
Virtuzone teams up with Etisalat, Aramex, Launch DXB to launch the first eCommerce-focused accelerator programme in the UAE and MENA region The UAE’s company formation specialists, Virtuzone, alongside Etisalat, Aramex and Launch DXB have announced the launch of AMP – the first accelerator programme dedicated to fast-tracking the growth of eCommerce startups in the country, […]
UAE Will Surpass UK In eCommerce Penetration: Ziad Chehade
By Sophia Bennett (November 25, 2021)
The UAE is poised to surpass the UK in eCommerce penetration as more businesses in the Gulf country take steps to expand their online presence, said Ziad Chehade, Head of Business Marketing Mena for Google. Sharing his insights at the 12th World Chambers Congress in Dubai during a session titled Wake-up call: In Tech We […]
Vodafone Partners With Memac Ogilvy, Alamah Marketing For Expansion in Oman
By Sophia Bennett (November 23, 2021)
The global and local communications leaders will collaborate to launch and grow the telecommunications brand in the Sultanate.  Vodafone, the technology communications company, signed a partnership with creative communications powerhouse Memac Ogilvy and Muscat-based specialised marketing communications agency Alamah Marketing to bring world-class marketing excellence to Oman.  The agreement will see Memac Ogilvy and Alamah […]
Saudi NFT Platform Nuqtah Closes Pre-Seed
By Sophia Bennett (November 22, 2021)
Nuqtah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s first and leading NFT marketplace, has closed its pre-Seed round led by Shorooq Partners and joined by strategic angel investors. The Company, founded by Salwa Radwi, plans to become the de-facto platform for the Saudi and MENA digital creative economy. NFTs represent a major transformation for artists to safely […]
PepsiCo Launches Greenhouse Accelerator in MENA
By Sophia Bennett (November 22, 2021)
PepsiCo has announced the launch of its first MENA edition of the Greenhouse Accelerator program, active globally since 2017. The program was launched in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) at a ceremony that drew the participation of high-ranking government officials, including HE Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of […]
Etisalat Group To Acquire elGrocer For Enhanced Digital Engagement
By Sophia Bennett (November 19, 2021)
Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC “Etisalat Group” signed an agreement with elGrocer Ltd to acquire 100 per cent of elGrocer DMCC, to support its digital ambitions by enriching its services bringing it closer to the daily lives of the consumers and unlocking synergies that drive a diversified and integrated product portfolio. With UAE ranked as […]
Brand Awareness Aside, Mobile Marketers Eye AI
By Sophia Bennett (November 19, 2021)
MENA marketing professionals are expecting growth in their mobile budgets. MMA conducted a survey with WARC to showcase the region’s mobile marketing strategies Increased focus on agility and effectiveness has been a key lesson for marketers in the last year, and brand awareness has turned out to be the most common objective when running mobile […]
TAG’s Certified Against Fraud Launched in GCC For Brand Safety
By Sophia Bennett (November 18, 2021)
The Advertising Business Group (ABG) and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB GCC) have partnered with the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) – a cross-industry self-regulatory initiative to fight criminal activity and promote brand safety in the digital advertising supply chain – to launch TAG’s international standards in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region of the Middle East. Companies in the region are […]
Ooredoo Partners with Snap Inc. to Create 5G AR Experiences
By Sophia Bennett (November 18, 2021)
Ooredoo Group has announced a new three-year strategic partnership with Snap Inc. to unlock the possibilities of augmented reality (AR) experiences across all of its international markets. Through this partnership, Ooredoo will collaborate with Snapchat to build advanced AR experiences for Ooredoo customers across their 10 market footprint, all powered by Ooredoo’s network. This will […]
Dubai PodFest Keen on Expansion of Podcasting In The Region
By Sophia Bennett (November 15, 2021)
The Dubai PodFest, the first event of its kind dedicated to podcasting in the region, was recently held at the Dubai Press Club. It brought together more than 200 prominent podcasters and audio content creators, in addition to leading organisations in the sector. Mona Al Marri, President, Dubai Press Club said, “As part of our […]
CMOs To Watch In Saudi Arabia
By Khushbu Raval (November 07, 2021)
As a run-up to Vibe Martech Fest’s Saudi Arabia edition, we spotlight innovative marketing leaders who are transforming and redefining their role, business, and marketing industry in Saudi Arabia. Adil Ehsan – Regional Marketing Director at Savola Foods From working with P&G to Reckitt Benckiser and lately FrieslandCampina, Adil Ehsan brings best practice learnings from […]
ExpandCart And PayPal Partnership For Sales Opportunities For MENA Merchants
By Sophia Bennett (November 04, 2021)
ExpandCart has announced its collaboration with PayPal to unveil global cross- border sales opportunities in the Middle East and Africa (MENA). ExpandCart’s merchants can now offer their customers a quick and secure international payment gateway. The collaboration is aimed at further democratisation of the payment landscape in the MENA region and inclusion of local merchants […]
Emakina Partners With Elastic Path For Composable Commerce
By Sophia Bennett (November 04, 2021)
Emakina MENA has announced its strategic alliance with Elastic Path, an eCommerce software provider for brands leveraging composable Commerce. This partnership accelerates Emakina’s move towards consolidating composable Commerce with their user-centric strategy, design and technical capabilities. “Emakina is a partner-first organisation. I’ve worked with them for many years throughout my career and they are well […]
Snap To Launch Region’s First Creator Studio In Riyadh
By Sophia Bennett (November 03, 2021)
Snap has announced that it will launch a Creator Studio in Riyadh in 2022 to support its local community in delivering new experiences on Snapchat. The company has recently been investing in such studios to better serve local talent and business partners, including augmented reality lens developers, verified users and local media publishers. The first […]
Mediabrands And Snap Inc. Collaborate For Mobile Video Measurement Initiative
By Sophia Bennett (November 02, 2021)
MCN Mediabrands, a media and marketing solutions division of IPG/MCN, has announced a joint collaboration with Snap Inc. to launch a measurement initiative with the objective of offering insights on how communities in Saudi Arabia consume and engage with mobile video. The joint collaboration will see the companies combine the efforts of their marketing science […]
Dubai CommerCity Partners With Khaleej Digital to Support eCommerce in the ME
By Sophia Bennett (November 02, 2021)
Dubai CommerCity, the first eCommerce free zone in the region has partnered with eCommerce strategy consultant, Khaleej Digital. The partnership aims to support the growth of eCommerce businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by developing tailored eCommerce strategies for local and international brands. Khaleej Digital will support Dubai CommerCity in leading […]
The Power of Synergy
By Ahmed Hafez Younis (November 02, 2021)
Discussing how MENA’s media and creative industry can work hand-in-hand to deliver award-winning campaigns The past year has been dominated by insights and developments of the COVID age, but another potentially industry-changing dynamic has seen tremendous growth – the power of synergies. It is the additive effect of two or more media working together to […]
B2B Marketplace Kuzlo Closes Pre-Seed Round by Nama Ventures
By Sophia Bennett (October 30, 2021)
Kuzlo, a B2B marketplace that connects FMCG small retailers with wholesalers available in their area providing full transparency on product availability and prices, announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in the pre-Seed funding round by Nama Ventures. The FMCG market is changing due to high competition from the mega stores and chains that […]
Azadea UAE Announces Digital Partnership With Kiko Milano
By Sophia Bennett (October 29, 2021)
Azadea, the lifestyle retail website based in UAE, has announced yet another pioneering online partnership with Italian makeup and cosmetics brand, Kiko Milano. Launching the multi-national Italian brand across the MENA region aims to accelerate its growth by reaching consumers in the Middle East and Africa. With stores currently operating in 14 malls across the […]
eCommerce Accelerator Netrush Acquires AI-driven Advertising Platform Sellozo
By Sophia Bennett (October 29, 2021)
Netrush, the eCommerce accelerator partnering with premium brands providing teams, technology, strategy, and infrastructure to thrive on Amazon, has acquired Sellozo in a deal believed essential for supporting today’s digital-first brands. Sellozo is an AI-driven Amazon PPC software platform engineered to support, automate and optimise global growth, for sellers and vendors. Netrush will build on […]
5 Reasons Why Saudi Arabia Tops The Digital Riser List 
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (October 28, 2021)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is racing towards digital transformation, shifting economic growth from dependency on oil to supporting tech innovation and entrepreneurship. It has poured billions of dollars into high-tech funds to strengthen the digital sector, leading to new growth and new opportunities. The pace of digitalisation in the Kingdom had accelerated before 2020. […]
Hubilo Secures $125M Funding For New And Advanced Business Functions
By Sophia Bennett (October 27, 2021)
Hubilo, a provider of virtual and hybrid events technologies, announced it has raised US$125 million in Series B funding from a consortium led by Alkeon Capital. The announcement comes just months after Hubilo established a strong client base in Dubai in response to growing demand from UAE organisations for its innovative virtual and hybrid events […]
ILLA Raises Investment To Optimise Post-Production Supply Chain
By Sophia Bennett (October 21, 2021)
Cairo-based FMCG Logistics company ILLA, secured a seven-figure investment round to boost its growth in the market and diversify its offering to the FMCG value chain.The round was co-led by Watheeq Financial Services and Golden Palm Investments. The round saw participation from Loftyinc Capital Management, Kepple Africa Fund, Cubit Ventures, AUC Angels, Oqal Angel Network […]
Azimut, GELLIFY Launch $50 Million VC Fund To Support B2B Mena Startups
By Sophia Bennett (October 21, 2021)
Azimut (ME) Limited ADGM, part of Azimut, an asset management group, in partnership with GELLIFY Middle East, an innovation platform, is launching a MENA-focused VC Fund aiming at raising $50 million capital. The new VC Fund will focus on B2B startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It will target a range […]
How Can Brands Navigate Consent And Compliance? 
By Yolande DMello (October 19, 2021)
Consent management platforms simplify data compliance for marketers across geographies, build brand trust and ensure consumer data is protected. When Uber suffered a data breach in October 2016, they hushed it by paying the hackers to delete the data. Eventually, news of the breach came to light in November 2017, resulting in financial penalties for […]
Winning Moments in Social Commerce
By Aarti Chawla (October 17, 2021)
Motom, currently mobile web beta, was launched in April 2021 with strong early adoption among creators and their audiences. Motom is a social shopping platform that gives creators the power to launch their own storefront in such a way that their content from TikTok, Instagram and YouTube can be made shoppable in one place. It […]
Dubai CommerCity Partners With Creative971 To Facilitate eCommerce Ecosystem
By Sophia Bennett (October 12, 2021)
Dubai CommerCity has partnered with Creative971 to support the growth of the eCommerce market in the GCC and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by helping businesses establish their own online stores or digitally transform their business. Dubai CommerCity’s 360-degree on-site guidance for eCommerce businesses supported by Creative971’s expertise in eCommerce website UI/UX […]
Shipping Management Software For eCommerce OTO Closes $3M
By Sophia Bennett (October 11, 2021)
OTO announced a $3 million funding round from MEVP & Derayah Capital, making it the largest seed raised by a SaaS company in MENA. The Riyadh-based company has built a technology that helps eCommerce brands ship, manage, track, and return their online orders with 100+ shipping carriers via one single dashboard. Mohammad Al-Razaz (CEO) and […]
Digital Biometrics Platform Faceki Raises Pre-Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (October 11, 2021)
FACEKI announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round by ​Nama Ventures​. The push for digitisation has led to an unprecedented level of identity theft and account takeovers. FACEKI Biometric Facial Recognition and Identity Verification platform help organisations verify and onboard their users, especially in terms of fighting fraud. FACEKI […]
State Of Martech In Saudi Arabia
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (October 11, 2021)
Reversing the pandemic-driven downturn, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economic recovery has taken off in 2021. It is poised to grow from 2.2 per cent to 4.8 per cent in 2021 and from 4.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent in 2022, said a Capital Economics report. Focused on economic diversification — from a natural […]
Amazon Web Services Expands Business In Kuwait
By Sophia Bennett (October 05, 2021)
The office in Kuwait is the newest addition to AWS offices in MENA, which include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, where it is building teams of account managers, technical account managers, partner managers, systems engineers, solutions architects, professional services, and other roles to help customers of all sizes move to AWS. Amazon Web Services (AWS) […]
Vibe Martech Fest Announces Saudi Arabia Couch Edition 
By Sophia Bennett (October 04, 2021)
Vibe Martech Fest (VMF) is all set to host a virtual edition on 23rd and 24th November 2021 especially for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will lead the discussion on Martech and set the agenda for its future in the region.  VMF’s Saudi Arabia Couch Edition invites industry veterans to discuss the changing role […]
How Do NFTs Add Value?
By Chandni U (October 03, 2021)
Today, we carry more computing power in our pockets than what got Neil Armstrong to land on the moon. Technology is extraordinary, and one of the hottest items on the market is the non-fungible token (NFT). Just between January 2021 and March 2021, the search term for NFTs grew by 98 per cent on Google.  […]
Snap Inc’s New Product Marketing Lead To Focus On MENA 
By Sophia Bennett (September 29, 2021)
Snap Inc. recently appointed Zadi Hobeika as its new Product Marketing Lead in MENA, focusing on performance advertising solutions. The new appointment comes in line with Snap’s continued investment in the region to scale its digital advertising solutions and ensure that brands effectively connect with its 75 million engaged, creative and diverse users in the […]
Companies Face A Significant Cultural Pivot
By Yolande DMello (September 29, 2021)
“Companies must prioritise digital transformation across their entire ecosystem, taking a measured approach that evolves the business at pace without causing massive disruption. This is still a challenge for many companies transforming their customer experience and business models in a rapidly evolving digital world to ensure their survival,” said James Kirby, SVP & Head of […]
Cartona Secures $4.5 Million Pre-Series A Fundraise  
By Sophia Bennett (September 22, 2021)
The round was led by Global Ventures, with participation from Kepple Africa Ventures, T5 Ventures and a group of angel investors. Proceeds will be used to invest in deepening the capabilities of the technology to enhance the user experience further and introduce embedded finance within the product and order cycle.     Historically, Egyptian retailers have had […]
Companies to Watch
By Chandni U (September 22, 2021)
With the buzz in the social media and tech space, it’s an exciting time for enterprises and startups to explore and create innovative tools and services. From 5G, IoT to AI-driven solutions, the possibilities are endless. While agility and innovation are the enablers of business growth, the expanding digital world inspires entrepreneurs to enhance CX. […]
Supy Raises $1.5 mn Pre-Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (September 20, 2021)
Supy, a UAE-based startup digitising the communication process between restaurants and suppliers, announced that it has raised $1.5 million in pre-Seed funding. The round was co-led by UAE-based investor COTU Ventures and US-based Valia Ventures (marking their first investment in Mena). The global F&B industry, particularly throughout the Mena region, suffers from significant inefficiencies across […]
NB Ventures invests in CRM solutions provider Yegertek
By Sophia Bennett (September 19, 2021)
Yegertek, a Dubai-based customer experience and loyalty tech solutions provider has received funding of an undisclosed amount from GCC and India focused Venture Capital firm NB Ventures, which is led by Dubai’s retail and technology investor, Neelesh Bhatnagar.  “With a constantly increasing portfolio of high profile clients driving our rise, the funding from NB Ventures […]
UAE-Based B2B Platform Elkaso Raises $2.1 Million Pre-Seed Funding
By Sophia Bennett (September 17, 2021)
The UAE-based B2B marketplace Elkaso has successfully raised $2.1 million in its latest funding round. The pre-seed round was led by Global Founders Capital and MSA Capital and recorded participation from key strategic global and regional investors including former and current leaders of Careem, Delivery Hero, Apple, Faith Capital, Talabat, Eyewa, and Instashop.  Founded in early 2021 by entrepreneurs Manar Alkassar and Ahmed Soliman, Elkaso provides a […]
B2B eCommerce Capiter Raises $33 million Series A
By Sophia Bennett (September 14, 2021)
Capiter announced it has raised a $33 million Series A. Co-led by Quona Capital and MSA Capital alongside additional investors Savola, Shorooq Partners, Foundation Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, and Derayah Ventures. The round comes as Capiter ramps up its efforts to expand its service across Egypt and the region within 2022. Capiter provides small-to-medium enterprise […]
Saxo Bank Appoints New CEO of the MENA Region
By Sophia Bennett (September 13, 2021)
Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist that connects people to investment opportunities in global capital markets, recently announced the appointment of Damian Hitchen as the new CEO of the MENA region. He will report directly to Chief Sales Officer Stig Christensen.   Based in Saxo Bank’s regional office in Dubai, Damian will lead […]
Vibe Martech Awards: Recognising The Best Of The Best
By Chandni U (September 13, 2021)
Marking the end of the VMF was the Annual Vibe Martech Awards (VMA). With a mission to honour the extraordinary achievements of Middle East brands and professionals, VMA was instituted as an annual recognition of the innovative companies that push martech boundaries.  Companies submitted their case studies, and after careful consideration by the Martechvibe editorial […]
STL Partners With Sabafon For Digital Transformation
By Sophia Bennett (September 09, 2021)
STL, an industry integrator of digital networks, recently announced a partnership with Sabafon to transition from traditional billing systems to a fully Cloud-native SaaS-based Billing Support System (BSS) and Operation Support System (OSS) solution. The 5-year long deal will involve STL delivering and supporting a new-age, converged, charging, billing, and CRM solution deployed in a public cloud […]
SIB Launches Digital Banking Services For Better Corporate Service
By Sophia Bennett (September 08, 2021)
Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has announced the launch of its corporate digital banking services, providing an integrated banking experience characterised by speed, flexibility and security. Rahma Mohammed Al Shamsi, Head of Corporate Banking Group, Sharjah Islamic Bank, said that it is part of the bank’s efforts to enable companies to obtain an integrated digital banking experience, […]
SICO BSC Rebrands Itself For Better Business Growth
By Sophia Bennett (September 07, 2021)
SICO BSC (c), a regional market maker and investment bank, recently unveiled its newly rebranded subsidiary, SICO Capital, a full-fledged capital markets services provider based in Saudi Arabia. SICO Capital is the new brand for Muscat Capital, which has been operating in Saudi Arabia since 2009. The launch of the new identity follows the completion […]
eyewa Opens Its First Physical Store In The UAE; Plans Expansion
By Sophia Bennett (September 06, 2021)
eyewa, online eyewear retailer, is opening its first store in the UAE at City Centre Mirdiff as part of a brisk Mena-based growth push. The homegrown retail brand plans to launch 100 outlets in key locations across the region by 2023.   These ambitious expansion plans have been made possible thanks to a Series B funding […]
Six MENA startups raise seed funding from Y Combinator in summer batch
By Sophia Bennett (September 06, 2021)
Four Egypt-based startups and two from Morocco have raised seed funding led by Y Combinator as part of its summer 2021 cohort, MAGNiTT reported. Twice a year, Y Combinator invites startups to apply for funding and networking support. This summer’s batch included 377 startups from 47 countries, including a record 15 from Africa. Nigeria provided […]
Deliver Consistent Service Across Channels 
By Chandni U (September 05, 2021)
Since the pandemic, 89 per cent of customers in the UAE and 91 per cent of customers in the Middle East and North Africa have become digital converts and intend to continue buying everything online. The data was part of a study that digital experience platform Sitecore recently commissioned with YouGov MENA more than 650 […]
Tredence Partners with Databricks to Co-develop a Retail OSA Solution Accelerator
By Sophia Bennett (September 04, 2021)
Tredence Inc. announced a partnership with Databricks, and they have jointly built the On-Shelf Availability Solution (OSA) accelerator that helps retailers and manufacturers solve out-of-stocks by combining Databricks’ data processing capabilities and Tredence’s expertise in AI/ML. Shoppers encounter an out-of-stock (OOS) as often as once in three shopping trips, according to IHL Group research. On-shelf […]
Amazon Relaunches Souq.com In Egypt to Amazon.eg
By Sophia Bennett (September 02, 2021)
Internet retailer Souq.com in Egypt has been relaunched to Amazon.eg, the eCommerce giant recently announced. “Souq.com is now Amazon.eg,” a statement said. The relaunch was announced following the recent inauguration of Amazon’s fulfilment centre in the 10th Ramadan City. “A proud day for Souq.com and Amazon, a day we have been working toward since the two companies […]
Consumer Insights Platform DISQO Closes $85 Million Series B Funding
By Sophia Bennett (September 02, 2021)
Consumer insights platform DISQO recently announced that it closed an $85 million series B growth round led by Sageview Capital, with participation from March Capital, Valuestream Ventures, and existing investors Alpha Edison and Bonfire Ventures. DISQO’s cloud-based measurement software and research APIs power consumer insights for over 175 blue-chip brands, over 125 of the world’s largest market […]
Epson Appoints New Marketing Head For MENA Region
By Sophia Bennett (September 01, 2021)
Epson has recently announced the appointment of Natalie Harrison as head of marketing services for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. In this role, she will be responsible for the strategic planning, implementation, and forecasting of regional and local marketing initiatives that align with Epson’s business objectives. Harrison joined Epson in October 2018 as […]
54% of UAE Consumers Ready to Pay More for 5G: YouGov
By Sophia Bennett (August 31, 2021)
The UAE is set to lead the world in the market for fifth-generation (5G) telecom services, with the majority of the consumers showing a huge appetite for wireless technology, according to the latest research report by YouGov, International Telco Report 2021.  The market research firm found that 54 per cent of UAE consumers are willing […]
Hitting the Spot With Multi-Location Marketing
By Yolande DMello (August 31, 2021)
Today, consumers are more empowered than ever. They search and find information on businesses quickly, conveniently, and at any time and place. According to research from HubSpot, there has been an exponential growth in the number of “near me” searches in the past two years. As per the statistics, “near me now” saw a 150 […]
MaxAB Acquires Waysto Cap After an Additional $15 Million
By Sophia Bennett (August 26, 2021)
Egyptian retail-tech startup MaxAB has acquired Moroccan counterpart WaystoCap as it plots expansion into the Maghreb region after adding $15 million to the $40 million Series A round it secured last month. MaxAB secured US$40 million in Series A funding in July, and it has now added another US$15 million to that, taking its total secured […]
Bookr Raises $1 Million in Seed Funding
By Sophia Bennett (August 26, 2021)
Kuwait-based startup Bookr has raised $1 million in a seed funding round led by Desert Ventures. Bookr enables users to find and book nearby beauty salons, barbers and spas, as well as freelancers like makeup artists and other home beauty service providers. The platform also provides an all-in-one SaaS solution to beauty service providers by facilitating the […]
89% of UAE Customers Are Digital Converts to E-Commerce: Sitecore
By Sophia Bennett (August 24, 2021)
Sitecore the global leader in digital experience management software, recently announced  that 89 per cent of customers in the UAE, and 91 per cent of customers in the Middle East and North Africa, have become digital converts since the pandemic and want to keep buying everything online. The research, conducted by YouGov MENA, surveyed more […]
TikTok accounts for around 15% of the total time spent on social: Red Seer Report
By Sophia Bennett (August 22, 2021)
Red Seer Consulting recently published their research on MENA’s digital media environment. Following an era of Facebook and Youtube, and more recently the image phase in the form of Instagram and SnapChat, the strategic research consultancy experts deem short-form video content to be the next big thing. Last year, online users increased their time spent […]
invygo Raises $1.9 Million Pre Series A Funding
By Sophia Bennett (August 22, 2021)
invygo, a Middle East’s car subscription service, recently announced that it has raised $1.9 million (SAR7.12 million) from new and existing investors. The pre-series A round included participation from Signal Peak Ventures, JS Group, Wealth Well and once again from Knollwood Investment Advisory. This round also had participation from Saudi Arabia’s Dr. Faisal Al Kadi, […]
Digital Agency Like Digital &Partners Appoints New Director of Technology
By Sophia Bennett (August 19, 2021)
The digital agency Like Digital & Partners has announced the appointment of Pradeep Shukla as Director of Technology. In his new role as Technology Director, he will be the driving force behind Like Digital & Partners’ all enterprise technology practices for clients such as Sitecore, Big-commerce, Shopify, Content stack to name a few. “Joining a […]
Arab Advisors Group Announces Its New Social Media Benchmarking Report
By Sophia Bennett (August 17, 2021)
Arab Advisors Group recently announced the launch of its new benchmark reports during September 2021 covering key telecom operators in MENA. The reports will track and monitor operators’ presence, engagement, responsiveness, and interaction on social media platforms.  The reports will cover more than 40 operators which offer telecommunication services across 14 Arab countries. These countries are Algeria, […]
Medal.tv Acquires Live Streaming Platform Rawa
By Sophia Bennett (August 16, 2021)
Medal.tv, a short-form video clipping service and social network for gamers, is entering the livestreaming market with the acquisition of Rawa.tv, a Twitch rival based in Dubai, which had raised around $1 million to date. The seven-figure, all-cash deal will see two of Rawa’s founders, Raya Dadah and Phil Jammal, now joining Medal, and further […]
Dubai-based New Metrics Partners With LinkedIn for Better Employee Experience
By Sophia Bennett (August 15, 2021)
Experience management consultancy New Metrics recently announced their formal partnership with professional networking giant LinkedIn for end-to-end employee experience offering. The Dubai-based company specialises in people-centric digital transformations: looking to blend the latest in technology with human nature to help clients provide quality experiences for employees and customers alike.  Mapping the employee journey forms a core part […]
Logicserve Digital Wins Paid Media Mandate for Domino’s MENAP
By Sophia Bennett (August 13, 2021)
Logicserve Digital – MEA, a digital marketing and transformation company based out of Dubai, has won the paid media mandate for Domino’s MENAP. As part of this mandate, the company will manage overall paid media activities for the brand in  UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon.  The focus of all activities will be on designing highly optimised and customised solutions that […]
Anghami Lab to Launch Across The Middle East Soon
By Sophia Bennett (August 12, 2021)
The UAE-based music streaming platform Anghami Lab has announced that any music created in the Anghami Lab will stream exclusively on Anghami. It is a joint venture with Addmind, a hospitality-focused business. The first Anghami Lab will launch in the heart of Dubai, with locations in Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Cairo, Beirut, Doha, London, New […]
MENA Tech by GGTech Entertainment Launches Strike Arabia Championship
By Sophia Bennett (August 11, 2021)
MENA Tech (MTE), a company owned by GGTech Entertainment to manage its MENA operations, has launched the Strike Arabia Championship, the first VALORANT competition to unite competitors across the GCC, Iraq, Levant, Egypt and North Africa. The Strike Arabia Championship is the result of MENA Tech’s agreement with Riot Games, and which includes the organisation […]
Crowd Content Platform, Jordan's BithTV Raises $205,000 Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (August 09, 2021)
Jordan-based BithTV, a crowd content platform for Arab gamers has successfully raised $205K in its latest funding round. The Seed round was led by existing investor Oasis500, with participation from BeyondCapital and various Angel Investors including family offices and individuals investors from BeyondCapital’s Angel Network (BCAN). Launched in 2020, BithTV offers a content platform for […]
Increff Partners With Fashion and Logistics Brands Namshi and Aramex
By Sophia Bennett (August 07, 2021)
Increff, the India-based data technology venture in the fashion and lifestyle segment, has finalised partnership deals with UAE’s brands in fashion and logistics, Namshi and Aramex. The deal will enable the two UAE companies to gain access to Increff’s multichannel smart fulfilment platform Assure, which helps companies automate processes, improve manpower efficiency and reduce operational […]
POSRocket Announces $5 Million In Funding
By Sophia Bennett (August 06, 2021)
Jordanian cloud-based point-of-sale software startup POSRocket has announced that it has secured $5 million funds. The round is led by SANAD Fund for MSME and Algebra Ventures.  Vision Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, Edgo Group, Innovative Startups And SMEs Fund (ISSF), Etihad Bank, Seedstars, and some angel investors also participated in the deal. It takes POSRocket’s total […]
Opontia Acquires Medical Equipment UAE-based eCommerce Brand Novimed
By Sophia Bennett (August 02, 2021)
eCommerce enabler Opontia has acquired UAE-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) medical equipment and therapeutic products, Novimed. Novimed launched in 2017 with its first core product: medical pillows and cushions for patients suffering from acid reflux. The company now offers different kinds of medical products to support patients and physicians during treatment plans, including medical braces, foot care […]
Huda Beauty Angels Invest in Women’s Wellness Startup Ketish
By Sophia Bennett (August 01, 2021)
Iraqi-US beauty mogul Huda Kattan has announced Ketish as the first brand to be launched by Huda Beauty Angels — which falls under HB Investments, Kattan’s venture capital firm. Ketish, a feminine care label, is being spearheaded by Eman Abbass, a former Huda Beauty product developer. “I’m really excited on a deep level about Huda […]
The Power Of Review And Rating Sites in UAE, KSA: YouGov Study
By Sophia Bennett (August 01, 2021)
As the world becomes more digitalised, online reputation can be the strongest asset or the biggest liability. This is because online reviews matter and are often used by consumers as their informants before making important decisions. YouGov’s latest study reveals the power of review and rating sites (like Google Reviews, Glassdoor, etc.) and the trust […]
Last-mile Startup WeDeliver Raises $2.4M in Pre-Seed Round
By Sophia Bennett (July 31, 2021)
Riyadh-headquartered B2B asset-light last-mile startup, WeDeliver, has announced the closing of its unprecedented $2.4 million pre-Seed round. This is the largest pre-Seed round for a Saudi-based startup and the third-largest for a startup in the MENA region. The company, founded by three industry entrepreneurs, launched operations in Riyadh in April 2020, just a few weeks […]
Udrive Raises $5 Million, Plans to Enhance Data Analytics Capabilities 
By Sophia Bennett (July 31, 2021)
With the UAE’s economy opening up and mobility once again on an uptick post-pandemic, Udrive, the app-based pay-per-minute car rental service, is accelerating its growth — by doubling its fleet size over the next 3 months and targeting 500 per cent revenue growth in the next 12 months — as it looks to continue disrupting […]
GamesBandy Receives $40,000 Grant from  MENA Startup Accelerator Taqadam
By Sophia Bennett (July 30, 2021)
GamesBandy received a $40,000 grant from Taqadam, a MENA startup accelerator helping innovators push the boundaries of what is possible for their gamer marketplace platform. Taqadam will also spend six months guiding and developing the company through mentorship, zero-equity funding, and training. The grant comes just a couple of months after GamesBandy received seed funding […]
W7Worldwide Sets Out The 7 Best Practices In Influencer Marketing In Covid-19
By Sophia Bennett (July 29, 2021)
The Covid-19 pandemic initially resulted in a downturn for influencer marketing, as brands and agencies suspended campaigns and sponsorship deals.  However, the industry has adapted well over the past year, and many brands are now upping spend in the category as a result.  Influencers are usually compensated by brands for the content they deliver either […]
MENA’s Startup Ecosystem: Heating Up, Gaining Ground
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (July 29, 2021)
Startups are not only key drivers of economic growth and job creation but are often a catalyst for innovation. In the MENA region, innovation by young firms contributes significantly to aggregate productivity growth.  When it comes to startup success stories in the region, ride-hailing service Careem, which was acquired by the US-based Uber in 2019, […]
CX Should Keep CEOs Awake At Night
By Sophia Bennett (July 27, 2021)
The channel lines are blurring, not just for consumers but for enterprises as well. Engaging with brands and their representatives across online, phone, in-store with no degradation of service and or weak links is key to maintaining a consistent brand story.  SAP is building solutions that help companies achieve this. In the last year, acquisitions […]
UAE Leads MENA Region In Crowdsourcing Industry
By Sophia Bennett (July 26, 2021)
According to Stefan Toubia, Founder and CEO of Raayi, the region’s first cross-industry crowdsourcing review platform, the UAE is leading the MENA region in the crowdsourcing industry where public participation in issues of national importance, including health and education, is highly encouraged. “Crowdsourcing, or the practice of enlisting the recommendations or contributions of a large […]
Engine Media's UMG Gaming Renews Partnership with Microsoft's The Coalition
By Sophia Bennett (July 25, 2021)
Engine Media Holdings, Inc, a company providing sports and esports gaming experiences, along with media solutions focused on influencer marketing, gaming data and analytics, and programmatic advertising, announced that The Coalition has renewed its agreement with UMG Gaming, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Engine, to be the principal Esports partner for Gears Esports for another season. […]
State Of Martech In Saudi Arabia
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (July 25, 2021)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is focused on economic diversification — from a natural resource-based economy to an innovation hub powered by technology. The large and growing local population means solid domestic demand for goods, services and infrastructure. As a result, the government is pouring billions of dollars into high-tech infrastructure, launching funds, moving […]
Sheikh Mohammed Approves Board And Advisory Council Of Dubai International Chamber
By Sophia Bennett (July 21, 2021)
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the board of directors and the advisory council of the newly-formed Dubai International Chamber as part of a recent government restructuring that aims to drive a comprehensive economic development in Dubai. Dubai International Chamber, one […]
Bevy Acquires Egyptian Virtual Events Platform Eventtus
By Sophia Bennett (July 19, 2021)
Bevy, a California-based enterprise software startup for virtual conferences and community events has acquired Egyptian event management software startup Eventtus, it announced. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Mai Medhat and Nihal Fares who had founded Eventtus in 2012 are joining Bevy’s leadership team as Vice President of Innovation and Director of […]
Taager Raises $6.4m to Expand Middle East presence
By Sophia Bennett (July 19, 2021)
Cairo-based eCommerce platform Taager secured $6.4 million in new funding to expand its operations across the Middle East as it looks to capitalise on growth of online shopping in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The early-stage funding round was led by 4DX Ventures, a pan-Africa-focused venture capital company, the Taager said in a statement […]
Aleph Acquires 86% of Connect Ads
By Sophia Bennett (July 19, 2021)
Aleph Holding announced its acquisition of 86 per cent of Connect Ads in a cash and shares’ swap transaction. The acquisition sees Aleph Holding entering the MENA market as it continues its drive to expand globally and increase its presence in new territories, now reaching 90 markets and territories. Aleph provides leading digital platforms such […]
SRMG Acquires 51% of Saudi Podcast Platform Thmanyah
By Sophia Bennett (July 18, 2021)
The Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG) announced the acquisition of a 51 per cent controlling stake in Arabic podcast platform Thmanyah, one of the leading podcast platforms and documentary producers in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. SRMG’s acquisition of Thmanyah is part of the Group’s new digital-first, multi-platform approach and commitment […]
Dubai’s Arrow Labs Raises $5 Million To Help Businesses Manage Field Operations
By Sophia Bennett (July 18, 2021)
Arrow Labs, the technology company uniting deskless, frontline workers announced the investment of Draper Associates, the Venture Capital fund founded by renowned American investor Tim Draper, in its US$5 million Series A fundraise. Draper Associates’ investment is one of the company’s first in a MENA region company, reflecting the company’s excitement at the technology of […]
Hardee’s Uses Snapchat to Upgrade its Brand Image
By Sophia Bennett (July 16, 2021)
Hardee’s and Initiative Media partnered with Snapchat to elevate its brand image and to connect with consumers by building on its “Go All In” campaign.  Through this collaboration with Snapchat, Hardee’s leveraged a dual-format approach using augmented reality (AR) Snapchat Lens and commercials to generate awareness and excitement around the brand’s limited-edition burgers launched for […]
Scopernia Launches Gaming Consulting Offering for Business
By Sophia Bennett (July 16, 2021)
Scopernia, a new generation management consulting firm, has launched a gaming consulting service – Scopernia Gaming. The proposition taps into several, current global trends at once.  Gaming is a rapidly expanding industry, even more so following the pandemic-induced focus on home entertainment. A September 2020 report from consultancy Simon Kucher & Partners revealed that Covid-19 […]
Setting The Bar With Programmatic Adtech
By Chandni U (July 13, 2021)
While the global programmatic advertising market is set to reach $150 billion, the Middle East is recognising the greater benefits of the advanced adtech, including pDOOH Sixty programmatic ad versions resulted in 650,000 new prospective customers and a 10:1 ROI — The Economist wanted to persuade readers to buy and trust their publication. Leveraging programmatic […]
‘Continuous Social Intelligence Empowers Businesses’
By Sophia Bennett (July 11, 2021)
A seasoned marketing professional with vast experience in the MENA region, Rami Deeb, who manages Talkwalker’s digital marketing efforts for the MEA market, talks about how social intelligence provides insight to predict consumer behaviour and the key challenges brands face today. Why is social intelligence becoming so important? Social media is a gold mine for […]
The Latest In Last-Mile Delivery 
By Yolande DMello (July 11, 2021)
Innovative technologies are working to fill the last mile fulfilment gap so marketers can offer flexible delivery options that consumers demand  According to a study commissioned by Dubai Police, Dubai Economy and financial services provider Visa at the height of the pandemic last year, 68 per cent of UAE residents reduced in-store shopping and 49 […]
89% of GCC Consumers Will Opt For Digital Banking Services Post-COVID
By Sophia Bennett (July 09, 2021)
Consumer appetite for digital banking services continues to grow in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, accelerated further by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey conducted by Backbase with YouGov. 77 per cent of respondents in the GCC access digital banking services at least once a week 44 per cent are willing to switch […]
Every Second Off eCommerce Page Load Time Provides Conversion Lift
By Sophia Bennett (July 08, 2021)
Yottaa published the Site Speed Standard, a new online benchmark that measures the experience and conversion impact of site speed on eCommerce sites, drawing on the shopping activity of more than 25 billion page views across 200 leading retailers. The Site Speed Standard is the industry’s first interactive database for data directly related to the […]
Most Recommended Brands in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt
By Sophia Bennett (July 08, 2021)
YouGov analysis reveals Emirates, Adidas and iPhone top the list of most recommended brands in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively. The rankings are based on YouGov BrandIndex’s positive Recommend score, which measures the percentage of a brand’s customers who would recommend it to a friend or colleague. Every brand in our Rankings has […]
MENA’s Online Retail is the Largest Contributor To the Digital Economy
By Sophia Bennett (July 07, 2021)
MENA’s consumer digital economy is set to double in the coming three years to reach $100 billion, according to a new report by RedSeer. The strategy consulting firm has been tracking the development of the consumer digital economy for years, leveraging this know-how to find that while the Middle East and North Africa’s market is […]
The Luxury Closet Raises $14 Million
By Sophia Bennett (July 07, 2021)
The Luxury Closet, the leading GCC online luxury resale marketplace, announced it has secured a $14 million equity capital raise in a round led by GMP Investments, with participation from regional and international investors including HB Investments, Nazer Group, MEVP, and MLM Investment Company. The capital raised will accelerate The Luxury Closet’s already robust global […]
Virgin Mobile Partners with Merkle for Performance Media
By Sophia Bennett (July 07, 2021)
Virgin Mobile has selected Merkle as its performance agency in the United Arab Emirates. With millions of users in the Middle East, Virgin Mobile (a subsidiary of Richard Branson founded Virgin) is one of the largest telecom players in the region. Virgin Mobile delivers mobile telecom services to consumers across the region through two brands: […]
Caring for CX — MarTech in Healthcare 
By Yolande DMello (July 07, 2021)
In March 2020, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) collaborated with the telecom operator Du to set up the first virtual hospital in the Middle East to provide remote care to patients. In May, MoHAP upgraded all its hospital outpatient clinics to virtual. Later in July, Mulk Healthcare launched the first e-hospital as […]
MaxAB Raises $40 Million in Series A Round
By Sophia Bennett (July 06, 2021)
MaxAB has secured $40M in a Series A round, led by RMBV, a prominent impact investor in North Africa. The round included participation from the IFC, Flourish Ventures, Crystal Stream Capital, Rise Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst as well as MaxAB’s existing investors, Beco Capital and 4DX Ventures. MaxAB is Crystal Stream and Flourish Ventures’ first […]
Second-hand Luxury Goods Market Using Digital Technology To Mimic In-store Experience 
By Sophia Bennett (July 05, 2021)
Live shopping and social commerce come as the latest eCommerce trends in the second-hand luxury goods market and combine technological advances and social media channels to provide the familiar, quaintly nostalgic concept of in-person shopping. According to Bain & Company, the GCC luxury goods market was valued at $7.4 billion in 2020 and is forecasted […]
KHEDMAH Signs Agreement With Direct Software For Bouquet Of Entertainment Services
By Sophia Bennett (July 05, 2021)
Oman Investment & Finance Co. (KHEDMAH), one of the leading investments and services companies in Oman, has signed an agreement with Direct Software to provide one-touch access to many top-up and recharge services associated with the world’s top retailers, especially in the entertainment space. The agreement was signed by Saud Ahmed Al Siyabi, Chief Operating […]
Is the Creator Economy Coming of Age?
By Yolande DMello (July 05, 2021)
Understanding the creator economy and the revenue rigmarole will help markets to gauge the impact on brands and pivot efforts Twenty-three-year-old Noor Naim kicked off her YouTube career in 2014 with a vlog entitled What’s in my iPhone. Since then, the Iraqi influencer has become synonymous with her handle Noor Stars. Noor has more than […]
Kantar Announces Senior Appointments in MENA Region 
By Sophia Bennett (July 04, 2021)
Evidence-based insights and consulting company Kantar announced the appointment of Amol Ghate as Managing Director, MENAP. With over two decades of experience leading cross-functional teams and delivering cutting-edge consumer insights to clients across the region, Amol has led some of Kantar’s largest client relationships regionally, consulting on business issues around brand equity, segmentation and positioning, […]
Egypt’s Minly raises $3.6 Million Seed for its Celebrity shoutout Platform
By Sophia Bennett (July 02, 2021)
Minly, an Egypt-based creator economy platform, announced that it closed a $3.6 million seed round to allow stars across the MENA region to create authentic, personalised connections with their fans. The round, which Minly says was oversubscribed, was co-led by 4DX Ventures, B&Y Venture Partners and Global Ventures. It also included participation from unnamed regional […]
UAE Startup eyewa Raises $21m in Series B Funding Round
By Sophia Bennett (July 02, 2021)
The Middle East’s largest online eyewear retailer, eyewa, said that it had raised $21m as part of its Series B funding round co-led by Kingsway Capital and Nuwa Capital. The deal was also joined by French Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, Derayah Ventures, Palm Drive, and Hardy Capital, and takes Eyewa’s total capital raised to date to […]
Dubai-based Postpay Secures $10 Million Investment 
By Sophia Bennett (July 02, 2021)
Buy now pay later (BNPL) player Postpay has raised $10 million from global buy now pay later leader Afterpay and Australia-based AP Ventures, it announced in a statement. Tariq Sheikh, founder and CEO of Postpay, said, “We are extremely grateful and excited to have Afterpay and AP Ventures as part of our investor-base. Afterpay is […]
Fanplayr Expands In MENA with Woman-led Reseller Magnify Solutions 
By Sophia Bennett (July 01, 2021)
Fanplayr, a company in the online behavioural personalisation and artificial intelligence space, announces it will continue its global expansion with a presence in the Middle East and North Africa through a partnership with Magnify Solutions – a woman-led reseller based in Dubai. The new partnership will allow Fanplayr to bring its full line of eCommerce […]
The Last Word is…CX
By Soumyadeep Roy (June 27, 2021)
Gone are the days when price and product solely decided a customer’s loyalty to brands. Today, customers value the time spent together with a brand. If the experience is memorable, the brand is rewarded with increased business. Conversely, if the experience is mediocre and “taxing” for the customer, the brand may not have a great […]
Avaya Discusses Future of Customer Contact Centres with MENA Leaders
By Sophia Bennett (June 25, 2021)
Business and technology leaders representing key vertical industries across the GCC agree that the organisations creating the future of customer experience will do so with a digital-first mindset that meets customers’ increasingly digital demands. The consensus was reached at Avaya CXO (Re)Connect, the first major in-person meeting of technology leaders hosted by Avaya in the […]
HUAWEI Ads Partners with ArabyAds 
By Sophia Bennett (June 25, 2021)
The new collaboration allows ArabyAds to lead on advertising sales and optimisation of the inventory options available on Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) across the MENA region. ArabyAds, a leading ecommerce marketing platform, has inked a partnership with HUAWEI Ads that grants the platform Huawei’s Certified Partner Badge. The year-long joint partnership will see ArabyAds utilise […]
Seasoning the Sale with Martech
By Chandni U (June 23, 2021)
With the Dubai Summer Surprises and the Amazon Prime Day Sale, experts suggest bands leverage sound marketing strategies Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) and the Amazon Prime Day Sale make a perfect mix of excitement and an on-demand hustle. While shoppers are getting their shopping lists updated, expecting to see big discounts, brands are awaiting much-needed […]
Bahwan CyberTek and TIBCO Extend Strategic Partnership 
By Sophia Bennett (June 22, 2021)
Bahwan CyberTek, a global provider of digital transformation solutions, and TIBCO Software, a global leader in enterprise data, announced the extension of their strategic partnership up to 2027 with BCT as the strategic partner based in the MENA and India region for local customer and partner requirements. This partnership covers all TIBCO’s Connect, Unify, and […]
Retention is a Crucial Cog in the Growth Wheel 
By Yolande DMello (June 22, 2021)
The pandemic has changed the way consumers buy, and companies who adapted to these changing behaviours find themselves in a favourable position. The market has never been more competitive, and consumers are wiser than ever before.  Avlesh Singh, Co-founder of, WebEngage shares his insights on the changes that are transforming the Martech landscape and what […]
DISQO Acquires Verto Analytics
By Sophia Bennett (June 20, 2021)
Audience insights platform DISQO announced that it has acquired cross-device measurement company Verto Analytics (Verto). As part of the transaction, DISQO acquired Verto’s technology, intellectual property and measurement capabilities. DISQO is an audience insights platform that powers brand decisions. The DISQO platform is built on connected permission-based data, shared directly by consumers.  Armen Adjemian, DISQO’s […]
Digital Audio Strikes the Ad Chord
By Chandni U (June 06, 2021)
While podcasts are becoming a popular advertising tool in, many audio brands are looking to launch several ad formats for increased monetisation Traffic jams and long drives are not the only time when people lend their ears to audio. Over the years, audio streaming has evolved with smartphones and smart devices replacing traditional radio. The […]
Edelman Names Kenana Dahlan as Head of Saudi Arabia Operations
By Sophia Bennett (June 03, 2021)
Edelman announced Kenana Dahlan as the new head of its Saudi Arabia business, strengthening its senior advisory offering in the Kingdom. Dahlan joins Edelman with a decade of experience working in strategic communications. Her previous roles include in-house positions at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), significant development projects, and experience counselling senior […]
Performance54 Strengthens Sponsorship with Roger Duthie, 2 More Senior Appointments
By Sophia Bennett (June 02, 2021)
Sports marketing and consultancy group Performance54 has added Roger Duthie, Anthony Banerjee and Tom Hogg to its team.  Roger Duthie, formerly Global Head of Sponsorships at Emirates Airline, arrives at Performance54 as Chief Sponsorship Officer, while maintaining management of his own sports marketing consultancy in Dubai. During his nearly 20 years at Emirates Airline, Duthie […]
Martechvibe to host the Vibe Martech Fest in South Africa
By Sophia Bennett (June 02, 2021)
Vibe Martech Fest, the oldest and biggest martech event in the Middle East, has announced a special virtual edition for South Africa on the 3rd and 4th August, 2021. Vibe Martech Fest has been the flag-bearer of the evolution of marketing in the Middle East driven by technology. Bringing the successful franchise to South Africa […]
Marketers, Get Ready For No Cookies Day
By Aarti Chawla (May 30, 2021)
2022 is when the cookie-less future dawns  on us. If I were a CMO, the first thing I would do is designate an individual internally to be solely responsible for making sure we are ready for a cookie-less future and that will be their only job between now and December 31, 2021, says Dan Levin, […]
Breinify Raises $11M Seed; Offers Marketers Low-code Personalisation Platform
By Sophia Bennett (May 30, 2021)
Lightweight personalisation platform Breinify succeeds with record-breaking closing; raises a total of $11M. This new round was led by Gutbrain Ventures and PBJ Capital, with participation from Streamlined Ventures, The CXO Fund, Amino Capital, Startup Capital Ventures and Sterling Road. “Breinify is taking the world by storm with their incredibly powerful AI personalisation platform. They […]
Why Is GCC Witnessing A Digital Marketing Boom?
By Chandni U (May 28, 2021)
The rising eCommerce revenues have impacted digital marketing in the GCC, indicating an increasing business value Hugo Boss recently announced their online expansion to another 12 countries, of which five are in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The increasing digital presence and marketing in the GCC look optimistic, but let us have an in-depth […]
77% of MENA Consumers Prepared To Share Personal Data for Healthier Product Recommendations: EY Report 
By Sophia Bennett (May 28, 2021)
According to the EY Future Consumer Index, a total of 70% of consumers in the MENA region believe brands have a responsibility to positively impact the world, with purpose mattering more than ever.  As MENA consumers look to the future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the index suggests that a significant amount of them […]
Conventional Marketing Requires A Serial Overhaul 
By Sophia Bennett (May 26, 2021)
The much needed digital transformation has crafted a space where brands are now able to deliver empathetic marketing. Data informs marketers, so they can personalise their message, break clutter and offer solutions within a meaningful context. Adeel E, Director Brand Strategy and Planning, Zain KSA talks to Martechvibe about using technology to preempt customer needs.  […]
Realty With Virtual Reality
By Chandni U (May 26, 2021)
Accelerated by the pandemic, AR/VR marketing has gripped real estate, helping customers to make informed decisions from the comfort of their home
Dubai Customs Introduces Blockchain-Based Platform To Facilitate Cross-Border E-Commerce
By Sophia Bennett (May 25, 2021)
Dubai, the second largest emirate of the UAE, stands among the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), bearing the fruits of adopting incentivising policies and “smart government” initiatives. Recently, the Government of Dubai rolled out the emirate’s e-commerce strategy that aims to strengthen Dubai’s status as a global logistics […]
Snap Announces A Slew Of Features At Snap Partner Summit 2021
By Sophia Bennett (May 25, 2021)
Snapchat at Snap Partner Summit 2021 announced a slew of updates that are aiming to grow its presence among creators, businesses, and developers. Real-time wrist tracking Snap, the parent company behind Snapchat and chief rival of Facebook-owned Instagram, introduced features called Creator Marketplace and Gifting to help creators attract monetisation. The company has also brought […]
Mitto Expands Messaging Channel Portfolio With Addition of Viber Business
By Sophia Bennett (May 21, 2021)
Mitto, a leading provider of global omnichannel communications solutions, has acquired added Viber Business, a group messaging app utilised by more than 1 billion users worldwide. With the addition of Viber Business, Mitto provides enterprises with yet another channel to increase their regional and global reach, drive meaningful conversations and connect with customers no matter […]
Snapchat’s New Entertainment Platform Spotlight Arrives in the Middle East 
By Sophia Bennett (May 18, 2021)
Snap Inc. has launched its new entertainment platform Spotlight in markets across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), enabling its audience of approximately 75 million users in the region to now shine a light on the most entertaining Snaps created by the Snapchat community. With around 5 billion Snaps created each day on average, […]
Getting E-Commerce Right
By Chandni U (May 17, 2021)
Ramping up digital activities and exploring a wide range of tools has never been more important  It was the change in customer behaviour that prompted the launch of My Lily Box in 2020. A feminine hygiene and self-care subscription box, set up for the women in the MENA region who wanted an alternative method to […]
World's First 5G-Powered, Hybrid Festival Experience To Become Reality Soon
By Sophia Bennett (May 12, 2021)
Leading organisations from across the UK’s arts, entertainment and technology industries including Digital Catapult, the Warner Music Group and O2 are collaborating to create the first-ever hybrid 5G Festival. The 5G Festival will be a showcase of creative talent blended with the power of advanced digital technologies, and broadcast live directly to audiences at remote […]
Banking On Voice Assistants
By Chandni U (May 10, 2021)
Leaving chatbots behind, Intelligent Voice Assistants are increasingly taking over the banking industry Our world will be populated with eight billion Intelligent Voice Assistants (IVAs) by 2023. With smart TVs, smart speakers and other wearables becoming popular, various industry sectors are leveraging IVAs to enhance customer experience. Among them is the Banking, Financial Services and […]
Riyadh-Based Retailo Raises $6.7 Million Seed To Grow Its B2B Marketplace In MENAP
By Sophia Bennett (May 06, 2021)
Riyadh-headquartered B2B e-commerce marketplace Retailo has raised $6.7 million in the largest seed-round-ever for a Saudi startup. The deal comes just seven months after Retailo raised $2.3 million in what was one of the largest pre-seed rounds of the region. The seed round that takes Retailo’s total financing to date to $9 million was led […]
DoubleVerify Expands into MENA to Meet Demand for Media Quality Verification 
By Sophia Bennett (May 06, 2021)
DoubleVerify, a leading software platform for digital media measurement, data and analytics, announced the expansion of its business into the Middle East and North Africa  (MENA) region.  To support its operations, DV has appointed two new business directors – Johara Abdelmoumen and Wassim Mneimneh – both of whom join with extensive experience of the region. Based in DV’s Dubai office, they will […]
Why Are Marketers Investing in AdTech During The Pandemic? 
By Yolande DMello (May 05, 2021)
Ad tech giants are seeing a surge in business as marketers rejig their budgets to focus on targeted digital spends. As the economy recovers, forward-thinking brands are planning ahead to hit a significant ROI   It’s been a tough year for marketers. Most marketing teams saw their budgets slashed as consumption slowed. According to Statista, overall […]
Dubai Economy Launches DND Service To Stop Unwanted Promotional Calls
By Sophia Bennett (May 04, 2021)
The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in Dubai Economy has launched a smart service to protect the public from the menace of random promotional calls. The service, available on the portal dnd.ded.ae, will allow consumers to report annoying calls from businesses and marketing teams promoting their products and services. Consumers can submit their […]
GCC Tech Start-ups Cautiously Optimistic About Post-Pandemic Future  
By Sophia Bennett (May 02, 2021)
Across the GCC bloc, fingerprint and facial recognition regulate entry into factories, ensure employee attendance, and even offer access to telephone records. But with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic making people recoil at the thought of touching public surfaces, biometric identification providers have had to rethink their business. Zain Moosa and Syed Abrar Ahmed launched […]
Yougov Acquires Open Banking Start-Up Lean App
By Sophia Bennett (April 27, 2021)
Data analytics firm Yougov has acquired open banking start-up Lean App to help improve its services with financial transaction data.  Lean App has been acquired by Yougov on a three year earn-out, tied to enriching and expanding the research company’s data in the UK and the US. Lean App’s founders – Luke Dugdale, Tom Stuart, […]
Dubai’s Huspy Raises Seed Funding For Online Mortgage Platform
By Sophia Bennett (April 26, 2021)
Dubai-based online mortgage platform Huspy has raised seed funding in a round led by Athens-based VentureFriends, it announced in a statement earlier this week. Beco Capital’s former managing partner Amir Farha also participated in the deal (through his new firm COTU) along with B&Y Venture Partners, Plug and Play, and some family offices from the […]
Raqmiyat, Software AG partner To Empower Innovation-Driven Organisations In UAE
By Sophia Bennett (April 26, 2021)
Raqmiyat has signed a strategic partnership with Software AG to empower entities in the UAE to deliver data-driven intelligent solutions. Under the agreement, the two companies will address customers’ needs to adopt innovation, gain results and grow sustainably with the lineup of the new Software AG solutions such as Application Program Interface (API) technologies, webMethods, […]
Top Creative Agencies of the Region
By Chandni U (April 26, 2021)
Whether it’s planning an innovative campaign or reworking your marketing strategy, here are our top picks of Digital Advertising agencies in the MENA region  FP7 McCANN Calling themselves the Middle East’s voice, the Full-Service Marketing and Advertising Company is a multi-award winner, including Cannes Lions. Headquartered in Dubai, with 15 other offices around 13 countries, […]
Facebook teams up with Arab podcast network Sowt
By Sophia Bennett (April 19, 2021)
Facebook has announced a partnership with a leading Arabic podcast network, Sowt, to spotlight inspiring community leaders from the Arab diaspora to speak about how they have been using Facebook’s family of apps – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – for acts of kindness, charity, fundraising and donations during the month of Ramadan.With the help of […]
MENA Employees Happiest When Able to Work From Anywhere: Study
By Sophia Bennett (April 14, 2021)
Fifty-eight percent of workers in the Middle East and North Africa region have felt happier over the past year as a result of working from home, according to a new study commissioned by Avaya. The Life and Work Beyond 2020 study, conducted by research firm Davies Hickman Partners, polled 10,000 consumers and workers in 11 […]
E-Commerce Spending in UAE, Saudi Arabia Surge this Ramadan 
By Sophia Bennett (April 14, 2021)
Digital spending is expected to surge further in the UAE and Saudi Arabia this month, with approximately 76 per cent consumers planning to buy more frequently online during Ramadan, according to a new survey.  About 60 per cent of people surveyed in the two countries said they expect to buy groceries more often this Ramadan, […]
Are You Ready for a Virtual Ramadan?
By Suparna Dutt DCunha (April 13, 2021)
From live streaming prayers to prevent any potential spiritual vacuum to rustling up meals using recipes on YouTube, Muslims around the world are going high-tech We are in a pandemic mode for over a year now. But just as Ramadan has been extraordinary last year under the Covid-19 lockdown, this year as well, it will […]
Virgin Mobile UAE Partners With Merkle for Performance Media
By Sophia Bennett (April 12, 2021)
Merkle has been selected as the performance agency for Virgin Mobile in the UAE. Merkle, a part of the Dentsu group, is a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management company. Merkle specialises in delivering unique and personalised digital customer experiences.  Merkle has been tasked with building and executing a performance strategy that helps drive brand […]
'Made in Saudi' Gets a Thumbs Up From Industry
By Sophia Bennett (April 09, 2021)
Secretary General of Saudi Export Development Authority (Saudi Exports) Faisal Al-Bedah has revealed that more than 850 companies have applied to join the ‘Made in Saudi’ program. The program was recently launched by Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef, who is also the chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Exports, under […]
Mastercard, Uber Extend Partnership to Boost Digitisation Across Middle East, Africa
By Sophia Bennett (April 08, 2021)
Uber’s long-term partnership with Mastercard continues to grow with a new strategic initiative focusing on digital payments and advancing financial inclusions which will be facilitated by Mastercard across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). As a regional first, the partnership with Mastercard will enable Uber to drive digitisation across their business operations, leveraging Mastercard’s single […]
Al Hail Holding acquires Allied Investment Partners
By Sophia Bennett (April 07, 2021)
Abu Dhabi-based investment company Al Hail Holding has completed the buy of wealth and asset management firm Allied Investment Partners (AIP). Al Hail Holding did not disclose the value of the acquisition. ‘We are excited about this acquisition and the new board of directors which consists of reputable and experienced directors, which will also provide […]
Stripe Heads To Dubai For MENA Debut
By Sophia Bennett (April 07, 2021)
Fintech Startup Stripe has set up in Dubai for its debut in the Middle East and North Africa region. Stripe has partnered with Dubai-based payments processor Network International, the company said in a statement. “Our launch today means we can now connect our global user base to the Gulf, enabling them to seamlessly expand their operations […]
UAE Businesses Ramp Up Online Presence During Global Pandemic: Study
By Sophia Bennett (April 04, 2021)
UAE entrepreneurs have increased their digital intiatives to help attract and retain more customers during the pandemic, according to the GoDaddy Entrepreneur Survey. The study has revealed that 36 per cent of UAE entrepreneurs have increased their digital marketing activities to attract more customers. Nearly a third use their current online presence to sell goods […]
Customer Profiles That Businesses Can’t Ignore
By Soumyadeep Roy (March 31, 2021)
The world as we know is changing at a fast pace. The pandemic accelerated changes on many levels across industries. As people remained confined indoors, and all outdoor activities were severely restricted, online was the only way they could spend time with each other without flouting social distancing norms. The same applied to marketers too. […]
Toy Start-up Teeela Reports 900% YOY Growth And Expansion Plans
By Sophia Bennett (March 30, 2021)
Triggered by sales that exceeded more than three times the local demand, Teeela, a Kuwaiti toy start-up, reports experiencing a 900% YOY growth and reveals expansion plans in the MENA region. Teeela is the first company to provide customised gift wrapping services for the toys purchased by customers via its application. This innovative feature allows […]
EI-Technologies MENA To Provide Better Digital CX In The Middle East
By Sophia Bennett (March 30, 2021)
EI-Technologies MENA by Neo-Dis.com, the CRM partner providing technology consulting services and CRM multi-cloud implementation in the Middle East, is reinforcing its regional presence in the UAE to further expand its reach in the MENA region, with an aim to support businesses in their digital transformation using robust and innovative platforms. As an independent Salesforce […]
Get Your Arabic Website Rank on Google
By Aarti Chawla (March 27, 2021)
Arabic keyword research is critical SEO, content, and paid search strategy in the region. To create an active Arabic keyword list, brands need effective research to learn the local search habits and the difference between written and spoken Arabic. Mohammed was searching for a phone with a great camera and speaker quality. However, when he […]
emBlue Acquires Zenman for High-Quality Team and Exceptional Reputation
By Sophia Bennett (March 25, 2021)
emBlue announced it acquired Denver-based Zenman for its reputable expertise and phenomenal team. Zenman offers innovation in the world of web design and development, staying informed about web trends while providing features to clients based on their industry and desired functionality. The two groups will marry the individual companies’ expertise, optimising the customer experience and […]
VMF 2021: Vibe Martech Award Winners Announced
By Soumyadeep Roy (March 23, 2021)
Recognising the forces that shape the Martech Agenda.  About Vibe Martech Awards: The annual Vibe Martech Awards was launched to recognise innovators, disruptors and technologies that are forever pushing the boundaries of marketing technology. And to honour people and organisations advancing the Martech agenda. The inaugural session of the Vibe Martech Awards is open to […]
VMF 2021: Lessons From The Digital-first Leader And Their Success Mantra
By Sophia Bennett (March 23, 2021)
Everybody knows the importance of digitisation and the digital transformation of a company. Hear it from the digital-first leader Perihan Abouzeid, Head of Marketing, Viu Middle East, who embraced marketing technology to fast track business growth. Their ability to leverage digital tools has become critical for businesses to survive the on-going crisis. Here are the […]
VMF 2021: The Importance Of Assembling The Right Team 
By Sophia Bennett (March 23, 2021)
How important is it to have knowledge of both technical and quantitative skills? Sonia Lekhal talks about the importance of both technical and quantitative skills in order to assemble the right team. Sonia Lekhal, Chief Marketing Officer at Talabat. She has over 20 years of marketing expertise in e-commerce, digital marketing and digital transformation, as […]
VMF 2021: Marketing Leaders Who Are Sharing Their Insights
By Aarti Chawla (March 23, 2021)
Vibe Martech Fest is renowned for having world-class speakers and thought leaders who use technology to power marketing. Here’s a look at some eminent personalities who are sharing their insights and knowledge on the market’s current state.  Alastair Sherriffs Alastair Sherriffs started working in 2007 as an account manager and has worked with various organisations […]
Ramadan 2021: Facebook Study Showcases Trends and Behaviours of UAE Consumers During Holy Month
By Soumyadeep Roy (March 22, 2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the way people live, connect, shop and discover. This was more evident during Ramadan, a period of introspection and celebration for nearly 2 billion people. During Ramadan, people want to come together, whether virtually or socially distanced, to share joy with loved ones. Despite inevitable differences in recent years, […]
Brands Turn To VR and AR to stay Relevant in Saudi Arabia
By Sophia Bennett (March 22, 2021)
The strength and influence of Saudi Arabia’s economy in the world marketplace has grown exponentially during the past few decades. As one of the world’s fastest growing markets, the Kingdom is putting its best foot forward in globalisation. According to a 14-market study conducted by Ipsos and Facebook IQ focusing on consumer trends and habits […]
Top CEOs of Martech Companies
By Aarti Chawla (March 21, 2021)
They are the risk-takers who launched companies or built them up. Here’s the list of top CEOs of Martech companies. They are successful and talented leaders who have carved new paths and taken their businesses to new heights.   Marc Benioff CEO of Salesforce, USA Marc Benioff is Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Salesforce, […]
D-Link Launches New Channel Partner Scheme Across the Middle East
By Sophia Bennett (March 17, 2021)
D-Link Corporation announced the launch of a new, revitalised channel programme for its partners across the Middle East.   D-Link has provided switches, wireless, storage, IP surveillance, security, VoIP and cabling products to the industry for more than 20 years and has been operating through a channel-led model in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) […]
Anghami to list on Nasdaq New York
By Sophia Bennett (March 15, 2021)
Anghami, an Arabic music streaming service is set to be on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange list as part of a merger deal valuing platform at up to $230 million. It is assumed that the listing will be closed by the end of May or early June. Meanwhile, Vistas Media Acquisition Co. Inc. has already […]
Make Way for A Podcast Hustle
By Chandni U (March 09, 2021)
The popularity of listening to podcasts has attracted the attention of marketers who wish to turn this behaviour into a potential marketing strategy Over 80 per cent listeners spend over seven hours listening to podcasts every week. New episodes and platforms get launched almost every day. At a time when radio is considered old-fashioned, did […]
Wego Launches ShopCash for the MENA Market 
By Sophia Bennett (March 01, 2021)
ShopCash aims to be a one-stop-shop for cashback offers, coupons, deals and discounts. Wego, the largest online travel marketplace across the MENA region, announced the launch of ShopCash, an online shopping cashback and deal discovery app for Middle East consumers. ShopCash is available today for download from the iOS App Store, Google Play Store, and […]
Facebook Launches #LoveLocal Lebanon SMB Program  
By Sophia Bennett (February 24, 2021)
As part of its wider initiative to support small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) economic recovery, Facebook is launching the #LoveLocal Lebanon SMB Program. The program was developed in recognition that SMBs in Lebanon have been among the hardest hit by the current economic situation due to the pandemic. The damage to the economy got worse […]
Brands Take an AI-dive into Employee Experience
By Chandni U (February 04, 2021)
New findings reveal that employee experience is just as crucial as customer experience for a brand’s ROI. CMOs are using AR and VR technology to enhance EX. The uncommon working trends for employees in companies worldwide have created a select tab on the priority lists of CMOs. Employee Experience (EX) is proving to directly affect […]
Marketing Technology Can Make or Break Your Company
By Chandni U (January 29, 2021)
Marketing automation and the expeditious rise of Martech tools can help in business growth, but certain marketing technology drawbacks can be catastrophic. While the dawn of the digital era made several martech tools a part of common marketing strategies in businesses, the continued evolution of technology has got brands to dive deep into the realm […]
Top Six Middle East Retail Brands Using AI to Enhance CX
By Sophia Bennett (January 20, 2021)
AI in the retail industry presents a host of features that tailors the customer experience throughout the journey. Let’s find out how some of the renowned Middle Eastern brands are using AI to enhance the customer experience in retail. AI-based solutions prospect cost-saving of a whopping USD 340 billion within current deployments. In the Middle East […]
180 Expands Global Footprint with Middle East and North Africa Hubs
By Sophia Bennett (January 19, 2021)
The Amsterdam and Los Angeles-based creative agency 180 announced a significant expansion opening two new offices, 180 New York and 180 MENA, based in Dubai and Doha 180 New York will integrate the social consultancy Brand Intelligence Operating System (BIOS), whose expertise in audience-inspired creativity and platform will be integrated across the 180 network. The […]
Anghami Chooses Ding to Keep the Music Playing
By Sophia Bennett (December 09, 2020)
Anghami, the number 1 music streaming platform in the MENA region is joining forces with Ding, the largest mobile top-up platform, to enable their users to stay topped up directly from their Anghami account This means they no longer need to lose connectivity and the music never needs to stop. Under the new partnership, Anghami […]
Emirates NBD Boosts Digital User Engagement by 300%
By Sophia Bennett (December 09, 2020)
Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey) region, has elevated its customer-centric marketing strategy by delivering 1-to-1 personalised customer experiences via its website.  The company achieved this using Lemnisk, a real-time personalisation solution built on an intelligent and secure Customer Data Platform (CDP). As customers make digital […]
No More Cookies for Marketers?
By Sophia Bennett (July 26, 2020)
Google’s announcement of ending support for third-party tracking cookies in Chrome will potentially reshape the entire online advertising ecosystem Advertisers and publishers have relied on cookies to improve user experiences, target and track advertising. With the UAE set to pass its Data Privacy Laws similar to GDPR and CCPA, aimed at safeguarding consumer rights, marketers […]
Reimagining Customer Experience in a Time of Change 
By Sanjay Swamy (May 31, 2020)
In this exclusive interview with MarTech Vibe, Frederik Bisbjerg, Chief Operations Officer, Noor Takaful talks about reimagining customer experience in a time of change. 1. What’s the best way for organisations to reshape strategy to meet sharp shifts in customer behaviour? The short answer is companies need to redesign their operating model to be much […]
Merkle and Sprinklr Partner in the Middle East to Pioneer a New Way for Brands to Create Memorable Customer Experiences
By Sophia Bennett (May 18, 2020)
 Merkle, a leading technology-enabled, data-driven performance marketing agency and part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, has announced they are partnering with Sprinklr, the leading Customer Experience Management platform (CXM), in the Middle East and North Africa, to improve digital customer experiences across the region.  The partnership combines world-class creative talent and category-defining technology to help […]
Guide for Businesses and Brands Adapting to Ramadan in the New Reality
By Sophia Bennett (April 26, 2020)
The impact of social distancing as a result of the COVID-19 crisis has been felt across industries and sectors, with technology and social media playing a critical role in connecting people, communities and businesses.  In essence, this is even more pertinent given the imminent start of Ramadan. Amid this difficult period, it has become even […]
Will Covid-19 be the springboard for Human-less Retail?
By Scott Ellis (April 08, 2020)
With many countries around the world still in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of my focus this month has been in helping my retail clients to find new ways to cope and (in some cases) meet the increase in e-commerce demand. It would be wrong to write an article without a nod […]
It’s All Fake! Digital Advertising’s Biggest Concern
By Shalaka Nalawade (January 14, 2020)
Ad fraud is costing marketers approximately USD 20 billion per year. From fake audience to fake traffic, and fake clicks, to fake installs; advertisers are paying for clicks and exposure that never happens. In October 2018, Buzzfeed News uncovered a massive mobile ad fraud that affected over 125 android apps and websites, including Facebook, Lyft, […]
The Rise of the ‘M-Factor’ 
By Shant Oknayan (January 12, 2020)
With shopping trolleys in one hand and a smartphone in the other, the mobile phone has evolved from a simple texting and talking device into a constant companion for shoppers, having an ability to influence people along every step of their consumer journey. Shopping via mobile devices, personal computers, tablets and connected devices is now […]
Measurement, The Key to Driving Multichannel TV Campaigns
By David Spencer (July 25, 2019)
There have been many developments in the TV industry over the past decade, all have centred around a striking shift of power, the consumers are now firmly in the driving seat However, despite, and perhaps because of, the emergence of more digital channels, like over-the-top (OTT) and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), TV is holding its own […]
Tipping the Marketing Scale on Customer Experience
By Lisa Sharapata (July 18, 2019)
Marketing in the digital age requires brands to embrace new tactics, forge new alliances to enhance the customer experience. Though challenging, the organisations investing in these areas are the ones winning the battle for new customers and market share. The way in which brands connect with customers has transformed entirely. From the channels used and […]
One Year of GDPR: Privacy Laws, Data Breaches, and the Impact of Regulations
By Shalaka Nalawade (July 10, 2019)
On 25 May 2018, the European Union passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). One year on, and privacy laws and data across the globe haven’t been the same. “25 May marks the anniversary of Europe’s new data protection rules, the General Data Protection Regulation, also widely known as the GDPR,” Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for […]
CoSchedule Launches Marketing Suite, Boosts Product Offering for Marketers
By Sophia Bennett (June 25, 2019)
The family of agile marketing tools helps marketers publish more work, complete projects on time and prove value to stakeholders. CoSchedule, one of the fastest-growing marketing platform on the Inc. 5000 list, announced the launch of its new CoSchedule Marketing Suite. The Marketing Suite helps marketers stay focused, deliver projects on time and make their […]
Programmatic Advertising is Making Big Waves in the Middle East
By Anjali Gandhi (June 20, 2019)
Advertisers in the Middle East are mastering programmatic advertising and are reinventing the art of storytelling to create memorable brand experiences. In 2017, when Audi was about to launch its customisable vehicle, the Q2, the company decided to personalise its marketing. Audi worked with Google to analyse its key touch points about analytics. The data thus […]
Influencer Marketing for Better Content and Higher Search Rankings
By Andy Crestodina (June 19, 2019)
Influencer marketing is a mega-trend and it’s no surprise. Driving traffic from search and social isn’t getting easier. Clickthrough rates from SEO are falling. Social and email are more crowded and competitive than ever. But there’s hope. A faster, less expensive way to reach your audience: influencer marketing. Organic influencer marketing is about connecting and collaborating with […]
Top 4 Social Media Campaigns In the Middle East
By Anjali Gandhi (June 18, 2019)
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter find Middle East to be a perfect market due to the high smartphone penetration. As per a report by Crowd Analyzer, Saudi Arabia had the highest number of Instagram (12 million), Twitter (11 million), and Snapchat (14 million) active users in the Middle East in 2018.
Middle East’s Love for Video Keeps Growing
By Aarushi Singh (June 18, 2019)
June 24, 2018, when Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women driving, #SheDrives went viral, brands like Renault, Audi, Coca-Cola, Zain, and Nissan capitalised on the historic move with video advertising. While the video ads proved to be emotional and heart-warming, the most endearing one was that from HH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. One of […]
Microsoft and Oracle Combine Forces to Offer Multi-cloud Services
By Sophia Bennett (June 09, 2019)
Microsoft and Oracle to interconnect Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud. Experts say it’s a jab at cloud computing leader Amazon Web Services. Microsoft and Oracle recently announced a cloud interoperability partnership, enabling customers to migrate and run mission-critical enterprise workloads across Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud. According to the press release shared by Microsoft, enterprises […]
Braze Named in Forrester's Cross-Channel Campaign Management Report
By Sophia Bennett (May 18, 2019)
Braze was previously named a leader in the Forrester Wave™: Mobile Engagement Automation, Q3 2017.  Braze, the leading global customer engagement platform, announced that Forrester named the company in the “Now Tech: Cross-Channel Campaign Management Report.” The report is an overview of 42 vendors across 15 different functional capabilities, putting them into three segments. In […]
3 Steps to a More Powerful Content Marketing Strategy During Ramadan (With Practical Tips)
By Christo van Wyk (May 14, 2019)
The holy month of Ramadan is upon us, it’s a time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement and increased devotion. It is a social season where communities celebrate and individuals connect with family and friends near and far. Ramadan is also a month in which people spend a lot more time online and social media consumption changes. […]

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