Snoonu hosted Issam Hijazi, founder and CEO of UpScrolled, for a discussion on building technology from the region and taking locally informed products to global audiences. The session took place at Snoonu’s headquarters in Lusail, Qatar, in partnership with the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Qatar.
Hijazi joined Snoonu founder and CEO Hamad Mubarak Al Hajri, entrepreneurs, members of the organization and Snoonu’s team. The conversation was moderated by Nayef Al Ibrahim, founding president of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization Qatar.
The discussion explored the challenges of building technology companies in the Middle East, including how founders can develop products based on a genuine understanding of local communities rather than replicate models from other markets. Participants also discussed the region’s potential to move from being a consumer of global technology to a source of products with international reach.
Hijazi spoke about his career at IBM, Oracle and Hitachi before founding UpScrolled. According to the announcement, the platform now has more than 5 million users and focuses on user control, transparency and technology ethics.
The session followed the second edition of Qatar Foundation’s Bal’arabi forum, held in Doha on September 19 and 20 under the theme “With Our Ideas, We Build.” The forum brought together 1,600 participants to discuss technology, entrepreneurship, digital platforms and the role of Arabic in knowledge, education and media.
Source: Al Sharq
