In July this year, four months before the World Cup kicked off, one of Qatar's custom-built stadiums played host to a handful of regional YouTubers — but they weren't kicking a ball around.
“Three, two, one, go!” content creator Osama Marwah shouts at the beginning of the 18-minute video, as 10 people scramble their way through the gigantic tent-shaped Al Bayt Stadium, finding the perfect hiding spot.
It was a game of hide and seek.
Since it was posted on YouTube, the video has been streamed more than 10 million times. Marwah, who uploaded it on his channel, has more than five million subscribers.
His is the type of content that's riding a wave of the rapidly growing creator economy, projected to reach a value of a whopping $104.2 billion this year.
In the Middle East and North Africa, lifestyle is one of the region’s top content categories. The term is all-encompassing, referring to beauty, gaming, comedy, farming, or just generic reality-TV-like content.
Mena is home to numerous internet celebrities, Marwah included, who churn out interesting content that usually highlights the region’s unique cultural quirks.
“Mena paints a picture of what success has to be like for YouTube,” Pedro Pina, vice president and head of YouTube, Europe, Middle East and Africa, tells The National.
“This is where the growth is going to come from. This is where the young population exists — young population with mobile phones in their hands. How YouTube is going to look like in the future is pretty much how it is going to look like in the region as well.”
He adds YouTube is spending “a lot of time leaning in, and trying to understand what needs to happen in order to be successful here”.
Here are five successful YouTube channels to check out.
Noor Stars by Noor Naem
A “riot and a great fun to be with”, according to Pina, Noor Naem is the creator of the channel Noor Stars, which has more than 19.7 million subscribers. Naem, who does a variety of light-hearted vlogs, comedy and beauty videos, was the first female in the Arab world to reach 10 million subscribers.
The Iraqi-American content creator, who makes her videos in Arabic, started Noor Stars when she first moved to the US as a refugee.
Osama Marwah
His eponymous YouTube channel has more than 5.7 million subscribers. Marwah, 26, documents his mostly funny life encounters and experiences. He does food challenges, prank videos and other light-hearted content that made him famous. He usually features his brother, Anas Marwah, who also has more than a million subscribers.
Manola by Manal
Turning scarves into trousers, creating DIY Ramadan decorations — these are the types of videos on Manal’s YouTube channel Manola. Her content is fuelled by her passion for fashion design, and she even shares tailoring tips with her 400,000 YouTube subscribers.
Her channel was inactive during the pandemic, but since her return, Manal’s subscribers have grown by more than 300 per cent — making her a must-watch for fashion and design buffs.
Science Street by Abdallah Anan
For those reeled in by exciting science experiments online, this channel is right up your alley. Created by Abdallah Anan from Egypt, Science Street has more than three million subscribers, with more than 600 million total views.
Audiences are drawn to the channel because of its simplified presentation of otherwise complex scientific concepts — and the experiments look very intriguing. His short videos on YouTube are particularly popular — amassing more than 100 million views.
Rima Alosta
With more than seven billion views, Rima Alo Osta is definitely one of the biggest content creators in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Her content is focused on gaming, which gives her channel more novelty as a creator in a male-dominated category.
Alosta was a product of YouTube’s Batala, a programme dedicated to shine a spotlight on Arabic-speaking female creators and help them promote their channels.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Results
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INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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UAE%20SQUAD
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
