Abstract

Abu Dhabi-based music-streaming service Anghami, the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world, was started in Lebanon in 2011 by Elie Habib and his friend Eddy Maroun. They wanted to introduce a digital distribution platform and have all the music consumers wanted on demand, without the hassle of having to carry music players or syncing different devices. Anghami brought in several innovations that changed the way people listened to music in the Middle East. These included suggesting tracks to users, conducting virtual concerts, holding interactions with music artists, and including chat windows where users could interact with each other. In less than a decade – by 2021 – Anghami had become the MENA region’s leading music service with 73 million users and more than 30 million songs. In 2021, it shifted its headquarters from Lebanon to Abu Dhabi and then announced listing on the NASDAQ through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company. After the listing the company went in for a dual CEO structure with a Co-CEO joining in from the SAPC, Vistas Media. It remained to be seen if, after the change, the founders would be able to run the company as they had been doing till then.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Study the opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurial ventures in the MENA region
• Understand the Entrepreneurial ecosystem in the MENA region
• Examine whether the business models of successful companies from the developed countries can be replicated in developing countries
• Analyze the Freemium business model

Keywords

Tech Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Business in MENA; Entrepreneurial Ecosystem; Business Model; Music Industry; Online Music