Name: ما هواتينج

Age: 48 عامًا

Nationality: صيني

اسم الشركة: تينسنت

Wealth: 38 مليار دولار

Marital status: متزوج

He fell in love with technology at an early age, but the world was drawn to his shyness in the spotlight—making people even more curious to learn about the career of Ma Huateng, founder of the company

Tencent went global and eclipsed social media giant Facebook. How did its success story unfold?

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الوظيفة الأولى

Ma Huateng was born in Shaoyang, China, on October 29, 1971. He often accompanied his father to work in Shenzhen, which instilled in him a spirit of perseverance,

and hard work from an early age.

Ma Huateng enrolled at Shenzhen University in 1989 to study computer science. He graduated in 1993 and went on to work at China Telecommunications Development Company.

China Motion Telecom Development, which supplied telecommunications services and products; he was responsible for developing

software for pagers, earning $176 a month.

Huateng continued to advance in his career until he joined Shenzhen Runxun Telecom, working in the research and development department on Internet calling services.

Huateng gave the decision little thought before setting out into the world of innovation. He knew that the right path to success lay in trusting his instincts and charting his own course,

driven by his passion for entrepreneurship and self-fulfillment.

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Tencent launches in the market

Just five years after graduating, in November 1998, Huateng joined four colleagues to found Tencent, launching a program

OICQ, an internet instant messaging service, quickly became hugely popular. In just one year, it attracted more than one million users and became

one of China’s most important and largest services.

After Tencent’s major growth, its founders decided to rename their internet instant messaging app QQ. This came

after a competitor accused the company of copying Western products and adapting them for the Chinese market. The company had not yet achieved financial success

in its first three years after launch.

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نجاح الشركة

Tencent proved its ability to succeed and pushed back against competitors’ attempts to exploit the situation when it acquired a company

Media South Africa Naspers acquired shares in the company in 2001. Three years later, it was able to list on the Chinese stock exchange, relying on

advertising as its primary source of revenue.

The company secured licenses for numerous international games in 2007 and 2008, then began developing its own games.

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Messaging apps

In October 2010, the beginnings of a new idea emerged in Tencent’s research and projects lab. On January 21, 2011, the company launched

the social media app Weixin, renamed WeChat in 2012. It offered a communication service for smartphones, which

spurred the team to set its sights on conquering the global market. Today, more than a billion users use the app, helping its market value grow significantly to

$540 billion.

The “WeChat” service is not limited to messaging; it also provides a network that connects Search engines، وSocial Media, and online payment platforms,

It outperformed both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, generating revenue of

around $0.9 billion in the second quarter of 2017, making it the most popular messaging app in China.

The Chinese public turned to the app to connect socially and share life’s most important moments, as well as listen to music and use it

By providing bank account information, users can pay bills, order goods and services, transfer money to other users, and pay in stores.

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Video games

The company, in which Huateng owns an 8.6% stake, focused exclusively on video games and earned $10 billion thanks to two titles:

“Clash of Clans” and “Honor of Kings,” which helped its CEO top the “Global Rich List” of China’s wealthiest people.

In 2018, the company developed PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, better known as PUBG, which took the world by storm.

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Competition with Alibaba

Ma Huateng is nicknamed “Pony,” a reference to the English translation of his surname, which means “horse.” He is considered the biggest rival of Jack Ma, founder of the Alibaba website.

The two take turns claiming the title of China’s richest businessperson.

Unlike Jack Ma, who relishes media and movie appearances, Huateng is shy and avoids television interviews.

Ma Huateng pledged to donate more than $2 billion to several social causes in China, including healthcare and education.

In 2019, Huateng’s wealth reached $38 billion, placing him 20th on Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest people, while he continues to work in the world of innovation,

and modern technology.

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Lessons Learned:

المرونة: The entrepreneur understands the importance of being flexible in responding to market demands and keeping pace with customers’ needs.

A unique approach: Entrepreneurs are innovative and avoid repeating past experiments; their minds are naturally wired to create new things.

الثقة بالنفس: Entrepreneurs may stay out of the spotlight, but their self-confidence helps them work and face challenges.