As we come to the end of another challenging year, we look back on some of the progress we have collectively made to fulfill our vision to drive growth in the MENA digital advertising economy by nurturing the community, accelerating knowledge sharing, and establishing accountability standards that cultivate trust and credibility.

In only our second full year of operation, we have started to see some real momentum thanks to each and every one of you that has supported and engaged with us to the benefit of the wider industry. There were numerous sessions, initiatives and collaborations that give us cause for celebration as an industry, but some have stood out as highlights for their ongoing impact on our industry and our people.

Our flagship study of Ad expenditure was finally released after two years of consultations and industry alignments. The response has been extremely positive, with many using the insights to reconfigure their plans and some global players bringing their planned regional launches forward based on the scale of the opportunity! We are already in discussions to develop the 2021 version of the study, adding additional input sources and increased granularity and look forward to your participation.

Additionally, the study insights were a catalyst for creating a programmatic subcommittee whose aim is to better understand the state of the programmatic industry in the region. More on this in 2022.

Other highlights for the year include partnering with the Advertising Business Group (ABG) on supporting a global DEI census by the WFA (World Federation of Advertisers).  Using some of the learnings as input, we committed the IAB GCC to 5 Principles on Gender Diversity. These include guidance on gender representation on the Board, committees and in marketing, supported by a minimum budget threshold for DEI initiatives. A small, but important step forward.