Axiom CEO Faisal Al-Bannai has revealed his hopes and predictions for the forthcoming GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC), hailing the event as a powerful indicator of the products and trends likely to make an impact in MENA throughout 2014.

“MWC is more important than ever before, which is clearly demonstrated by the fact that marquee names like Mark Zuckerberg are giving keynotes highlighting the irresistible and influential rise of mobile technology,” said Al-Bannai, who is a regular attendee at the annual event, which this year runs from Feb. 24-28.

As the founder and figurehead of the region’s largest mobile retailer and distributor, Al-Bannai explained that MWC casts a dynamic spotlight on key technologies in the pipeline, which helps him devise optimal, value-added go-to-market strategies for products he thinks will take off in MENA.

axiom is the Middle East’s leading authorized distributor for heavy-hitting brands such as Samsung, Nokia and Blackberry — all of which are likely to have a busy MWC, according to Al-Bannai.

“There’s been plenty of post-CES buzz surrounding Samsung’s plans, so I’m eagerly anticipating the unpacked event on day one of MWC,” he said.

“Everyone is holding out for an S5 reveal but they are understandably keeping things tightly under wraps. Either way, an announcement of sorts is on its way and the tech will sit up and take notice," he added.

"Aside from that, I’m looking forward to trying out the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite, and industry insiders are implying there may be some demonstrations of Tizen, a new operating system that is open source and part-owned by Samsung. I’m also keen to learn how the company’s evolving focus on wearables is playing out,” Al-Bannai said.