Dailyhunt appoints Iyer to head MENA operations

Dailyhunt, one of India’s leading local language content discovery platform powered by VerSe Innovation, announced its global expansion with an office in Dubai. VerSe Innovation, currently valued at $5 billion, has rolled out its offering of Dailyhunt in the Middle East including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. To lead their operations in the MENA region, the company has identified media expert Shekhar Iyer.

Iyer, UAE Golden Visa recipient, brings with him over two decades of international and regional experience and has held senior positions at Abu Dhabi Media (Radio Mirchi), Percept Gulf (MAME), Zee Entertainment, Indian Express and Khaleej Times. In his new role, Iyer will lead strategy, business development, sponsorships and alliances in the region with public and private sector organisations.

Dailyhunt has hit the ground running in the Middle East region with over 5,000 content partners in the pipeline catering to the UAE market. The platform will be available on web, desktop, mobile — PWA, and app (Android followed by IOS).

On his appointment, Iyer said: “I am thrilled to join Dailyhunt, and I am convinced that it will deliver outstanding results to our partners and advertisers. It is interesting to watch the end-user content growth in this region, and we are excited to see the impact Dailyhunt creates in MENA. In addition to helping brands drive awareness, acquire users, and generate revenue, we are confident in enhancing the overall customer experience and deepening brand relationships. Together with the VerSe Innovation team, I look forward to building the largest local language content discovery platform for the region.”

India's largest local language content platform’s entry will disrupt the MENA media landscape both as a credible news source and media partner. This will facilitate more views and help monetise the digital media landscape in the region for news content providers by creating an additional revenue stream, according to Iyer.

VerSe Innovation with its family of apps focused on India became the first tech unicorn for local languages and is backed by investments from Goldman Sachs, Falcon Edge Capital (Google and Microsoft), Alpha wave, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC (ADQ), Qatar Investment Authority, Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Lupa Systems, among others.