Wamda

Startup in Palestine launches crowdfunding campaign for rooftop farming in refugee camps

During one of her stints conducting field research in the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and Lebanon in support of her...

The 12 most emotional moments of launching a startup

Launching your own company anywhere, let alone in the Arab world, is hardly a walk in the park; it's not easy to create a unique product,...

Fun GIFs

How to better understand your customers by creating personas

The success of any company directly hinges on how well it serves it customer base. One way to get a better handle on who, exactly, the...

personas Customer Acquisition

Startup news ticker: TA Telecom wins Mobile Merit Awards and Google acquires Bump

Welcome to Wamda's weekly startup news ticker, which will offer quick announcements and stories relevant to the region. If you have a quick...

news Facebook Investment

How is the Arab world using smartphones? [Infographic]

Two phones out of five in the Middle East are smartphones, according to new data from the International Data Corporation. But how...

Uber vs. Careem: as Goliath storms Dubai, can David own Saudi Arabia?

When Careem announced $1.7 million in investment from STC Ventures last week, it seemed like a timely response to the entrance of its...

Rivalries Car Service Transportation

Don't overthink your startup's social media strategy

If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “I want our social media to be exactly like Just Falafel. I know we are not in the s...

Social Networks Social Media

Global

What do employers look for on social media? [Infographic]

While LinkedIn is often hailed as the go-to social network for professionals, and job seekers in particular, many employers also scout a...

Job Recruitment Programme Social Media

NGO connects young Iraqis to international art scene

When war descends, art is often one of its first casualties. As gallery spaces close down and funding dries up, artists often have little...

ngos Social Change Social Entrepreneurship

Empowering Moroccan artisans to sell on Etsy and Ebay

With the success of Etsy and Ebay, artisans can now become entrepreneurs more easily and market their products to a large global...

Social Entrepreneurship

Iran reblocks Twitter and Facebook; local entrepreneur says it wasn't a glitch

Last night, several social media users reported that Twitter and Facebook were unblocked in Iran, making it possible to post directly to...

Censorship

The most popular websites in Algeria [Infographic]

Due to several technological issues, including the 3G debacle, Algeria is behind most other countries in the region when it comes to the...

internet algeria Internet growth

YouTube turns on local domains, ad streams in the Gulf: who will benefit?

Original video content is exploding in the Middle East and North Africa. As we discussed last week in our first new Wamda...

Did Apple miss a major opportunity with the new iPhone 5c?

Although some have joked that the “c” in Apple’s new plastic iPhone 5c stands for “cheap” (it really stands for “colors”) the device f...

smartphones Mobile

6 lessons learned from the closure of a real estate startup in Lebanon

Bootstrapping a startup in the Arab world, let alone Lebanon, is anything but easy. And sometimes, despite launching with the support of an...

Mapping Real Estate Advice

A look at Twitter's IPO: what will change?

Twitter’s IPO, which it announced last week, is one of the most hotly anticipated IPOs since Facebook. After announcing via tweet that t...

twitter IPOs Social Networks

Can these two students change Algeria by organizing TEDx events?

Who has not been moved, inspired or empowered by a TED video? Who has not wanted to take control of his or her life and change something...

Youth TEDx

Jidari: A sneak peek at an alternative to Facebook from Egypt

Nowadays it's safe to say everyone wants to be the next Facebook, but going head to head with the behemoth on its home turf is something...

Social Networks Facebook

Tenmou’s Entrelab nurtures startups ranging from Bahraini Instagram to popcorn delivery

Tenmou, Bahrain's first business angels company, and the U.S. Embassy recently concluded Entrelab: the region’s first entrepreneurship l...

Support Organizations

#Let #The #Hypers #Hype, The Doers Will Do

Today, I had an interesting exchange on Twitter with the founder of one of the most promising consumer startups in the Middle East. He...

Hype

Weekly Wrap-Up: September 08-12

Last week, we ran a quick poll to understand when and under what circumstances some of our readers would agree to step down from their...

Weekly Wrap-Up

What’s next for Glowork after its $16 million acquisition by SAS Holding

U.A.E

Thought Leadership