Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jackson Liu is currently the Head for MENA and Europe for BIGO Technology. He leads one of the more successful regions within the BIGO group of products, ensuring sustainable growth and development in all areas of the business. As the regional head, he is also strategically placed to interact with high ranking governing officials, make influential decisions about the progress of the company and how it can be mutually beneficial to both parties.

Jackson has shown his mettle in leadership and quickly rose through the ranks, gaining respect from his subordinates and peers alike. Though young, Jackson has shown great maturity, which is one of the key factors which enabled him to attain high leadership positions in his early 30s. During his stint as Regional Marketing Manager for Techno Mobile Limited; he singlehandedly led a team of marketers to win the coveted Lynx Gold Award 2014 in Dubai and Effie Gold Award 2016 for MENA.

His fierce determination in accepting only the best of himself and his teammates has produced undeniable results in his area of work. As the head of MENA and Europe for BIGO, Jackson is looking to help the company grow from strength to strength.

1.How does BIGO see the Middle East region, and what’s your presence in the region?
For BIGO, the Middle East is a very strong growth market. In markets like UAE and Saudi Arabia, around 30 per cent of the population uses one or more of our applications. With 200 million global monthly active users, imo is currently one of the most popular communication apps in the Middle East region.

We have a significant operational base in Egypt currently, which includes regional management and administration teams, as well as a full team to review content and ensure that it is at BIGO standards as well as matching with regional sensibilities.

We have also announced our new office in Amman, from where we will be working closely with our customers and users in Jordan. We have committed to hiring up to 50 professionals who are specialized in Artificial Intelligence technology, as we believe that this will drive our next wave of growth. This is also our way of investing in the future of Jordanian youth, and helping the nation develop the skills required for the jobs of the future.

2.BIGO recently interacted with His Majesty King Abdullah and HE Mothanna Gharaibeh. What was the background and outcome of these interactions?
An eminent delegation from Jordan, including His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, Jordanian Minister for Trade Industry and Supply, His Excellency Dr. Tariq Hammouri, and Jordanian Minister for Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, His Excellency Mothanna Gharaibeh, had visited Singapore to interact with the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, and at the same time visit and interact with key Internet and technology companies based in Singapore. BIGO hosted an exclusive and intimate session at our Singapore Headquarters with Jordanian Minister for Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship and technology firms, to discuss collaboration and expansion possibilities that would contribute positively to Jordan.

Jordan has been hailed as the leader in the Middle East within the ICT industry, and is also making waves as they progress into the fourth digital revolution. While at the Singapore headquarters, the discussion touched on the topic of available talent. BIGO offered to establish a foundation for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) talent pool through collaboration with universities, local technological firms, and industry training programmes.

BIGO’s inclusion of Arab talent into the global pool of in-house AI experts indicates an industry gap, and will help to formulate more Arab centric user content, user interface and AI specific algorithms. It is expected that with an established AI pool, Jordan will become a natural and organic ecosystem for more internet companies to follow suit, leading to a more sophisticated and globalised technological industry within the country.

3.How does BIGO see the future of video applications? Is your vision to the next YouTube or the next Snapchat?
BIGO regards video as the next generation of social. Despite a range of options for communicating with text and images, more and more youth are using video as the new form of messaging communication. BIGO embraces the new revolution of social networking, and most of our products are based on video and voice processing.

Through our widely-popular app imo, which has more than 200 million global monthly active users, we are keen to providing the best connectivity to everyone, in every corner of the world.
At BIGO, we are keen on creating a better-connected world and bringing it to everyone. We believe that localized services are the key to our success. Our vision is to embrace the growth of local Internet industry with our valuable experience, and aim to become a regional Internet leader. In order to achieve this, we need to understand local market needs and provide for these. I believe BIGO is creating a new kind Internet-based technology business, which I believe is the way to win the trust of our regional users.

4.How do you see the future potential of Jordanian youth in hi-tech jobs such as AI? What is unique?
According to UNICEF, Jordan has one of the youngest populations in the world, with 63 per cent of its population under the age of 30. It is heartening to see that Jordan is deeply invested in creating the frameworks and opportunities that will allow young Jordanians to prepare for the future of work in the country, as well as for career opportunities as global citizens. The Jordanian Government, in a move spearheaded by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, is building strong ties with innovative and futuristic companies the world over, and inviting local presence for knowledge-sharing with the youth.

At BIGO, we have benefited from this vision, and are committed to hiring 50 experts in artificial intelligence in the country in 2019. There is no doubt that the jobs of the future are yet unknown. But that need not stop us from helping future generations develop a set of skills and abilities that will be required in a new artificial intelligence-driven, machine-led work environment. Skills for the future will most likely not be about working on machines, but about working with machines.

5.As an Internet company, what is BIGO’s view of the future of technology?
We believe that technology is the foundation of our company. Technologies like Artificial Intelligence, VR, AR, are game-changing factors for the future. A nation, or a company, that can apply those technologies into the real world could drastically change the way people live, work, and understand the world.

This is why BIGO invests significant amounts of money and human resources in establishing our R&D centers in Singapore, MENA, South Asia, Great China, and North America. We truly believe that technology is the key to connecting with people, and we look forward to joining hands with public and private sectors to boost local development and application of technology. We believe that our technology and platforms will become more relevant to a higher number of people around the world. The role of technology in the future will continue to be about making the world smaller by connecting people across the globe, and improving the human experience, whether at work, life, or play.