Business Extra: How did Snapchat win the GCC market?

In 2011, amid the Arab uprisings, other protests around the world and the rise of social media, Snapchat emerged with a unique concept.

The app pioneered by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown allowed images shared to disappear after a certain time.

This innovation reshaped the social media landscape.

Snapchat quickly became a pioneer in the concept of augmented reality by introducing the feature of “filters” that add real-time effects and animations to photos and videos. The same concept got later adopted by other giant platforms.

At a time when social media platforms are continually evolving, Business Extra host Cody Combs sits down with Hussein Freijeh, vice president and general manager of Snap Inc in the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr Freijeh speaks about Snapchat’s special features, sharing insights into the app’s growth plans in the Mena region.

You can listen to all previous episodes of Business Extra on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcasting platforms, or watch the full interviews on The National's YouTube channel.