Omdia Special Report: Rethinking growth across the MEA’s consumer tech market

Sanyam Chaurasia

Principal Analyst

Sanyam Chaurasia is a principal analyst at Omdia, leading global smartphone research. He supports top tech clients with strategic insights and market intelligence, while also heading India operations. A recognized industry voice, he frequently advises C-level executives, speaks at major industry events, and shapes media narratives on mobile and consumer technology. 

Sanyam joined the industry in 2016 and leads Omdia’s global smartphone research and India operations. With over nine years of experience in technology research and equity analysis, he specializes in go-to-market strategy, forecasting, and market sizing for leading smartphone vendors. Prior to Omdia, he tracked major semiconductor companies such as Samsung, SK hynix, and LG Electronics as an investment analyst. A frequent keynote speaker and trusted media expert, Sanyam has been featured before in Bloomberg, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from IPS Academy, Indore, and a master’s degree in finance from IBS Hyderabad.

Daoud Jackson

Senior Analyst

Daoud Jackson leads Omdia's research on pay-TV and online video markets across the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and India as part of the media and entertainment team. He also oversees advertising market coverage in MENA and India. Daoud delivers analysis of key regional and global developments through research interviews, financial modelling, and industry analysis. 

Since joining Omdia in 2022, Daoud has presented at numerous industry events and received citations in international news coverage about the evolving media landscape. His research spans SVOD and social video platforms, changing seasonality patterns in MENA, emerging content trends, and successful monetization strategies for developing markets. 

Daoud holds a master’s degree in global history from the University of Oxford. Before Omdia, he worked as an analyst at social listening company Brandwatch and as a research analyst at Nielsen covering the global publishing industry.

George Jijiashvili

Senior Principal Analyst, Games

George leads research into video games and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) hardware and content. As a member of Omdia’s games, music, and consumer AI team, he produces insight into his research areas through regular reports, market sizing, and forecasting.

Based in London, George focuses on areas including the video game market, cloud gaming, subscription services, AR/VR, and wearable technology. He is a regular speaker at major technology exhibitions and is a respected industry commentator, regularly quoted in mainstream publications. Prior to joining Omdia in 2019, George worked as a senior analyst at CCS Insight for six years. He holds a degree in international business with Russian from the University of Westminster

Manish Pravinkumar

Principal Analyst

Manish Pravinkumar is a principal analyst, leading research on the MEA consumer tech landscape. He delivers strategic insights on smartphones, PCs, and channel dynamics, while spearheading on-ground engagement with key vendors and partners to elevate the Canalys brand across the region. 

Manish joined Canalys, now part of Omdia, in 2023, bringing over two decades of leadership experience in distribution, retail, and go-to-market strategy. In his dual role, he combines sharp market intelligence with active ecosystem engagement, collaborating closely with vendors and telecom operators across MEA. He is a driving force behind Canalys’ high-impact C-level engagements and the successful launch of the invite-only analyst insight session at GITEX—now a standout event in the region’s tech calendar. 

Prior to Canalys, he held senior commercial roles at Jumbo Electronics. Manish holds an MBA from the University of Strathclyde and specializes in strategic channel development.

Nicole Peng

Research VP, Consumer

As Research VP Consumer, Nicole is leading comprehensive research on consumer hardware applications (Smartphones, PCs, TVs, Consumer IoT) and digital content and distribution (Gaming, Video Content, Sport, Music, and advertising). In this role, she leads teams developing market intelligence and advisory capabilities in areas covering consumer companies’ hardware and software solution strategy, digital content development, and partnership strategy, as well as end-user digital behaviors and purchasing trends. 

Previously, as Senior VP at Canalys (an Informa Tech company), Nicole oversaw Canalys’ mobility-focused advisory services. She lead an international team of analysts providing comprehensive market tracking data, forecasts, and insights for the fast-changing mobility sectors. Nicole runs research programs that cover a wide range of consumer device categories, including smartphones, PCs, tablets, wearables, VR/AR and smart speakers, providing fact-based, forward-looking analysis of vendors’ business strategies, product market performance, channel dynamics and regional market trends. Using Canalys’ unique IP and network in the IT channel space, Nicole and her team conduct various research projects to support clients’ market expansion, channel validation, competitive studies and go-to-market strategies.

Nicole joined Canalys in 2007 and established Its China office in Shanghai in 2011. She managed the Chinese business, which contributed key revenue to Canalys’ worldwide business. Nicole obtained a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship from Nottingham University Business School in the United Kingdom.