BIGO Technology (BIGO), a Singaporean technology company, hosted senior officials from Singapore, including Dr. Maliki Bin Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, Shamsher Zaman, Singapore’s Ambassador, Francis Goh, Deputy Director General, Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia Directorate, Brandon Lim and Claudia Tan, Country Officers for the Middle East, South Africa, and Central Asia Directorate, and Michelle Koh, Assistant Strategic Communications Executive at the BIGO office in Amman, Jordan, on October 20, 2022.
BIGO executives discussed the company’s operations and accomplishments in Jordan during the visit, as well as plans for expansion and partnerships in the Kingdom.
BIGO has expanded rapidly and significantly across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since its inception in 2019. By the end of 2019, the company had grown from 50 employees to 1000 employees in Jordan offices in four years. BIGO continues to expand in the country while looking for new ways to invest, expand, collaborate, and cultivate.
The company’s growth and development in the Kingdom has been largely supported by Jordan and Singapore’s longstanding, underpinned, and nurtured relations over the past few decades based on mutual respect, shared values, and common interests in promoting peace, security, and development around the world. As a result, both countries’ efforts in recent years have led to the exploration of new avenues to further develop bilateral relations, including in areas such as trade and investment, cultural exchange, education, and ICT.
BIGO has met with Jordan’s Minister of Digital Economy and Members of Parliament from Northern Jordan areas in recent years, and has recognized the importance of the country’s local learned youth and the prominent presence of universities across the country. In light of these factors, BIGO decided to open their second office in Irbid, the Kingdom’s second largest city, in 2021, providing a model of growth to Jordan’s governorates. BIGO’s growing investment and support in Jordan has helped to solidify the presence of a high-tech company while also accelerating the development of AI expertise among Jordanian youth, improving products and services, and broadening the range of jobs available to technology professionals in 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.”
Through board level representation of Khaldoun Mahmoud, BIGO’s Head of Government Relations for the MENA region, in ‘The Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan’ (int@j), BIGO also endorsed its role in supporting the government’s goals. BIGO looks forward to providing the tools and support needed to ensure the continued growth and expansion of the ICT and IT Enabled Services (ITES) industry in the Kingdom as it maximizes its contribution to the national economy as part of its representation.
“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 gratitude for BIGO Technology and the company’s vision for success in Jordan, and commended BIGO’s leadership for cementing the company’s position in the Kingdom as one of the largest Singaporean companies in the country.
