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SMBs Can Now Join TikTok’s First Digital Marketing Academy In MENA
The digital marketing academy is the first virtual education platform of its kind in the MENA region, and it was created from the ground up to address the needs of SMBs.
In their never-ending race to compete with large enterprises, SMBs must take advantage of every tool that can give them even the slightest competitive advantage, and marketing their products and services on social media networks such as TikTok is a great example.
The only problem is that small and medium-sized businesses rarely have the resources to hire in-house marketing experts who know how to navigate popular social media networks. Now, TikTok’s business arm is offering all SMBs in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region a cost-effective alternative in the form of its new digital marketing academy.
The digital marketing academy is the first virtual education platform of its kind in the MENA region, and it was created from the ground up to address the needs of SMBs. Those who decide to join it will complete a five-week training program consisting of five distinct courses that cover everything how TikTok works to advertising best practices.
“From introducing participants to the TikTok app to demonstrating how they can sign up to the Self-Serve ads, to best practice on optimizing their content and performance, to finally creating their first campaign, this module will provide participants with a shortcut to unlocking the potential of TikTok for their business,” explains Shant Oknayan, TikTok’s general manager of global business solutions MENA.
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After completing the entire course, participants will receive an SMB TikTok Pro digital badge. Although of little value to small businesses that have no intention of showing off their newly acquired skills to others, the digital badge is a boon to agencies, which may use it to promote their services.
You can learn more about TikTok’s first digital marketing academy in the MENA region on its official website.
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LUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE
Sellers keep 100 percent of every sale and AI can build a listing in five seconds — though the app’s smartest tools are still coming.
Secondhand shopping has become mainstream in the UAE, but the experience is still scattered across resale sites, social media and informal group chats. LUVED, a mobile-first marketplace that launched in Dubai this month, is betting it can pull that activity into one place — and that the thing buyers and sellers actually want is not more inventory, but trust.
The app trades in what it calls circular luxury: preloved fashion and lifestyle pieces across men’s, women’s and children’s categories, bought, sold or given away peer to peer. Its main pitch is economics, with sellers keeping 100 percent of every sale under a zero-commission, fast payout model, while buyers are promised vetted pieces at lower prices.
Where LUVED is staking its reputation is verification. Sellers pass a KYC check, and items run through a two-layer authentication system powered by Entrupy that pairs instant AI screening with human expert review for high-value pieces. Authenticity certificates travel with each item, payments sit in escrow, and a buyer-protection package the company calls The Safety Net adds a 48-hour return window and dispute resolution. Door-to-door logistics removes the in-person meetups that make most resale deals awkward.
An in-app assistant called Luvbot — offering selling insights and demand-based recommendations — is soon to be introduced to the platform. Other features include autofill and dynamic pricing that lets users build a listing in as little as five seconds from three photos, plus a swipe-based feed, story-style drops and in-app chat in English and Arabic. Finally, a gifting layer, Luved & Gifted, lets users pass items to others inside the app rather than sell them.
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“After moving to Dubai, I saw how difficult it was to sell or even give things away,” says founder and CEO Shaima Sibtain. The friction is real, and so is the competition. In resale, trust is won transaction by transaction — and that is the test LUVED has set itself.
The app is live on the App Store now, with Google Play to follow. The company also plans to expand across the region, which will be the real test for a marketplace staking everything on trust.
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