Wael Anis

In 2024, the Affiliate Dragons team successfully onboarded 1.59 million active users to VAS (Value-Added Services) offered by Iraq’s leading mobile operators. This milestone highlights our strong performance marketing expertise, local partnerships, and deep understanding of the VAS ecosystem. 📊 Check out our latest market snapshot on Iraq’s telecom ecosystem in 2024.

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What Marketing Professionals, Brands and Agencies Can Learn from the UK Pizza Incident in Erbil? A social media post by UK Pizza showed Da Vinci’s Last Supper with Christ and his apostles having pizza box on the table. Intended as humor, it brought protests from the local Christian community and led to the restaurant’s closure. As a professional, this case is a clear warning that, creativity without cultural intelligence, structured oversight and experienced professional accountability can destroy a brand in hours. So, 1. Cultural intelligence is non-negotiable. Understand local religion and cultural norms. Humor acceptable elsewhere may be offensive locally. (Did these guys know how Christian community acted against Paris Olympics opening) 2. Approval processes. Every post must go through a review, including input from managers and others . 3. Professional responsibility. Pride or overconfidence cannot replace judgment. Accountability lies with the experienced marketing manager or brand owner. 4. Audience segmentation. Evaluate content against local minority groups and demographics that could be affected. 5. Digital-Offline alignment. Online engagement is not the only measure. Posts can trigger offline protests or legal action. 6. Evaluating possible problems in advance to avoid negative outcomes. Scenario planning is essential. Evaluate potential risks before publishing. 7. AI is a Tool, not a toy or a replacement. AI can create surprises, but also can flag potential risks only with in the context given. Humans must guide, review, and approve content with their intelligence. Without a well considered prompt, AI may be a black hole. 8. Brand and Agency or SM team alignment. Ensure agencies or your team understand local sensitivities, risk tolerance, and brand values. Misalignment can be costly. UK Pizza’s closure could have been avoided with cultural awareness, systematic review, and experienced professional attention. Creative ideas are powerful, but without proper supervision and understanding, they can lead to costly consequences. Lesson for brands and agencies: Innovate boldly but always with cultural intelligence, systematic revision, and human responsibility.

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From 3G to 5G: A Broadcast Journey If there’s one thing that has quietly reshaped broadcasting over the past decade, it’s connectivity. When I think back to 2012, as we were starting Rudaw Media Network in Erbil, we didn’t even have 3G yet. We had to stitch together WiMax and whatever wireless links we could find—just to get live news back to the station. It wasn’t smooth, but it worked. By 2018, things had improved, but not without some creativity. The photo below is from Erbil during the Kurdistan Region elections. That’s me in yellow, crouched on top of a tourist bus, trying to squeeze out a reliable signal to broadcast a live debate show. Not glamorous. Not easy. But we got it on air. Fast forward to today: Fiber lets us do full remote productions for sports and events. 5G makes it possible to run multi-camera, broadcast-standard productions wirelessly inside a studio. And yes, even 3G and LTE, in their time, changed the way we worked in the field. But here’s the bigger point: it’s never just about the tools. A good engineer or CTO knows how to take what’s available and build workflows that fit the reality of where they are. Looking ahead, with AI, cloud, and 5G in play, the opportunities are huge. But the real magic will always come from resilience, adaptability, and a bit of ingenuity when things don’t go as planned. Sometimes that means building a flawless IP studio. And sometimes… it means climbing on a bus. 😉 #FutureOfBroadcast #BroadcastInnovation #5G #FiberOptics #NewsTech #HejarOnMedia #CTOdiary

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Galaxy S26 Series is here !! ​In tandem with the global Unpacked event in San Francisco, we brought the future of mobile to Jordan! It was an honor to host our media, tech partners and content creators to experience firsthand how Samsung is redefining the smartphone as we know it. ​At Samsung, AI is no longer just a feature—it’s our DNA. We are officially entering the era of the "AI Phone." ​#Samsung #GalaxyS26 #GalaxyUnpacked #AIPhone #Innovation #TechLeadership #Jordan #SamsungLevant

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🟢 Arabic Localization Moves to the Front. Three Women Are Building What Comes Next. Arabic now sits at the center of how brands scale from local to global, how governments communicate, and how products launch. AI has increased the volume and speed of content crossing borders, but Arabic, with its formal register, dialects, and cultural sensitivity, does not lend itself to full automation. What is emerging instead is a clear hybrid model: AI for volume and consistency, humans for meaning, tone, and judgment. This shift is turning localization into infrastructure. Three women founders in MENA offer a clear view of what that looks like in practice. 🟢 Tarjama& | Nour Al Hassan | Founded 2008 When Nour Al Hassan founded Tarjama, the focus was on making Arabic language work reliable at scale. The company built structured workflows and enterprise-grade processes long before AI entered the conversation. More recently, Tarjama launched Arabic.AI, built on its proprietary Arabic model, Pronoia V2, signaling a move toward purpose-built language systems rather than generic automation. 🟢 STUCK? | Asmaa Naga | Founded 2022 Asmaa Naga founded STUCK? with a different premise: that translation alone is not the problem. STUCK? treats language as intelligence, combining AI tools with human judgment to handle context, tone, and cultural intent. The emphasis is not speed alone, but correctness where it matters most. Here, localization functions as a strategic input, particularly for brands and platforms where language carries reputational weight. 🟢intella | Nour Taher | Founded 2021 At Intella, co-founder Nour Taher approaches Arabic through systems. The company builds Arabic-first AI models across speech, transcription, and analytics, designed to integrate directly into enterprise products and operations. Human oversight remains central, ensuring accuracy across dialects and use cases. 👉 Why this matters now - The global language services market is expected to reach around $75 billion in 2025, with the Middle East and Africa among the faster-growing regions. The regional market alone was valued at over $9 billion in 2024, driven by digital government, fintech, tourism, and platform-led content growth. - With 400+ million Arabic speakers and a surge in Arabic digital output, generic AI models continue to fall short on linguistic and cultural nuance. That gap is accelerating demand for purpose-built Arabic systems paired with human judgment. This is not an exhaustive list of Arabic localization companies. It highlights three founders whose work reflects a broader shift. Arabic localization is now scaling through a hybrid of AI and human judgment, and is increasingly integrated into organizations from the start, not added at the end.

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Our team at MoonWhale have been cooking something exciting! We are proud to introduce a first of its kind AI voiceover tool trained specifically to speak in authentic Iraqi dialect! Unlike typical voiceover tools that rely on generic datasets, building an Iraqi-accent AI required extensive custom training, accent-specific phonetic modelling, and advanced text-to-speech (TTS) systems. So, you can now generate Iraqi-accent voiceovers for videos, platforms, and campaigns by accessing our web-based interface or integrating it via API into your website, app, or content system. Watch the demo. Cool stuff.

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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what really makes a tech ecosystem grow. From my experience working with different communities in Gaza, Egypt, and with global teams ,I realized something simple but important: << An ecosystem isn’t just about events, licenses, or fancy programs. It’s about people… and how supported, connected, and understood they feel. >> For me, three things always make a difference: 1. Clear communication People move faster when the message is simple, direct, and easy to follow. No confusion, no back-and-forth … just clarity. 2. Getting things done Logistics can make or break any initiative. The small operational details, the follow-up, the coordination… these are what keep everything running smoothly. 3. Community energy A good event or workshop isn’t about numbers. It’s about creating moments where people actually gain value.. a connection, a new idea, or a chance to grow. Working on ecosystem projects taught me that impact comes when you mix structure with empathy… and when you treat every person in the community like they matter. I’m always excited for any opportunity where I can help build, organize, and bring people together in a meaningful way!

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CRO EXPLAINED 🔴 In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about CRO as a function, whether you’re exploring it as a career path or approaching it as a performance marketer, product manager, or E-commerce business owner. You’ll learn how to start a career in CRO, expected salary ranges, how to build and manage a CRO team, what the function truly includes, and where the future of CRO is headed. I hope you enjoy the episode, and a big thank you to Anwar Aly for his time and the valuable insights he shared. If you’re interested in CRO, Hive Analytics Academy course is launched, You can subscribe now. https://lnkd.in/dTyVhfzu

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AI-Powered Attacks Are Coming This Eid! Are You Prepared? As Eid al-Adha approaches, the Middle East faces a notable increase in cyberattacks, warns Osama AlZoubi Vice President for the Middle East at Phosphorus Cybersecurity Inc. Al-Zoubi highlights a shift from traditional phishing to advanced AI-driven impersonation, particularly targeting financial sectors. He emphasizes the importance of adopting a Zero Trust model and real-time monitoring to counter these evolving threats. Key Recommendations: - Implement multi-factor authentication - Regularly update software and firmware - Be cautious with QR codes and unfamiliar links - Monitor IoT devices for unusual activity With the increasing use of AI in cyberattacks, proactive defense strategies are more crucial than ever. Read my full article on Asharq Al-Awsat صحيفة الشرق الأوسط https://lnkd.in/dJjRVDz5 #CyberSecurity #EidAlAdha #ZeroTrust #AIThreats #MiddleEast

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Watch this space: New #WhitePaper via Sandstorm Digital® Worldwide Publish date: 30th May 2025 Title: Digital Optimization Comparison of Telecom Brands in the Gulf, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon Overview: Twelve major telecom brands across the UAE, Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon were evaluated on four digital dimensions – Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AiO), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Each brand’s English and Arabic official websites, mobile apps, support centers, and presence in rich search results were analyzed. Scores from 0 (poor) to 5 (excellent) were assigned for each dimension, with supporting observations (e.g. use of structured data, conversational content quality, AI integration, voice-search readiness, and crawl/indexing strength). Stay tuned for FREE White Paper Download Link via Sandstorm Digital® Worldwide e& UAE (UAE) DU Telecom Home stc Mobily Ooredoo Group (Qatar) VIVA Telecom (Kuwait) Orange Egypt vodaphone (Egypt) Orange Jordan Zain Group (Jordan) Alfa Telecommunications (Lebanon) touch Lebanon

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Content Marketing is the art of creating and distributing valuable content to attract and retain your audience and drive profitable action. But content marketing is not just about writing blog posts or articles. You must use diverse media forms to stand out and connect with your audience. #businessmind #contentmarketing Mohamed Fawaz (AI Integrator)

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DHL Express expands its footprint in Egypt with a €24 million investment to build the largest distribution center in East Cairo, in partnership with Yanmo Logistics of Hassan Allam Group. The new facility boosts operational capacity and strengthens Egypt’s position as a regional logistics hub. Full details available here: https://ict-misr.com/kktm #DHL #Egypt #Logistics #HassanAllam #Yanmo #Investments #ECLP #SupplyChain #MiddleEast

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