Snapchat's New Doha Expansion Office Targets Qatari Creators

Despite the development of rivals like TikTok, Snapchat has kept growing internationally.

With a new headquarters in Qatar's capital Doha, social media giant Snap Inc. has announced plans to enter the country, according to a statement.

The parent company of the well-known social media platform Snapchat, which is situated in California, recently signed a new partnership with the Qatar Communications Office to increase its presence in Qatar.

With the discovery of numerous local creators and Arab expats during the past two years, Qatar's creative industry has experienced a substantial increase. Building on this development, Snap sees a clear opportunity to amplify the voices of Qatar's creator ecosystem, encourage their ongoing innovation, and elevate their voices.

Hussein Freijeh, the company's Middle East General Manager, said, "Snapchat has a highly active community in Qatar and we are thrilled to announce our increasing presence in MENA with the launch of a new office in Doha, which represents our support to Qatar's burgeoning and vibrant digital scene."

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In an effort to maintain Snapchat's position as a top social media platform as competition rises globally, the move is anticipated to reach out to the local community of creators, companies, and ardent social media users.

The company will also be able to "invest in developer relationships to create even more chances for digital transformation in Qatar" as a result of the creation of the office there, according to Freijeh.

Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Snap Inc to Qatar and look forward to watching the Snap community flourish.

"This new office and strategic collaboration will let them connect with one of the most dynamic and digitally enabled knowledge economies in the area and will enable our citizens to continue interacting with cutting-edge technology for creative and commercial reasons," says the statement.

The US-based company claims that there are already 319 million daily active Snapchat users who create more than 5 billion films and photos each day.

The stats from 2022 stand in stark contrast to those from 2014, when there were just 59 million daily active users.

With about 19.7 million active users, Saudi Arabia ranks as the fifth-largest market for Snapchat at the moment. With 12.8 million users, Iraq is ranked ninth, and Egypt is ranked tenth with 12.75 million users.

Despite the development of rivals like TikTok, Snapchat projected 2.5 billion in revenue for 2021 before revealing 4.1 billion, nearly twice as much.

In addition to working closely with regional partners and businesses, Snap is making this move as part of its efforts to assist and create opportunities for its highly engaged community in Qatar, ultimately helping to contribute to the country's expanding and vibrant digital landscape.

About Snapchat

Snapchat is a well-known messaging software that enables users to send and receive snaps, which are intended to vanish after being viewed. Because the primary usage is to shoot photos or videos, edit them with filters, lenses, or other effects, and share them with friends, it is marketed as a "new sort of camera."

Social media was primarily desktop-based until Snapchat. For instance, you could publish status updates, tweets, and images online and keep a record of all of them so that you could all view them in the future and receive comments from your friends.