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Yahoo! Reiterates Commitment To Support MENA Region's Online Growth
Published Jun 16, 2011
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The combination of rapid user growth and an attractive advertising market has made the Middle East one of the most exciting markets for Yahoo!, according to Carol Bartz, Chief Executive Officer, Yahoo Inc., who was on a visit to Dubai.
Carol Bartz, on her first visit to Dubai as the company’s CEO, held discussions with senior management representatives of Dubai Internet City, part of TECOM Investments highlighting the global technology major’s key role in the creation of Arabic online content, products and advertising.
Bartz said: “Yahoo! is committed to the MENA region as it is one of the fastest growing markets in the world with 70 million online users and 50 million more estimated to come in within the next two to three years. In spite of Arabic being one of the fastest growing languages, only one per cent of online content is in Arabic today. Therefore, part of Yahoo!'s investments in the Middle East and North Africa region is to facilitate Arabic language’s online growth.
Yahoo! plans to continue expanding in the region as the company has already established content deals with some of the media majors including Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters and Saudi Publishing and Research Company. The region also hosts the fastest growing advertising market in the world, and year on year, the average growth for digital spend is around 25 30 per cent of the total ad spend. Yahoo foresees online ad market in MENA to reach up to seven per cent of the total ad spend by 2015.
Malek Al Malek, Managing Director at Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource Zone, said: “Online Arabic content has recently witnessed a rising trend buoyed by the increasing interest of regional and global players to gain a foothold in the region. DIC has always encouraged and supported the development of local content in Arabic and content developers in the region. The visit of the CEO of Yahoo!’s global operations signifies the importance of this region and its potential in the long run.”
Yahoo! acquired Maktoob in November 2008 and since then has invested in fully staffed offices in Dubai, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh and Casablanca. There are approximately 300 employees in these offices working in editorial, engineering, sales, marketing and customer care divisions.
At the forefront of the region's ICT industry, Dubai Internet City remains committed to supporting emerging technology trends in the region and continues to play an instrumental role in developing the industry while contributing to Dubai's drive towards creating a knowledge based economy.
About Dubai Internet City:
Dubai Internet City (DIC), a member of TECOM Investments, was established in 2000. It is currently regarded the Middle East's largest information and communications technology (ICT) cluster. Built as a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in several neighbouring regions, DIC’s core focus area extends from the Middle East to the Indian Subcontinent, and from Africa to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), covering nearly three billion people with a GDP of over US$10 trillion. As a knowledge oriented business model, DIC has created a dynamic international community of IT companies hosting business partners that include most of the Fortune 500 brands, as well as a number of small and medium enterprises and ventures. In 2009, 135 new companies joined the DIC cluster. Please visit: www.dubaiinternetcity.com
For more information:
Nancy Sudheer
JIWIN Public Relations
An APCO Worldwide Company
T: + 971 4 369 2834
M: + 971 50 7055290/+ 971 55 9548681
E: nancy.sudheer@jiwin.ae
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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