BIGO Technology Hosts Senior Singaporean Officials and Outlines Plans of Expansion in the Kingdom of Jordan
Amman-Jordan: gulftech – BIGO Technology (BIGO), a Singaporean tech company, hosted senior officials from Singapore including Dr. Maliki Bin Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Education & Foreign Affairs, Shamsher Zaman, Ambassador of Singapore, Francis Goh, Deputy Director General, Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Directorate, Brandon Lim and Claudia Tan, Country Officers for Middle East, South Africa and Central Asia Directorate, as well as Michelle Koh, Assistant Strategic Communications Executive at the BIGO office in Amman, Jordan, on October 20, 2022. During the visit, BIGO’s executives discussed the company’s operations and accomplishments in Jordan while outlining plans of expansion and partnerships in the Kingdom.
Since commencing operations in 2019, BIGO has grown rapidly and significantly across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. The company started with just 50 employees by the end of 2019 and within four years amassed a staff of 1000 employees in Jordan offices. BIGO continues to grow in the country whilst seeking more opportunities to invest, expand, collaborate and cultivate.
The growth and development of the company in the Kingdom has been largely supported by the great relations between Jordan and Singapore are longstanding, underpinned and nurtured over the past few decades based on mutual respect, shared values and common interests in promoting peace, security and development around the world. As such, the efforts of both countries in recent years, continue to lead to the exploration of new avenues to develop bilateral relations even further including in areas related to trade and investments, cultural exchange, education and ICT.
During the past few years, BIGO has conducted several meetings with the Jordan Minister of Digital Economy and Members of Parliament from the Northern Jordan areas and realized the value of the country’s local learned youth and the prominent presence of universities across the nation. In light of such factors, BIGO decided to set up their second office location in Irbid – the second largest city in the Kingdom in 2021 providing a model of growth to the Jordanian Governorates. BIGO’s growing investment and support to Jordan has helped solidify the presence of a high-tech company and accelerates the development of AI expertise among Jordanian youth, enhances products and services, and broadens the range of jobs available to technology professionals within the country.
“We are extremely honored to have Singapore officials visiting our office in Amman,” said Mike Ong, Vice President of BIGO Technology. “While Jordan accounts for only 3% of the population of the MENA region, the World Economic Forum earlier reported that it is home to 27% of the top 100 Arab startups shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With this in mind, it is clear to see that Jordan leads the region in terms of technical talents.”
BIGO also endorsed its role in supporting the government in their goals through board level representation of Khaldoun Mahmoud, Head of Government Relations of BIGO for the MENA region in ‘The Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan’ (int@j). As part of its representation, BIGO looks forward to provide the members of int@j with the tools and support required to ensure continued growth and expansion of the ICT and IT Enabled Services (ITES) industry in the Kingdom as it maximizes its contribution towards the national economy.
“We greatly appreciate the support that we have received from businesses and representatives of various governmental entities in both Singapore and Jordan,” said Mr. Ong “Being a Singaporean company and having our MENA regional hub office in Jordan, BIGO is proud of its heritage and we look forward to support all efforts made by both countries to strengthen their economies.”
During the visit, Minister Dr. Maliki Osman and Ambassador Shamsher along with the rest of the Singaporean delegation expressed their appreciation for BIGO Technology and the company’s vision for success in Jordan, and furthermore commended BIGO’s leadership for cementing their position in the Kingdom as one of the largest Singaporean companies within the country.
