Gobi-backed Bitsmedia lays off 21 employees
Singapore-based Bitsmedia, the company behind the Muslim Pro app, has laid off 21 employees. The job cuts occurred in August across its offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.
Bitsmedia, the Singapore-based company behind the Islam-focused lifestyle app Muslim Pro, laid off 21 employees across its Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh offices in August. CEO Nafees Khundker confirmed the layoffs to Tech in Asia, though he declined to provide exact figures.
The job cuts impacted the content, marketing, and business development teams. In a retrenchment notice signed by co-CEO Syakir Hashim, Bitsmedia cited cost-saving measures and a restructuring exercise to align the company's goals with its long-term strategic plans.
The majority of those laid off, 17 employees, were based in Singapore. The company employs an estimated 60 to 80 individuals across its markets. Khundker stated the layoffs were a difficult decision reflecting a refocus on areas with the strongest user and commercial impact, including the core Muslim Pro experience, subscriptions, fintech, partnerships, and giving.
Khundker emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) was not a factor in the decision and that the company currently has no plans for further restructuring. Founded in 2009, Bitsmedia's Muslim Pro app offers services such as prayer time tracking, a qibla compass, and Quranic audio recordings. The app has surpassed 190 million downloads globally.