As I sat waiting for a connecting flight to Paris at Dubai Airport last week, I reflected on when I was at Telecoms World Middle East (TWME) 2023 around this time last year. What a whirlwind it’s been since then. We’ve been fortunate enough to visit the region on multiple occasions and meet with telecom operators, MVNOs and partners in the U.A.E., Oman and Saudi Arabia. These conversations have provided us with invaluable feedback and insights which have helped shape our thinking on our core solution and our offering for the Middle East region.
What is immediately apparent if you spend any time in the region is that the telecoms sector in the Middle East is incredibly vibrant, with leaders driving innovation to explore the boundaries of what is possible in the sector. Operators are pushing beyond core connectivity, adding mobile money propositions to their core offering, whilst trying to understand the interplay between the two, with customer experience being the glue to stick them together. MVNOs are looking at interesting content offerings as more than just value-added service bundles, but rather reinventing the category beyond mobile services. Others are making initial forays into the super-app domain to see if and how they can carve out an opening alongside the established Careem and Uber.
Looking back, it was TWME 2023, and the opportunities offered to us in joining thought-provoking panels, the valuable insights we gained from meeting new connections and re-connecting with old contacts, that gave us the confidence and encouragement to explore building a presence in the Gulf region so we can be part of the transformation that’s taking place.
One year on from TWME and Ikue is now present in South Africa, Singapore and the UK, with plans to expand further later in the year. Still lots to do, but good to take a moment to reflect on how much progress we’ve made in the last year.
Article by Bronwynne Stoddart
