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The coronavirus pandemic has clearly affected how people entertain themselves. During times of lockdown, people tend to interact and consume more content online. With significant growth in gaming, social networks and online advertising, the media and entertainment market in the Middle East was valued at $35.11 billion in 2020, and is expected to mount to $69.83 billion by 2026.
The market is thriving, but there are still quite few players in the game. While global giants have encountered bottlenecks in user growth in the area, smaller entrants rarely appeal to local users. Sango, an audio entertainment social app, seems to be an exception. Since its launch last year, it has rapidly accumulated more than 7 million registered users and has more than 10,000 signed anchors now. Data from App Annie indicates that it topped the list of many entertainment app installs in a number of Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and others, and covers more than 100 countries worldwide.
With a live audio-chat function as the core, Sango integrates other social features such as interactive games, group conversation, virtual home, social post, etc. All features serve the app’s primary goal: To help young Muslims establish interest-based communities and create a sense of belonging for them.
Sango’s founder and CEO Jean Wang believes an excellent social app should make its users feel happy and relaxed, as they are at home. “I hope people can find their own happiness and sense of existence in a virtual home,” she said.
To realize this goal, Sango’s team makes great efforts to implement strategies to localize the product at all levels. The design of the app’s surface manifests a strong Middle Eastern style, which is glorious and detail-oriented. In tandem, the app has blended elements of Islam and the Holy Qur’an in its architecture of worldview, integrating the tribal system of the Muslim culture into the social scene of Sango.
Generally, when a Muslim user wants to get social, they often go to Facebook or Twitter, due to the absence of localized social networks. However, dominant social networks like Facebook and Twitter rarely take culture into consideration. Instead, they integrated functions such as translation to break the language boundaries and ignored the uniqueness of the Muslim culture and religion. To truly establish a social and entertainment community, the product should blend in cultural and religious elements, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region, Wang said.
Sango’s vision and strategies lay a solid foundation for its development, and are closely related to its founder’s earlier experience in the industry. Before starting her own business, Wang was the head of operations in Bigo Live, a top global live streaming platform. After graduating from the National University of Singapore, she worked with audio social apps and live-stream for more than 10 years, which equipped her with valuable insights of the industry. Being a social savvy person herself, Wang recognized the influence of social networks on her life. “Social networks connect me with my friends and family, and indeed created a lot of happy moments in my life,” she said.
Regardless of her achievements in the Internet industry, she was far from satisfied. She wanted to create a product that is more than a communication tool, but a lifestyle and an ecosphere, within which users feel the most comfortable. That’s why she left her job at Bigo Live and founded a startup in 2017.
The journey was arduous, yet rewarding. Wang and her team spent three years shaping and developing the product, and incubating content for the platform at the same time. In 2020, Sango was finally launched and quickly won the favor of young Arabs. During Sango’s first anniversary celebration, users expressed their love and appreciation for the app. “It’s the best audio broadcast and voice chatting app. Met many talented and respectful people during my downtime. This app brightens my day,” a user from Dubai commented.
Wang’s initial intention is to provide Muslim communities a place to talk and play together, and get connected with a bigger community. At Sango’s anniversary party, Wang said: “Sango still has a long way to go, but I am confident that it will be phenomenal.”