Anghami and American University of Beirut Bring Gen Z Business Case Into the Classroom
Abu Dhabi-headquartered Anghami and the American University of Beirut (AUB) have launched an educational collaboration asking students to develop practical ideas for strengthening the streaming platform’s engagement with Gen Z audiences.
The project involves students enrolled in three designated AUB courses. Its business brief examines younger consumers and potential opportunities across the Middle East and North Africa, but participation is limited to those courses.
The initiative was introduced at AUB on 16 October 2026. Anghami joined the briefing online to explain its business context, while AUB presented the student case.
Christine Battikha, Strategic Initiatives Lead, Consultant & Doctoral Researcher, developed and coordinated the collaboration.
From consumer insight to a business recommendation
The student brief identifies several possible areas of exploration, including music discovery, artists and creators, fandom and community, campus engagement, social and shareable experiences, regional culture, partnerships and loyalty.
Students can also consider how online and offline experiences might connect. These areas are starting points: teams must define a specific consumer or business problem and explain why their proposed response could create value for younger audiences and Anghami.
The brief encourages recommendations that extend beyond a single campaign or isolated product feature. Students are expected to identify the variables shaping their chosen problem, support their analysis with relevant consumer or market insight, and propose ways to assess the potential impact.
AUB instructors guide the submissions, with Anghami providing the industry context.
Poster round and finalist presentations
The poster round is scheduled for 30 October. Students will present and submit digital posters organised around three elements: the problem and its underlying variables, the proposed solution, and its implications.
Five finalist groups are to be selected within ten days of that round. They will then develop their recommendations further before presenting at AUB on 13 November.
The student brief sets out the following evaluation criteria:
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Strategic clarity and business rationale | 25% |
| MENA consumer and market understanding | 20% |
| Feasibility, including cost, execution and timeline | 20% |
| Measurable impact and KPIs | 20% |
| Quality of the final pitch | 15% |
The framework asks students to connect their recommendations to execution and measurement. At this stage, the proposed KPIs describe how an idea’s impact could be assessed; they are not evidence of results already achieved.
Opportunities for participating students
According to Battikha, the first-place team, comprising up to five students, is guaranteed an opportunity to work with the relevant Anghami team on a freelance basis to develop its winning concept further.
The engagement details, including scope and compensation, have not yet been specified. Any subsequent pilot, implementation or launch remains subject to Anghami’s business evaluation and decision.
The second-place team will receive mentorship with Anghami, while the third-place team will receive a company visit. All participating students will receive Anghami Plus subscriptions.
Connecting classroom analysis with business decisions
For Anghami, the collaboration brings student perspectives to a question relevant to its regional operations: how to strengthen relevance, community and sustained engagement among younger consumers.
For the participating AUB students, it provides a structured opportunity to move from consumer insight to a recommendation assessed against commercial rationale, feasibility and proposed performance measures.
The November presentations are expected to show how the finalist groups translate that brief into specific proposals. Any subsequent development or commercial application will be a separate stage, determined after the student work has been evaluated.
Source: Student brief and information supplied by initiative coordinator Christine Battikha.
Featured image: Yan Krukau / Pexels. Illustrative photograph; not taken at the AUB–Anghami initiative.
