Consumer robotics firm sets sights on Middle East and Africa expansion

With its eyes set on a lucrative toy market in the Middle East and Africa, consumer robotics firm Miko has launched its flagship product at GITEX Global held recently at the Dubai World Trade Center.

According to the latest report published by Research and Markets, the region’s toy market was valued at Dh26 billion last year and is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% annually until 2027 owing to a growing population and a higher disposable income.

“This is an important market that we are keen to develop, hence our decision to rollout the latest version of our flagship product, Miko 3, here at GITEX,” said Sneh Vaswani, co-founder and CEO of Miko, a global leader in AI-powered children’s education and entertainment.

Vaswani, who spoke at the event’s panel on building and scaling hyper-growth companies, sees the tremendous opportunities in the region’s toy market as the next phase of the company’s growth plans, following recent launches in Europe, China and Australia.

The move comes shortly after the company’s acquisition of a majority stake in Square Off, which will enable it to expand its product portfolio beyond the AI-powered robot companions that have made it a leader in the global market. The acquisition is the latest in a string of strategic moves from Miko, following the signing of a strategic partnership with Paramount Consumer Products as well as the launch of an official Disney app, the first kids’ robot brand to have done so.

Vaswani is optimistic about the company’s prospects in the region, especially in the UAE market, where consumer spending on toys reached a high of AED4 billion in 2020 and is expected to increase by 6.2% annually

And with the growth of e-commerce and high Internet penetration in the region, especially in Gulf countries, Miko sees the market ripe with opportunities. It partnered with Exertis MENA as its exclusive distributors in the Middle East and is currently available on various e-commerce platforms as well as retail outlets such as Virgin Megastores and Dubai Duty Free.

“There is definitely a strong demand in general for toys, but our optimism is also driven by Miko’s unique features that make it highly differentiated in the market. It’s more than just a toy, it is a robotic companion that engages, educates, and entertains kids. It creates a personalized learning experience and educational journey for children,” explained Vaswani.

Powered by deep learning AI and advanced emotional intelligence, Miko 3 has the ability to understand kids and express different emotions, every interaction with kids builds confidence and positively impacts young learners.

In addition. Vaswani believes that Miko offers more value for money than other robotic toys in the market because it constantly updates its content, giving their robotic companion a new features and apps on a regular basis. With Miko 3, kids can enjoy a wide range of free and paid content including 50,000 hours of audio-video libraries. It has 1000+ games, educational videos, stories, puzzles, music, coding, yoga, storytelling, among other features. “Miko 3 is 100% child-safe with age-appropriate content plus strict data encryption and privacy policy. Through the user-friendly app, parents can customize Miko’s settings to limit their kid’s playtime. They can also receive real-time insights about the robot’s engagement with their kids,” continued Vaswani.

While Vaswani is excited about his company’s prospects in the Middle East, he is more inspired by what the future holds for advances in AI and children’s learning. “These days, powerful gadgets and robots can understand emotions, build personality profiles and adapt to a human’s personality. But technology constantly evolves and as it does, we will be moving towards a phase where technology can be our partners for co-creation, which will be a major milestone as we are now in the process of enabling children to co-create art or music,” he enthused.

Enabling children to experience the power of AI at an early stage, according to Vaswani, will level the playing field for education and tech access, which he strongly believes will have a positive impact for human society.