Mustafa Kassim, Founder and Chief Executive of Roar Global, shares insights into the factors behind the media company’s spectacular growth and plans to expand its overseas presence over the next five years.

Roar Global has evolved from a publisher of underreported, informative articles to a media powerhouse encompassing three distinct businesses that span ad resales, media publishing, and branded content production. The company has a talented, multidisciplinary team of 60 individuals across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Singapore. In just nine years of operation, it has become one of the largest digital media companies in the frontier South Asian markets through its strategy of building and investing in innovative media brands and technology, and forging strategic partnerships with international media companies.

Kassim says the company’s vision for the next five years is to become a Sri Lankan-origin global company with a turnover exceeding $1 billion by 2028. He plans to achieve this by pursuing five strategic objectives, which include expanding into new territories in the APAC region, diversifying into new business avenues across the digital media ecosystem, working closely with clients to help them attain exponential growth, investing in media technology, and working towards retaining and nurturing Sri Lankan talent.

In this interview, Kassim explains how Roar aims to be a catalyst that assists Sri Lanka and its people in achieving their full potential by using media to foster positive change in society, uplift communities, and support SME clients. Excerpts of the interview are as follows:

How has Roar evolved over the nine years it has been in operation?

Roar Global was established in 2014 when we launched Roar Media, a platform that aimed to engage Sri Lanka’s growing digital audience at the time with interesting content that covered Sri Lankan current affairs, history and culture in four languages. Today, we are a network of three businesses that focus on specialized areas in the digital media landscape.

The first of these businesses, Roar Media, stands as one of the most respected publishers in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as a documentary filmmaking studio that collaborates with 250+ organizations to capture and publish impact-driven storytelling. Roar AdX serves as an exclusive resale partner for Meta, assisting Sri Lankan advertisers in making the most of the digital marketing capabilities on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and also as a LinkedIn Partner, consulting with brands to unlock the full potential of the professional networking platform. 3P Media functions as the exclusive media sales partner for Google in Sri Lanka, helping advertisers maximize their business growth through Google Ads.

Over the years, we have built a strong and talented team of 60 individuals across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore. We are equally passionate about transforming the region’s media industry for the better, and this has allowed us to achieve excellence despite being a small team, and win awards and recognition as well as funding from an international portfolio of investors.

At present, we cater to over 2,000 clients representing over 5,000 brands across the region, and across all our business. Having established a robust reputation in media and advertising within the country, we are now actively expanding our presence in the APAC region, with pride in our Sri Lankan roots.

How do you envision Roar’s growth over the next five years?

Our vision is to be at the forefront of the future of media in the APAC, investing in cutting-edge media solutions and building new strategic partnerships that will help businesses grow. We aim to become a Sri Lankan-origin company with a turnover exceeding $1 billion by 2028, and with our current growth trajectory, we see this goal well within reach as we pursue five strategic objectives over the next five years.

First, we are expanding into new territories in the APAC region. We aim to further expand into Bangladesh and venture into untapped markets such as Nepal and Cambodia and established markets such as New Zealand and Australia, with our existing products and services as well as with new partners. We have had significant success in Bangladesh, and we aspire to replicate that achievement in these new territories.

Second, we are focusing on diversifying into fresh business avenues across the digital media ecosystem. We are dedicated to developing new partnerships and investing in media brands, with several already in the pipeline. We also seek to broaden our network with like-minded entrepreneurs who can support us in our growth, and to whom we can offer our expertise. We believe that growth, particularly in the digital economy, depends heavily on collaboration, and we are eager to work with companies and entrepreneurs that are pursuing innovative and exciting ventures in the media space this year.

Our third strategic objective hinges on working with our clients to help them reach exponential growth. We believe in having our clients grow with us, especially our partner agencies. We will continue to invest in our relationships with clients and provide them with strategic consultation, effective, creative and data-driven strategies and in-depth training to achieve their business goals through digital media and advertising.

Investing in technology to streamline our processes is the fourth area of focus. We have already made significant investments in technology that enhances our operational efficiencies and provides added value to our clients through seamless, efficient solutions.

The fifth objective is to invest in retaining and nurturing Sri Lankan talent. Brain drain is a critical issue facing every industry in the country, but we are combating it head-on. We are working with our team to help them navigate this economic crisis, and are continuing to invest in developing the capabilities of new talent in Sri Lanka. We are also encouraging our team members who wish to explore opportunities abroad to work with us in new territories that align with our strategic goals.

Why are you invested in the media industry?

We believe that media can be a force for good and foster positive change in society. Our impact is not limited to media publishing and content creation; we also strive to help communities harness the potential of digital media to uplift their lives, grow their businesses and promote economic growth.

We use our platform to draw attention to social issues and share the extraordinary stories and achievements of everyday Sri Lankans, and we have a strong focus on empowering our SME clients through our partnerships. We provide comprehensive knowledge and training in local languages to enable small businesses to build their digital media presence and be competent in marketing techniques. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis last year, we helped these small brands identify new opportunities and navigate a difficult time, and we have seen many of them achieve exceptional results with our guidance.

As a value-driven company, one of our core tenets is to do social good — everything we undertake has a positive impact and contributes to society.

Looking back on the last nine years, we have much to be proud of. However, what I am most proud of are our people and culture. We have built a great company culture that embraces agility and fosters experimentation and innovation.

What are the key ingredients to Roar’s success?

Looking back at the last nine years, we have much to be proud of. However, what I am most proud of are our people and culture. We have built a great company culture that embraces agility and fosters experimentation and innovation. It is an environment that incentivizes our team to pursue their passions, which has helped us build an indomitable enterprise that is constantly breaking new ground and pursuing exciting ventures and projects.

We have always aspired to achieve global recognition, even though we hail from a small island nation. Sri Lankan talent is on par with talent from other parts of the world, and it is time for Sri Lanka to be regarded as a country that nurtures great companies. Our vision is similar to what Skype accomplished for Estonia — to be a catalyst that assists the country and its people in achieving their full potential.