Snap Inc, owner of creator application SnapChat has signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Qatar Government Communications office and will set up a new office in Doha as part of its expansion in MENA. SnapChat has over 20 million users in KSA alone, and 12 million in Egypt. Both Egypt and KSA are on the top 10 list of countries with most Snapchat users globally. In Qatar Snapchat has an estimated 525,000 users.
Hussein Freijeh, General Manager of Snap Inc. in the Middle East said: “Snapchat has a highly engaged community in Qatar and we are delighted to announce our expanding presence in MENA with the opening of a new office in Doha, which reflects our support to Qatar’s growing and vibrant digital landscape. This will also allow us to better serve our local community of Snapchatters, creators and businesses, and invest in developer partnerships to create even more opportunities for digital transformation in Qatar.”
His Excellency Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office, said: “We are pleased to welcome Snap Inc to Qatar and look forward to seeing the Snap community grow. This new office and strategic partnership will help them reach one of the most vibrant and digitally enabled knowledge economies in the region and will allow our citizens to continue to engage with dynamic technology for creative and commercial uses.”
Snap Inc’s leadership in MENA will be overseeing the office management and is planning to hire a team to run the operations locally.
Snapchat generated $4.1 billion revenue in 2021, a 63% increase year-on-year, yet the company has not recorded an annual profit and made a loss of 488 million USD in 2021. Over 332 million people use Snapchat daily, 26% are based in the US.
While Snapchat stock value increased by over 350% from 2020 to 2021, it has since declined by 57%.
