The shift from print to digital media across nations brings a pervasive “information overload” in our everyday lives. The surge of podcasts has been pivotal in offering learning opportunities for podcast listeners, as conversations between podcast hosts and their guests have allowed the simplification of global, regional, and local topics of interest to listeners. In the United States, as soon as podcast consumption increased by 18% one month into the COVID-19 pandemic, US venture capital firms began funneling cash into podcast companies (e.g., Fischer). Before discussing why venture capital should consider Gulf Podcast Companies as future pools of investment, I’ll examine whether the number of consumers is on the rise. In other words, is the number of podcast listeners in the region enough to be considered a profitable venture?

The basis of my claim that the podcast industry presents an untapped opportunity for venture capital lies in the surge of listening habits across the Middle East, which began to accelerate following the COVID-19 movement restrictions in March 2020. Amaeya Media, a podcast network in the UAE, revealed that 55% of survey respondents from the region agreed to listen to more podcasts since March 2020 (Zawya). Chirag Desai, CEO of Amaeya Media, explained that “despite the challenges of 2020, the podcast industry has emerged more resilient and responsive. In response to the growing demand, podcast creators, such as ourselves, produced more regionally relevant, high-quality audio content. Companies and brands also leverages the medium as a way to authentically reconnect with their audiences” (Zawya). Supporting Desai’s claims, in 2024, 67% of adults in Saudi Arabia, 62% in the UAE, and 59% in Egypt listen to more than one hour of podcasts per week, compared to the global average of 44% (Perry). Along with the practicality of listening behaviors via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play, context-driven podcasts have meant that regional podcast SMEs have reacted to the demand by creating personalized, and simplified content for the consumer pool.

With the consensus amongst survey analysts that the consumer pool for regional podcasts is rising, the question of what types of podcasts are successful is in any media investor’s interest. Senior Podcast Manager at Spotify MENA, Rhea Chedid, noted that, “one trend we’re seeing is the popularity of long-form interviews and conversations. Listeners are tuning in for extended periods, with podcasts like Fnjan, #ABTalks, and The Mo Show keeping them hooked. And this interest in longer-form content goes hand-in-hand with the rise of niche podcasts” (For e.g., Ramanunni). Backing interest for conversational interview episodes, the interdisciplinary Arabic podcast Fnjan, established in 2015, has expanded beyond its podcast branches of Swalif Business, Suqrat, and Al Fajr, among other podcasts part of the Thmanyah network. In 2021, Saudi Research and Media Group procured 51% of Thmanyah, and in 2024, the network launched the application Radio Thmanyah to promote a space for regional podcast creators, while exploring monetization opportunities (Waya Media). More specifically, Radio Thmanyah took the lead in app downloads across seven Arab nations for three consecutive days following its debut, outpacing the X app (previously Twitter) (Wamda). Research does in fact suggest that COVID-19 unveiled a novel mode of media consumption that Gulf media consumers have grappled unexpectedly with. In my opinion, steady increases in podcast listenership in countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia point to podcast networks, platforms, and production companies with no venture backing as areas for investing in the podcast ecosystem.

In the UAE, a high number of institutional entrances to the podcast market is harnessing this trending knowledge-sharing medium, as elicited by the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy Podcast, On Show at Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the NYUAD Institute. While these independent federal entities lead by example for SMEs, SMEs that are yet to be backed within the Emirati podcast landscape are exactly where venture capitalists should be looking. For venture capital, flourishing UAE-based podcast networks like Kerning Cultures, and Amaeya Media point to emerging podcast advertisement companies, or the podcast networks themselves, as potential avenues for revenue generation. Being one of the few venture-backed podcasts from the UAE, Kerning Cultures managed to raise $460, 000 U.S. dollars in 2019, but the investment came from a media-focused accelerator in San Francisco. Besides Kerning Cultures, there are little-to-no podcast SMEs in the UAE that are venture-backed, hene, re-evaluating the return potential would encourage more venture capitalists to consider stakes in the industry, and diversify their portfolios.

So where does profitability come from? Investors overlooking the renaissance of podcast advertising are missing a jackpot for stable return on investment, as CNBC’s Lucy Handley claimed, there’s a new online ad format that doesn’t annoy people. A joint report between audio analytics platform Veritonic and independent podcast company Acast found that 83% of podcast listeners in the MENA region were happy with ads for free content that usually are embedded prior, during, or following the episode lasting no shorter than 20 seconds, or longer than 90 (Lakhpatwala). While ads are receptive by seamlessly blending into the podcast content, confidence in the medium to compel venture capital investment is not limited to consumer neutrality or satisfaction with ads being integrated within an episode. While specific to the regional listening pool, in a U.S. consumer survey piloted by Nielsen across 7000 US consumers, 62% agree that ads in podcasts pushes them to consider the advertised product or service. Reach potential coupled with podcast consumerism in the Gulf should be considered as a promising investment avenue, with foreseeable increases in ad prices in the upcoming years.

Lucrative investment opportunities not only exist within the emerging podcast market alone, but also in expanded ventures, equity stakes, podcast ad agencies, and other podcast-related growth prospects. The escalation in podcast consumption post-Covid might just be an interim behavioral trend that may diminish as individuals readjust to post-pandemic life, the adoption of novel ways of consuming news and entertainment via soundscapes, i.e., the podcast industry, has proven a sustained rapid increase in audience size for four years following the onset of the pandemic to date. In the U.S., the rise in podcast listenership is encapsulated in the saying, “from niche internet community to one-third of Americans”. The diffusion of similar listening behavior from the U.S. to the Gulf is not a matter of potentiality or question, as podcast consumerism has already been going uphill for four years consecutively in the Gulf, sailing swiftly through the waves of the Covid-19 stock market crash since 2020. Nevertheless, the ball is in venture capitalists’ court on whether the podcast industry is worth pooling capital into. ‌