Cairo, Egypt-based tech startup Minly, started earlier this year in a move to connect stars with fans, has now launched its online marketplace that helps book personalised videos from their favourite celebrities in the Middle East. The company claims that the marketplace has attracted over hundreds of superstars from diverse domains including sports, music, cinema, and television.
Launched earlier this year by entrepreneurs Tarek Hosny and Mohamed El-Shinnawy – bringing diverse experience from top firms in the technology and entertainment domains, including MBC’s Shahid, Careem, Emerge Technology, Disney, Apple, Netflix, Mobily and Vodafone.
Backed by Foundation Ventures and HOF Capital, Minly has been launched in partnership with Ganainy’s TVision, the media production arm behind the distribution of shows across the Middle East such as SNL Arabia, and Ahmed Abbas’s DigiSay, that holds a remarkable viewership of 36 billion across online platforms including Facebook and YouTube.
With Minly’s marketplace, fans can browse from a catalogue of top celebrities, and request a personalized video shout-out from their favourite star. The celebrity then receives the request and records a shout-out for the fan to enjoy, download, and share. Minly shout-outs are an ideal gift for friends or loved-ones on birthdays, holidays and other special occasions.
The platform already has many stars engaged with fans including Fifi Abdou, Asala, Latifa, Hassan El-Raddad, Dorra Zarrouk, Amr Saad, Sawsan Badr, Hany Ramzy, Ahmed Rizk, Ahmed Zaher, Wael Gassar, Waleed Tawfik, Hazem Imam, Trezeguet, and Mido among others.
The startup in a press statement, highlighted that Minly will soon offer other forms of entertainment and fan experiences beyond shout-outs. Speaking of which Tarek Hosny, CEO of of Minly, said,
“Our top priority is spreading positive experiences for fans and celebrities alike. Minly fills an unsolved need by providing both of them with more authentic connectivity than social media. Over time, we think that Minly has the chance to usher forward a new category of personalized digital content and entertainment.”
Speaking of the Minly team, Hosny said that the startup has formed two teams, one in Cairo and the other in Dubai to seamlessly cater to the market across the MENA region. He stated,
“We are initially focused on entertainment in Egypt, since it is often a cultural tastemaker for the rest of the Middle East, and we look forward to rapidly expand to other markets across the region.”
Mohamed El-Shinnawy, the CTO at Minly, said that the paltform systematically monitors content shared and recorded to ensure a positive experience for both users and celebrities,
“We have strict guidelines that prohibit hateful and violent content including negative slurs and criticisms. Our user experience teams work to ensure a safe, creative, and fun environment for anyone using the application,”
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