In the past few years, the MENA region has witnessed a rapid growth of internet and smartphone penetration - and these trends are projected to increase in the foreseeable future. Despite this, the Digital Arabic Content (DAC) field has not grown with the same pace and industry experts point to a significant gap in both the quality and quantity of Arabic content online.

The Wamda Research Lab (WRL,) in partnership with Google and Taghreedat, conducted a study as part of the Arabic Web Days initiatives, and have created an overview of the region’s Arabic digital infrastructure and the primary challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the ecosystem.

Entrepreneurs and ecosystem experts interviewed identified three main challenges when it came to the digital Arabic content industry, notably, weak monetization channels for Arabic content creators, poor regulatory framework, and difficulty accessing talent.

Speaking with experts from the world of advertising, the UN, and the startup ecosystem at large, some believed there was the challenge of a lack of an ecosystem, an inability for companies to keep pace with the shift in audiences, and those lacking technical skills.

The WRL’s overview of the current status of the DAC industry can be found in their recently published Digital Arabic Content: an industry brief.

To download the full report, please scroll up and click the gray box to the right.