Business Extra: How does Snapchat keep the GCC so engaged?

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)

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

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /5 stars

Results:

6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 2,410m | Winner: Bin Battuta, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer)

7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Al Hayette, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed

7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m | Winner: Faatinah, Jim Crowley, David Hayes

8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m | Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m | Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor

9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Another Batt, Connor Beasley, George Scott

HIV on the rise in the region

A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.

New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.

Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.

Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.

Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.