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What is Wego's competitive advantage and what are the market mechanics that would prove or disprove that advantage?
Hello! Thanks for your question about Wego's competitive advantage in the MENA region. The short version is that Wego has a strong physical presence, deep understanding of local markets, and strong product development tailored to local markets, all elements that have allowed it to enjoy an advantage over its competitors. Below you will find a deep dive of our findings.
findings
Our approach was to search company websites, recent industry reports, and trusted media sources for information relevant to your request.
LOCATION
Reviewing the company's history, we noted that Wego made a conscious choice to focus its efforts on MENA, establishing a corporate headquarters for the region in Dubai in 2013. Indeed, the company focuses on Asia Pacific, Middle East, and India as its core markets. As "the travel base in MENA is loyalty driven," establishing a physical presence in the Middle East early on has been an important part of Wego's competitive advantage, allowing the company to forge key relationships with local partners and build a strong clientele base. Wego's Dubai headquarters is a clear advantage over competitors like Kayak and Skyscanner, who do not currently have any physical locations in the Middle East.
LOCALIZATION & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Another key to Wego's success is its deep understanding of local markets and adaptation of its platform for local cultures and languages. Wego was "the first fully localized travel app in the [MENA] region, in both language and currency." They were the first company to launch an Arabic language travel metasearch engine, a key factor in gaining a regional customer base.
One final competitive advantage has been the agility and quality of Wego's product development across all platforms as consumers shifted towards booking travel via mobile devices in recent years. MENA region GM Mamoun Hmedan noted that "[m]ore than 75% of the bookings Wego drives in MENA start on a mobile device and most of those are now made by users of the incredibly popular Wego iOS and Android apps." The company has taken advantage of increased conversion rates for mobile app bookings and has kept mobile product development a high priority, keeping Wego's app within "the top five most popular travel apps on iTunes and Google Play stores for a number of years throughout the region; its local language, currency and familiar local travel brands proving a hit with travelers."
MARKET FACTORS
There are several market conditions that prove the dominance and competitive advantage Wego holds over the MENA region. Wego is working on "partnership with the Governments and suppliers in the region to broaden access to travel online." Wego has partnered with more domestic, low cost, and full-service airlines in the region than any other metasearch provider and forged relationships with key business partners including "Flydubai, Air Arabia, Almosafer, Dnata, Jaz Hotels, Travco, Destinia, Aljazeera Airways, Royal Jordanian, Ethiopian Airlines, and Cleartrip MENA."
Further, Wego have secured funding from several key investors in the region. Just last month, Wego inked a $12 million investment deal with Dubai-based broadcaster MBC Group, the leading multimedia group in the MENA region. As this marks the first time MBC Group has invested in a tech startup, it's a huge vote of confidence in Wego and a strong indicator of the company's regional dominance.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, Wego's competitive advantage in the MENA region is due to its strong physical presence in the region, deep understanding of local markets, and strong product development tailored for the region. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else.