MENA region offers growth opportunities: What can MiMedia learn from Anghami and Thomson Reuters?

Anghami: Streaming from the region, for the region

The success of streaming provider Anghami, founded in 2012, shows that strong regionalization pays off in the MENA region. The leading streaming platform in the Middle East started with Arabic content, promoting Arabic artists, and bringing popular series to end devices in dubbed versions. Anghami is now the one-stop solution for streaming and offers everything from Western pop hits to hit HBO series. Anghami's distribution primarily runs through partnerships with 47 telecommunications providers in the MENA region. The streaming subscription is often integrated into the phone contract or at least paid for via the phone bill. The number of users is growing despite competition from Spotify, Apple Music, and others. This shows that an offering tailored to the needs of the region has potential.**

MiMedia aims to conquer the Middle East after South America

The Canadian company MiMedia Holdings offers cloud services as a white label solution. Potential partners are mobile phone companies or smartphone manufacturers who want to provide their customers access to a modern cloud solution. MiMedia's software is then pre-installed on end devices, allowing customers to get started right away to archive or share photos, videos, or other documents. If customers want more storage space and performance, they can purchase paid packages.** In 2025, MiMedia entered into a partnership with a major mobile phone provider in Latin America, among others, to benefit from growth in this region. Next, MiMedia is setting its sights on the MENA region and has rolled out an Arabic version of its popular software.

Potential cooperation partners in the region could be Chinese smartphone manufacturers, who also want to expand significantly there. The large number of young people and lower wage levels are ideal for MiMedia, as competition from Apple's cloud services, which only run on high-priced Apple devices, is lower in the MENA region. Partnerships with mobile phone providers are also conceivable – as the example of Anghami's success shows, this form of distribution is well-established and effective in the region. The millions of potential users in the Arabic-speaking world offer MiMedia a promising growth opportunity.

Thomson Reuters already focused on the MENA region in 2012

The MENA region also plays an important role for global data provider Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is best known for its information services for professionals in the fields of tax, finance, and media. Back in 2012, the Company acquired Zawya, the leading business intelligence service for the Middle East. In addition to company profiles, financial news, and research, Zawya also had an extensive database of companies in the region and specialized content on topics such as Islamic finance. At the time, the purchase was seen as a long-term commitment to the region, and by now, at the latest, the investment is likely to have paid off many times over in monetary terms. The region is booming, and the promising demographics do not suggest that this upswing will change anytime soon.

MiMedia shares interesting again after recent setback?

The examples of Anghami and Thomson Reuters demonstrate that expanding into MENA countries can be a highly rewarding move. If MiMedia succeeds in taking local conditions into account and tailoring its offering to potential users, the expansion could offer promising prospects – many young smartphone users from Arabic-speaking countries could soon be using the Canadian company's cloud. "We have been waiting a long time to enter the MENA market," confirms MiMedia CEO Giordano, "because it is a large and growing smartphone market." The stock has recently fallen back a little, but its market capitalization of around EUR 21 million signals that it is still a genuine growth stock. Investors would be wise to keep a close eye on further developments at MiMedia!