In the wide world of internet companies, directing vast numbers of consumers to advertisers is usually central to the business model.
But one Emirati start-up is growing fast and turning a profit by delivering some of the most valuable eyeballs in the world.
Yebab, named after a colloquial term for the ululating sound made by Arab women at weddings, is slowly assembling the authoritative online portal for Emirati brides-to-be, most of whom are likely to spend Dh200,000 (US$54,451) or more on their weddings. Many will spend more than Dh1 million.
"Traffic numbers are important, but at the end of the day, what we are reaching is a very valuable group of Emirati brides who are using the site to spend a lot of money," said Murshed Mohammed Ahmed, Yebab's founder. "If you have seen an Emirati wedding, you will know that this is a big, big market."
Launched in 2008, Yebab has doubled its traffic over the past year and now serves up about 100,000 page views each month to its audience. The site includes listings for the various suppliers and services needed at a wedding, from caterers to dressmakers, artists, photographers and traditional musicians.
About 80 vendors pay a monthly fee to have a dedicated page on the site, outlining their services and answering frequently asked questions posed by brides. Fees begin at Dh5,000 a year and rise according to the size and scope of the advertiser.
Yebab is profitable, employs five staff and has received a number of expressions of interest from venture capital investors, Mr Ahmed said.
The company has received funding from the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development, a Dubai Government body that funds Emirati entrepreneurs.
While a number of successful internet businesses have emerged in Dubai, Yebab is a rarity in its successful commercial focus on a niche Emirati market, rather than the pan-regional theme of most sites.
"We understand what Emirati brides want; we have a connection to their needs, to the culture and to the specifics of this market," Mr Ahmed said. "It gives us a privilege of being able to provide unique and relevant content that no one else is providing."
An example given by Mr Ahmed is the question of the "preparation room", where a bride gets ready for her wedding, usually sited in a hotel or marriage hall. With privacy and discretion being a priority for local brides, the location of this room and the walk they take to get to the main reception is often a high priority.
"This question is asked every time a bride contacts a hotel, this is something almost every bride will want to know," Mr Ahmed said. "It's an important piece of information, but a lot of hotels and wedding planners will not have the answer ready."
Yebab's solution to the problem is to film the preparation room and the walk from the room to the main event for each of its advertisers offering wedding facilities.
"This is a whole new idea, it is bringing to the internet something that was not there before," Mr Ahmed said. "If you look at the advertisements in bridal magazines, sometimes all that there is is a picture, a phone number and a PO box number - who uses a PO box number anymore? So we wanted to change all of that."
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”