MENA MOBILE, the first Middle East-focused mobile Internet integrated marketing company, is moving its headquarters to Abu Dhabi after three years operating from Beijing. Therefore, UAE capital will be the center of eight branches of the company in china and MENA region.
MENA Mobile recently closed an $8 million investment round led by the UAE-based leading technology company, Group 42 (“G42”). This is the first time a local organization has invested in the MENA mobile entertainment industry from China.
Before this latest investment, MENA MOBILE had completed several rounds of funding from multiple venture capital sources, including Bertelsmann Asia Investment, Legend Star, Plum Ventures, iDreamsky Games, Capital Nuts, eWTP Capital, and other well-known investment groups. The new investor, G42, is implementing various national strategic technology projects in the UAE, mainly focused on artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing. At the same time, G42 is also the latest investor in 65M Jollychic , a leading e-commerce platform in the Middle East.
MENA MOBILE developed several proprietary mobile products including “Salah AL Din”, “Moment”, “Meelan”, “Paybyone”. Over the years, MENA MOBILE has also published many successful mobile games such as “Invasion”, “Warfare strike”, and “World of Warrior”. Its user base now spreads across the entire Middle East and North Africa region, and the total number of registered users has reached over 20 million. MENA MOBILE plans to add new games to its catalog by the end of this year.
In 2016 MENA MOBILE obtained an official agency qualification and premier partnership from GOOGLE, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, serving more than 300 business clients. The company can maximize Middle East advertisers’ promotion ROI thanks to its extended experience in Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Influencers marketing and close relationship with local media. More recently, MENA MOBILE obtained the official strategic partnership from MBC, the largest radio and television network in the Middle East, a recognition that allows satisfying the complex media marketing needs of advertisers from China.
MENA MOBILE combines its product experience with in-depth knowledge of the MENA market to create unparalleled advertising opportunities and collaborations. In 2017, the company signed the Middle East Star Haifa as the first celebrity endorsement, to present and announce the game “Invasion”, a first-time collaboration with such an iconic and popular Arabic star. “Salah AL Din”, another in-house product of MENA MOBILE, was introduced by the Arabic TV series “IP” and became soon the most downloaded mobile game in the Middle East. Both acts resulted in tremendous interaction.
Mr. Baker Ma, CEO of MENA MOBILE, knows the Internet market in the Middle East very well and soon understood that online payment was a major pain point. For this reason, he led the company to launch the Paybyone prepaid card as the main stream offline payment solution. Local customers can use the card for online payments without the need for a bank account or holding a credit card. At the same time, the Paybyone card allows parents to have more control over their children’s spending and can prevent unauthorized purchases, online fraud, and cyber-security issues.
Paybyone connects offline supermarket, retail stores, Internet cafes, individual merchants and other offline channels to establish a large and effective third-party prepaid card payment network. Currently, more than 300 “Zoom” stores in the UAE sell the Paybyone cards.
MENA MOBILE will continue to strengthen its brand and presence in the Middle East and North Africa, by integrating a combination of online and offline resources, and through the establishment of a mobile pan-entertainment ecosystem that will contribute to the development of the entire mobile Internet industry in the region.
About MENA MOBILE
Established in early 2016, MENA MOBILE is headquartered in Beijing, China, and has several branches in the Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon. It employs nearly 150 people and 30% of its staff are currently based in the Middle East. After the investment, MENA MOBILE headquarters will be moved to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
MENA MOBILE aims to establish a mobile internet pan-entertainment ecosystem in the Middle East through the development of two main offerings: a B2B service, aimed at supporting Chinese companies who want to expand their presence and operations in the Middle East and a B2C service that will bring more engaging and valuable mobile content to the local users in the Middle East.
For more information visit: www.menamobile.net
