OpenSooq is an online platform tailored to the Middle East and North African regions , providing ease of access to more than 155 million users
In 2017 , Arabic is currently the fourth most spoken language in the online digital space . Over the last seven years there has been a surge in online traffic across the Middle East and North Africa ( MENA ) region , and with more than 155 million Arabic users today , there needed to be a platform that could cater to this significant volume of users .
This is where OpenSooq comes into play . Founded in 2013 , OpenSooq is a classified marketplace to sell , buy and advertise online goods and services across the MENA region .
“ Despite being the fourth most spoken language , which will only continue to grow , nobody was focusing on it or providing solutions that could cater for it ,” says Ramzi Alqrainy , Head of Technology at OpenSooq .
“ But the numbers don ’ t lie and we have to focus on the Arabic language . Its what I do for the company and its what I ’ ve specialised in for my entire career .”
Alqrainy is one of the most recognisable names in the information retrieval and artificial intelligence ( AI ) space . Having worked on search engine optimisation and back end solutions for a number of leading technology companies throughout the Middle East , Alqrainy ’ s first task was to build a search engine system that could facilitate Arabic content .
“ I started by building an analytic system that utilised machine learning , artificial intelligence and image and text recognition in order to ensure that when a user
196 January 2018