News

Anghami Partners With Wajeez To Add Audible Books

Thousands of audiobook summaries look set to be added to the portfolio of Anghami after a partnership is announced with leading platform Wajeez.

Published

4 years ago

August 5, 2022

Nour Nasir

Anghami

Anghami, the pioneers of music streaming and digital distribution in the MENA region, has just announced a collaboration with Wajeez, another MENA-based platform that enables users to read or listen to 15-minute curated summaries of books, novels, and podcasts in Arabic.

The partnership will help Anghami add thousands of audiobook summaries to its platform, greatly expanding the company’s portfolio and strengthening its commitment to enriching user experience with world-class Arabic content.

Anghami’s 72 million+ users will soon have access to over 3,500 regional and international non-fiction book titles in an audio summary format as an add-on within the main Anghami platform.

wajeez integration with anghami

“The art of storytelling is a historic, cultural cornerstone in the Arab world. Our partnership with fast-growing startups like Wajeez marks a defining chapter for us as we collectively aim to leverage the full potential of audio content,” says Elie Habib, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Anghami.

Anghami hopes that the new catalog, which includes both audiobook and podcasts formats, will freshen their current offering and help to give creators an expanded platform and outlet for their work. Meanwhile, for Wajeez, the collaboration will see its content reaching a much wider audience.

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“Our partnership with Anghami, the region’s leading streaming platform, reinforces our vision to spread culture and knowledge on the widest possible scale in the Arab world, because we believe that the knowledge gained from reading constitutes awareness, which is a fundamental pillar for the renaissance, advancement, and civilization of people,” says Rami Abu Jbara, Chief Content Officer & Co-founder of Wajeez

Anghami’s announcement comes at a time when the company is actively bolstering its commitment to providing the best possible Arabic content. The platform has already announced the addition of live events, offline and virtual entertainment to its services, in a move that hopes to showcase top talent and help to put the region’s vibrant culture in front of a global audience.

News

Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments

Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.

Published

5 days ago

August 1, 2026

Nour Nasir

syria just got its first super app featuring built-in digital payments

For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.

Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.

Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.

my syria super app launch event

The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.

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The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.

For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.