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29 March 2024

Google to double staff in Mena

Published
By Waheed Abbas

Google, which has been fast expanding its Middle East team, aims to double it to staff to 100 next year in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, said a senior company official.

The most-used search engine on the World Wide Web aims to hire staff for marketing, sales and other technical support at both senior and junior levels for its Dubai and Cairo offices, said Carlo D’Asaro Biondo, President, Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, at a press briefing in Dubai on Wednesday.

Biondo also revealed that the company is investing in Google+, Maps, Translation and other Arabic contents in the region.

The web giant, which has two offices in the Mena region, is also considering opening office in Saudi Arabia where it’s been quite active of late. The firm, Biondo said, is currently in the process of creating a platform for interaction between the Saudi citizens and the Minister of Education where Saudi residents can ask questions to the minister relevant to his department. It will also look into offering a similar platform to other Gulf regional countries. Google has recently broadcast Hajj through YouTube.

“The growth that has been seen in the Mena region and the UAE over the last few years have encouraged us to invest more here,” Biondo said.

The Mena region, according to Biondo, contributes less than five per cent of Google’s advertising revenues. However, Google searches have increased by nearly 30 per cent and advertising revenues have grown by 118 per cent this year.

Mohamad Mourad, Google’s Manager for the Gulf region, said the UAE has played a distinct role in the development of online advertising in the region and it represents 67 per cent of $180 million regional online advertising spending.