Snapchat long stood out among other social media platforms for introducing interactive user experiences such as filters and augmented reality features.
But today, with TikTok on the scene and Meta, Instagram and YouTube introducing products for creating content, the social media scene has evolved, technology has changed and audiences are different.
General manager, Middle East and North Africa at Snap Inc., Hussein Freijeh, joins Business Extra host Kelsey Warner this week to talk about how the platform has maintained its loyal audience in the Gulf, which is one of the most engaged regions in the world for the platform.
In Saudi Arabia, 90 per cent of 13 to 34 year olds and 71 per cent of parents use Snapchat, and in the UAE, one in three 18 to 34 year olds is an active user.
Freijeh explains how Snapchat focused on the localisation of its business in the region by engaging families and friends who he said use the app’s features as a tool to nourish their relationships creatively.
Pioneering augmented reality, Freijeh also talked about the ways AI meets AR, how Snapchat is keeping up with the current fierce competition in technology and why the platform doesn’t pursue growth at all costs.
Freijeh joined Snap Inc. in 2016 and was previously managing director for Yahoo Middle East, Africa and Turkey, after he led advertising at Maktoob, which Yahoo acquired in 2009.
In this episode
Snapchat in 2023 (0m 27s)
Engaging the MENA region and building loyalty (6m 29s)
The digital ads model and Snapchat revenue (9m 57s)
The future of Snap (16m 17s)
Read more
Snapchat for Web is coming — here's what it means for UAE users
Snap boosts hiring in Saudi Arabia as it taps into AR growth in Mena
Snapchat Spotlight Middle East launch: everything you need to know about the platform
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
The%20specs
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
