News

Snapchat Opens Qatar Office To Deepen Gulf Presence

The new Doha base anchors Snap’s regional expansion as Qatar steps up its digital and creative drive.

Published

8 months ago

October 28, 2025

snapchat opens qatar office to deepen gulf presence

Snapchat has opened a new office in Doha’s Msheireb district, marking its first base in Qatar and a stronger foothold in the Gulf. Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel joined Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office (GCO), at the launch.

The move plants Snap at the center of a market where engagement runs deep. Snapchat users in the Gulf open the app more than 45 times a day, while about 85% use its augmented reality features daily. From the new Doha hub, Snap aims to work more closely with creators, entrepreneurs and local partners as Qatar pushes ahead with its sweeping Vision 2030 goals.

“We welcome Snap Inc.’s expansion in Qatar and its continued contribution to the country’s digital and creative economy,” said Sheikh Jassim, adding: “The office is an important step in strengthening our strategic partnership, which began three years ago and has already achieved significant milestones, particularly in development, training, and support for the creative industry”.

The opening follows Snap’s memorandum of understanding with the GCO signed during Web Summit Qatar in February. That deal paved the way for the country’s first Augmented Reality Academy, designed to train new creators and developers in immersive tech. The program will be open to young innovators across the region, part of a broader push to build skills that feed into Qatar’s growing creative economy.

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Hussein Freijeh, Snap’s Vice President for MENA, said the company is “deepening its roots in a market that celebrates creativity and culture”. The new base also expands opportunities for brands and advertisers looking to reach a digitally active audience through more localized storytelling and AR experiences.

Global platforms are increasingly circling Qatar’s fast-growing digital economy, drawn by its investment in creative industries and infrastructure. For Snap, the Doha office signals a long-term bet on one of the region’s most connected markets — and a platform to anchor future growth across the Gulf.

News

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.

Published

5 hours ago

June 16, 2026

Joanna Melki

luved is a new curated preloved marketplace for the uae

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.