Regional Adopting cashless payment channels will double business growth [Opinion] We’re at an inflection point in the history of payments. Led by countries like Sweden, where non-cash payments now outweigh cash... Sirish Kumar • 24 April, 2018 oped Telr Sirish Kumar
Global Adrian Cockcroft of Amazon Web Services on cloud tech and how corporate culture is key Last month, Wamda met with Adrian Cockcroft, VP of cloud architecture strategy at Amazon Web Services (AWS), to discuss the importance of... Rana Freifer • 22 April, 2018 AWS adrian cockcroft Cloud Computing
Bahrain How Bahrain is growing into a startup haven In 2017, Bahrain ranked second in the MENA in terms of Ease of Doing Business, and very good reasons have endorsed this ranking. The number... Rana Freifer • 19 April, 2018 Bahrain Ecosystem startups
Egypt Cairo’s Startups without Borders brings 200 refugee entrepreneurs to learn, share, and give back Late March, Startups without Borders, a newly-established project that supports refugees in Egypt, gathered around 200 women... Menna Farouk • 18 April, 2018 Greek Campus cairo Startups Without Borders
Global What undeserved emerging markets achieved through tech: Success stories from Seedstars Global Summit Switzerland was named the fourth happiest place on earth by the United Nations. This European country is home to one of the best... Reine Farhat • 17 April, 2018 Emerging Markets Seedstars Global africa
Turkey The Blockchain can improve the profitability of online ads and this Turkish startup is kicking it off This year, internet ads are expected to overtake TV ads as the largest advertising segment, and the total spend on entertainment and media... Rana Freifer • 11 April, 2018 turkey Online ads Blockchain
Lebanon Four years after Circular 331: The ecosystem needs more Seed Stage funds It was never the same for the Lebanese ecosystem after 2014. Banque du Liban’s (BDL) Circular 331 was meant to create the foundations... Rana Freifer • 08 April, 2018 lebanon BDL Circular 331
U.A.E Abu Dhabi's Fikra Labs accelerator selects 12 finalists, embraces hospitality innovation Weeks after announcing Fikra Labs, an acceleration programme for the travel and tourism industries in Abu Dhabi, 32 startups out of 200... Reine Farhat • 05 April, 2018 Fikra Labs bootcamp startups
Jordan Teaching coding will lead digital jobs, and this Jordanian startup is seizing this opportunity Even though digital talent is still scarce globally, and in the Middle East particularly, the fast-growing digital economy is leading an... Rana Freifer • 02 April, 2018 Jordan usa Y Combinator
U.A.E How to increase your exit chances, widen your audience and keep it simple: Insights from #STEP2018 Entrepreneurs don’t need to refine their pitches or have everything figured out when approaching investors, because great products... Reine Farhat • 01 April, 2018 Step Conference 2018 startups
U.A.E STEP Start: Here’s what you should expect #STEP2018 Gathering over 6,000 people in Dubai, STEP Conference will host its fifth edition on March 28, 29 and will feature four main stages: STEP... Reine Farhat • 26 March, 2018 Step Conference 2018 STEP Start
U.A.E Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund to provide a $27M financial support during 2018 “The Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) plans to provide financial support aggregating AED 100 million (US $27.2 million)... Rana Freifer • 21 March, 2018 uae Funding Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund to provide a $27M financial support during 2018
U.A.E Not a hardware, not a software, this startup looks to partner with CCC to improve construction efficiency Hassan Albalawi, the cofounder of on-site data tracking helmet WakeCap Technology, would like to believe he can digitize the construction... Reine Farhat • 20 March, 2018 WakeCap Hardware sensors
Egypt Egyptian e-learning platform raises over $800,000 from UK and US angel investors Knowledge Officer, an e-learning platform, raised £600,000 (US$ 833,500) from UK and US angel investors Ian Hurlock from Fox and... Rana Freifer • 13 March, 2018 Egypt uk Knowledge Officer
Saudi Arabia Niche e-grocery stores are gaining momentum and this Saudi startup is taking note A research led by Think with Google, found that millennials are very much concerned about their health. If they’re going to live... Rana Freifer • 12 March, 2018 Saudi Arabia ecommerce f&b
Lebanon Improving electricity and fake news detection through data #AUBWiDS2018 Data desert is a term often used to describe certain areas, whether unprivileged or not, where data is not regularly collected to form a... Reine Farhat • 07 March, 2018 aub Women in Data Science Data
U.A.E What free licensing could mean for Dubai startups? A ‘free business license’ and other subsidized costs would be great to have for a startup, and it’s not as far-fetched as... Nader Sabry • 06 March, 2018 Hardware Startups Licensing Opinion
U.A.E When innovation complements an Emirate’s rich tourism offering This article is a crosspost from Fikra Labs. The direct contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the UAE’s GDP was AED... Rana Freifer • 04 March, 2018 uae Fikra Labs Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
Regional Over 3M jobs will be at risk in the GCC if not adapted to AI advancements: The time is now Artificial intelligence is becoming an inseparable part of our daily lives, and its impact is reaching almost every segment of the economic... Rana Freifer • 28 February, 2018 Artificial intelligence AI Technology
U.A.E Sheraa fosters entrepreneurship: Hosts first Mix N’ Mentor and showcases its Second Accelerator Cohort “At Sheraa, we are committed to providing a platform to amplify entrepreneurial networking through events such as Wamda’s Mix... Rana Freifer • 27 February, 2018 sharjah Sheraa Mix N' Mentor Sharjah
Lebanon 5 new trends at ArabNet Beirut 2018 Lebanon is a small market that is often described in the news as an unstable country full of corruption and problems on all levels. While... Reine Farhat • 26 February, 2018 ArabNet Beirut Arabnet Diabetes
U.A.E When business travel and leisure mix: A look at Abu Dhabi’s MICE sector This article is a crosspost from Fikra Labs. In 2016, $1.2 trillion was spent on business travel around the world, nearly one quarter... Rana Freifer • 25 February, 2018 uae Abu Dhbai Fikra Labs
Regional Automated vehicles can reduce CO2 emissions by 60 percent and two regional startups are taking note Not too long ago, Tesla Model S and General Motors Chevy Bolt have been involved in two separate road accidents in California. Tesla bumped... Reine Farhat • 22 February, 2018 Automated Vehicles Derq Careem Pods
Lebanon $48M MIC Ventures telco fund launched to boost ICT startups in Lebanon MIC Ventures, a $48 million telco fund initiated by MIC 1 and MIC 2, the two mobile operators in Lebanon managed by Touch and Alfa, was... Rana Freifer • 19 February, 2018 lebanon alfa touch