Startup news ticker: SearchinMENA.com launches on Eureeca; Fotosoora goes live in Egypt; Brate releases new version
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 release to share about your startup, let us know at editor@wamda.com
Thursday, September 5th
SME marketplace SearchinMENA.com gets featured on Eureeca [Tweet]
SearchinMena.com, a Silicon Oasis Founders company, has recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Eureeca. SearchinMena.com is a virtual marketplace that helps small to medium businesses create new channels to attract clients online and build a vast network of product and service providers for Arab enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The investment required is $140,000 and the campaign has raised so far $2,730. The first 15 to invest $1000 or more will receive a free voucher worth $1000 in SearchinMena. For those interested in contributing, click here.
Online digital printing service Fotosoora launches in Egypt [Tweet]
Fotosoora, an online digital photo service, launched in Egypt on September 3rd. It will allow users to upload their pictures on the platform, and have them printed on mugs, shirts or as an album. The company is also specialized in personalized gifts and can deliver anywhere in Egypt.
Lebanese business review app Brate adds maps, ranking and more [Tweet]
Brate, a Lebanese search engine and business review application, whose name combines “browse” and “rate”, has released its latest version, 5.1, with new maps, directions, ranking, and reputation tools.
With the new update, its map is fully integrated with Google Maps, so its directions offer location details, while its new rankings allows users to browse top businesses in a variety of categories. A new reputation feature measures the amount of trust the community has in a given business as well. For more details about the release, you can read the press release on their blog.
Tuesday, September 3rd
CardShop, a giftcard purchasing app, launches on Android and iOS [Tweet]
Jordanian company Smart Village has launched CardShop, a giftcard service that allows users to recharge their mobile accounts and buy giftcards to buy or renew mobile credit, and vouchers for video games, iTunes, Google Play, and more.
The application is now available for free on Android andiOS; users can see card prices in their local currency and choose from several available payment options for credit card and prepaid cards.
A new car selling service launches in the UAE [Tweet]
This week, SellAnyCar.com launched in Dubai to offer users the ability to sell their cars online within 30 days, following a free online valuation and car inspection. Sellers can enter their car details for an upfront approximate valuation, and then can drive to a SellAnyCar location in the UAE for a manual inspection. Once the car is sold, the money will be transferred to the seller’s bank via an online transfer.
SellAnyCar was founded by Saygin Yalcin, a German-Turkish entrepreneur, who founded Sukar.com, an online private shopping club in the Middle East and a partner at Jabbar Internet Group.
Arabnet’s Digital Summit is coming to Riyadh [Tweet]
Arabnet’s Digital Summit is coming to Riyadh on the December 3-4, 2013, to gather digital professionals and entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. The event, which will be held in Arabic, will host over 80 speakers and more than 800 professionals from the region and around the world.
The main themes will cover e-commerce, social media, sponsored content, mobile, media and advertising, entrepreneurship and the role of Saudi women in technology and entrepreneurship. It will also feature Startup Demo and Ideathon competitions, to give entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their startups and ideas.
Aliqtisadi releases a new job portal in partnership with Bayt.com [Tweet]
Aliqtisadi have launched a new job portal on their site, powered byBayt.com, which will provide Aliqtisadi readers with the ability to upload résumés, check the latest job offerings on Bayt.com, and share those résumés with interested parties.
“This collaboration is part of Aliqtisadi’s strategy to offer high quality services, information and news to our users,” said Ammar Haykal, Managing Director at Aliqtisadi.
Tabreed launches training program for University students [Tweet]
The National Central Cooling Company PJSC (Tabreed), a cooling utility company in Abu Dhabi, has launched a new training program for university students in the UAE. The program will launch for the upcoming school year, offering tailored training, on-site instruction at Tabreed’s plant, and engineering lectures from the company’s senior management, to Emirati students as it prepares them to enter the private sector.
