With Arabic becoming one of the most widely used languages on the Internet, Arab-Israeli start-ups eye users across political boundaries, according to a Jerusalem Post exclusive interview.
Six months after Clalit Health Services released a series of instructional Arabic-language videos about breast feeding on YouTube, the health fund was shocked by their popularity – the combined million views they racked up eclipsed the number of breast-feeding women among the country’s 1.7 million Arab citizens.
Clalit found the solution to the mystery in the analytics: More than half of the views had come from Saudi Arabia, 16 percent from Egypt and 9% from Iraq. Only 4.5% were from inside Israel, while the vast majority came from countries that boycott its goods and refuse to establish diplomatic ties.
Arabic, which accounts for some 3.5% of online content today, is the fastest growing language on the Internet. It is projected to become the fourth-largest in 2015, up from seventh place at the end of 2012.
The growing market has created a unique opportunity for Israel’s Arab citizens.
To read more about Arab-Israeli start-ups making a difference, click HERE.
Date: Mar. 17, 2014