Yalla Group bags Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2025 win for voice-centric group chat platform

Yalla features live voice chat rooms that allow people to spend their leisure time talking to others based on shared interest.

The leading online social networking and gaming company Yalla Group received the prestigious Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2025 accolade in the AudioTech - Media & Entertainment category for its flagship social engagement platform Yalla, which has maintained a strong record of innovation momentum for nine years since its market debut.

As a voice-centric group chat platform, Yalla features live voice chat rooms that function like an online version of the majlis or cafés, where people spend their leisure time chatting. Users can select rooms by topic, interests, or country and enjoy seamless, real-time contact.

The platform has been enhanced consistently with a diverse array of fresh features over the past fiscal year, amongst which is the strategic integration of the "Crazy Soccer" game within the chatrooms. This innovation demonstrates strategic alignment with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's football-centric culture, effectively enhancing user engagement and platform retention through gamification strategies.

“Social gatherings for group chatting and other casual entertainment have been a long-standing tradition in MENA. Since the founding of our business, we have been helping the local people in MENA to bring their traditions online and continue their social enjoyment in the mobile Internet era. Our products mirror what people enjoy doing in majlis, cafés and other offline leisure and entertainment settings and make social interactions more convenient,” the company said.

Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2025 honours the remarkable achievements of both homegrown and international firms in shaping the Middle East’s evolving technological landscape, acknowledging their innovations, strategic growth, and contributions to economic and community development.

The Middle East Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Danica Avila at [email protected].