The explosion in mVAS across MENA, driven by 4 and 5G network roll outs, rapid smartphone penetration and a relatively youthful population, has seen a matching boom in content types that these consumers want.
Where the mVAS market in developed markets has been driven by games and gambling, the rise of MENA mVAS runs the full gamut of content types – from streaming international and local content, to wellness and health services to religious content. This truly is a revolution that involves all walks of life and a wide range of ages.
The market is also served by a wealth of telemedia players including the likes of Absolutely Digital, 3Anet, MT2, Mobibase and many more – all of whom are at World Telemedia Dubai 11-13 May. The market is also so buoyant it is attracting players from across the wider Asian region, as well as from Europe.
One of the standouts of the MENA market is that it is largely united by a common language and religion. While there are cultural differences between countries, many of the services that work in one country work in another. So, what are some of the content trends we are seeing across the region?
Streaming and OTT
Naturally, streaming of video and music – along with OTT streamed content services – are among the most popular in MENA as they are worldwide. One of the leaders is Shahid (MBC Group), a leading Arabic streaming platform offering TV series, movies and original productions. It is especially popular in Saudi Arabia and the UAE due to its extensive Arabic content library.
It is joined by OSN Streaming, which provides international content, including HBO and Disney+, alongside regional offerings and is also very popular in GCC countries, alongside Starzplay Arabia, offering a mix of international and Arabic content and is widely used across the whole region.
On the music front Anghami, a music streaming app with a strong focus on Arabic music, is highly popular in Lebanon and GCC countries.
On the OTT front, Netflix is gaining ground by adding localised Arabic content, but the market is largely dominated by the local players listed above.
As to what content is popular, sports – live and behind the scenes – plays very well across the whole region, thanks to governments in the region investing heavily in bringing international sport, particularly soccer, to the region.
Gaming and esports
Games like PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile and EA Sports FC dominate the gaming scene, particularly among youth, as do hyper-casual games such as Candy Crush Saga, Subway Surfers and regionally tailored games like Yalla Ludo are also highly popular.
The youthful market and investments in cloud gaming platforms by telecom operators like Etisalat enhance accessibility. Saudi Arabia and UAE lead the market here, due to high smartphone penetration (over 90%) and investments in eSports infrastructure, but Egypt is gaining growing, showing the fastest rate of growth of egaming at 25% per annum.
Social and super-apps
The MENA region has become a hotbed of use of superapps – apps that combine multiple functions. Already popular in China, superapps are rapidly becoming a staple of the MENA market. Apps like Yango Play, an AI-powered super app offering movies, music, series and mini-games, are gaining traction in GCC countries in particular thanks to their strong digital ecosystems and relatively mature markets.
Elsewhere in the region, social sites such as YouTube and TikTok are seeing rapid uptake among younger consumers who are creating a raft of UGC. These sites are also becoming a fertile landscape for marketing services to users in the region.
