Can dedicated online professional networks for Muslims succeed?

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This week, Microsoft agreed to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, combining the software giant’s fast-growing cloud services business with an online professional network of 433 million professionals, according to a Reuters report.

As Muslims seek to connect across the growing Islamic Economy, and following the emergence of dedicated players such as The Cube Network and Executive Muslim, what opportunities are there for dedicated online professional networks for Muslims?

RAPID GROWTH MARKET BECOMING INCREASINGLY SPECIALIZED

Online professional social networks facilitate business development and recruitment, with leading players generating revenues through premium subscriptions, marketing solutions and recruitment support. Globally, the largest players dominating the professional social network landscape include LinkedIn, Xing, and Viadeo.

LinkedIn, founded in 2002 and based in the United States, is the largest professional networking site globally and generated $2.99 billion in revenues in 2015. LinkedIn was listed in 2011 on the New York Stock Exchange and has acquired around 433 million registered members globally with students and recent university graduates identified as the fastest growing user segment.

Just this week software giant Microsoft agreed to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. Microsoft said it plans to speed-up monetization of LinkedIn by growing individual and organization subscriptions as well as targeted advertising.

Xing, founded in 2003 from Germany, is a professional networking site generating 123 million euros ($137 million) in revenues in 2015. Xing has established a base of over 10 million members from German-speaking countries with. It raised 35.7 million euros in an IPO in 2006 and has been listed on Germany’s TecDAX since September 2011.

Viadeo, founded in 2004 from France, is a professional networking site generating 24 million euros ($27 million) in revenues in 2015. It is a privately-held company and has over 40 million members globally, with over 10 million members primarily based in France.

In addition to these established global players, focused professional social networking sites have emerged to cater to niche segments and to facilitate more industry-specific interaction, which may be too specialized for larger platforms such as LinkedIn.

GitHub (software engineering), Dribble (graphic design), Doximity (healthcare) and ResearchGate (education) are examples of companies focused on professionals with backgrounds in specific industries.

Several dedicated faith-based professional networks have also emerged online, including the Christian Business and Marketplace Connection Inc. with over 50,000 members and the Jewish Business Network with over 1,500 members.

ONLINE MUSLIM PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS

While mainstream online professional networking sites address the core needs of Muslim and non-Muslim users alike, there is scope for Muslim professionals to connect via dedicated websites, in particular due to the growth across the Islamic lifestyle sectors and in Islamic finance driving greater employment opportunities.

To address a growing need, a handful of Muslim professional social networking sites have emerged, including dedicated sites and industry-specific Muslim associations.

Executive Muslim is an online professional social networking site that aims to connect Muslim professionals globally. Its founders plan to provide a range of online tools for members to promote their brand, embrace opportunities and establish meaningful connections. The website is currently live for registering and has established a social media presence with nearly 1,000 followers on Twitter and over 41,000 likes on Facebook.

Muppies is a Muslim professional networking group that offers an email subscription to a directory of over 2,000 members. Although Muppies is a successful digitally-native networking group, the organization does not feature member profiles online, with members communicating through email.

The London-based CUBE Network, founded in 2011, also seeks to connect professionals and organizations with an interest in Islam. It has over 7,000 users.

There are also a number of digitally-native networking groups and professional organizations that have provided services for Muslim professionals in specific industries.

American Muslim Health Professionals is another example of an organization that started online through email subscriptions and acquired over 7,000 members, promoting a range of support services, including training and mentorship, as well as conferences.

The India-based Islamic Business and Finance Network founded in 1999 by the International Institute of Islamic Business and Finance has over 6,000 members.

CHALLENGES AND CONSIDERATIONS

There are two key considerations to launching a dedicated online networking service for Muslim professionals

Have a very clear value proposition

Before launching an online networking site, entrepreneurs need to be very clear on the problem they are trying to solve. For professional networking, it could be solving HR problems in the Islamic Economy, or connecting professionals across industries to share common values and to provide support and mentorship.

Maruf Yusupov, CEO of Halal Ad, and co-founder and CEO of Muslim lifestyle online network Ummaland, said, “I would not say that an online professional networking service for Muslims would be a good idea – there needs to be a clear reason what it would do.

“When discussing social networking site Ummaland with potential investors, we had to make it very clear how it differed from Facebook – another Islamic version of a mainstream site will not be attractive,” said Yusupov.

Identify the key pockets of opportunity

The Islamic Economy is a high-growth segment, and within this, there are significant challenges for potential employers that seek to attract talented employees.

One area of opportunity is finding halal food and ingredients technical personnel.

During a session on the Islamic Economy at the Muslim Lifestyle Show in London in April 2016, CEO of the Halal Food Authority, Saqib Mohammed, said, “One of the biggest challenges is finding suitably qualified technical personnel. We would prefer employees understand the specific Islamic requirements … but finding Muslims who understand the space is a key challenge.”

© SalaamGateway.com 2016