LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE 360 MENA, DUBAI: Growing use of mobile to access YouTube bodes well for operators in the Middle East and Africa as they continue to adopt new digital strategies, the content platform’s head of MENA, Diana Baddar (pictured, right), said.

In a session on social media and content, Baddar said operators are adapting “really really well” to the increased video traffic being created.

“Through [parent company] Google we work with a lot of mobile operators in the region and some of them have really adopted a digital-first way of thinking,” she noted.

Baddar said YouTube’s mobile usage had experienced continued growth and was now very high in the region.

She added its community was “using up the bandwidth” offered by operators, both in terms of members uploading content and from those accessing it.

Baddar said the company partnered with a number of operators in the region on content and joint ventures with third parties: “They [brands] are understanding ‘I need to go where my audience is’ and if that’s on mobile or on YouTube. That’s great and we’ve partnered with operators on a number of projects.”