Lebanon Access to funding for Lebanese startups is looking up Obviously a lot more than loose change is going to be availalbe. (Image via Lucy Knight) Things are certainly looking up for the coffer... Lucy Knight • 05 March, 2015 Berytech US Aid Lebanese Central Bank
U.A.E Dubai startups vie for the prize at GCC Pitch Challenge More than 60 Dubai-based entrepreneurs applied but only 10 had the chance to take part in the third edition of the GCC Pitch Challenge.... Pamela Kesrouani • 11 March, 2015 GCC Pitch Challenge pioneers festival venturescout
Regional How ArabiaWeather battles the forces of nature Residents of the Middle East don't need me to tell them that this year so far has been a doozy in terms of weather. First, we had... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 26 February, 2015 yohan windy huda
Jordan Health monitoring device takes first place at Amman’s Maker Hackathon Attendees experiment with littleBits while developing preliminary prototype designs. (Images via Dina Al Zubi) A health-monitoring... Melanie Butcher • 03 March, 2015 amman Healthcare Medical
Turkey Turkey's Modanisa Islamic fashion ecommerce announces $5.5M investment led by STC Ventures Last week, Modanisa.com, an Islamic clothing ecommerce website based in Turkey, announced the conclusion of a $5.5 million investment from... Wamda • 02 March, 2015 citrastyle modanisa ifash
Lebanon How can Arab women empower themselves to lead? 10 inspiring quotes from #NAWF2015 Left to right: Habib Haddad, Rana Salhab, Jihad Azour, Youssef Hamidaddin Al Iktissad Wal Aamal Group and Al Hasnaa Magazine organized... Maya Rahal • 03 March, 2015 Nawf forum NAWF2015 women entrepreneurs
Lebanon Lebanese government inks $6.4 million loan to create tech hub Lebanon’s government is moving forward with an initiative aimed at strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship in its mobile internet e... Maya Rahal • 25 February, 2015 Ministry of Telecommunications MIHub tech hub
Turkey Abraaj Group acquires 25% stake in Turkey's largest retailer The Abraaj Group has acquired a 25% stake in Hepsiburada.com, one of Turkey’s largest online retailers. The investment will allow H... Wamda • 23 February, 2015 Hepsiburada Abraaj Group turkey
Regional LinkedIn launches Arabic platform LinkedIn has launched an Arabic version of its social networking website that allows new users to register in Arabic and existing users to... Wamda • 18 February, 2015 Arab region LinkedIn Social Networks
Jordan Saudi INET invests 'millions' in Jordan's Gate2Play Jordanian based payment service provider, Gate2Play, announced yesterday a strategic partnership and investment by Saudi virtual... Maya Rahal • 18 February, 2015 INET Integrated Networks hyperpay
Kuwait The war story behind Rocket Internet's acquisition of Kuwait's Talabat This piece was originally published on February 15th, 2015 on LinkedIn. When 33-year-old Kuwaiti entrepreneur Abdulaziz Al Loughani first... Nina Curley • 16 February, 2015 abdulaziz alloughani talabat kuwait
Egypt Solar energy to light up Egypt's poorest villages No longer just the remit of entrepreneurs, social issues affecting a nation have also been taken up by corporations, and PepsiCo Egypt has... Eman Mostafa • 22 February, 2015 liter of light Pepsico Egypt
Maghreb Arabic sport outlet Elbotola raises $400,000 to expand to Middle East Good things come to those who wait. Elbotola, the Arabic sports platform, has raised 4M dirham ($400,000) from Maroc Numeric Fund,... Aline Mayard • 11 February, 2015 Maroc Numeric Fund elbotola MNF
Kuwait Rocket Internet acquires Kuwait’s Talabat for $170M, largest MENA tech acquisition since Maktoob Since Yahoo! acquired Maktoob in 2009 for $165 million the region has anticipated the next big exit. Today the German ecommerce... Lucy Knight • 11 February, 2015 talabat Food delivery Rocket Internet
Egypt Egypt's Bey2ollak app adds bomb alert hashtag Egyptian traffic app Bey2ollak has created a bomb scare hashtag to better inform Egyptians of urban threats after a spate of bombings... Rachel Williamson • 05 February, 2015 alert bomb bey2ollak
U.A.E Abu Dhabi's twofour54 and Ericsson launch new partnership twofour54, the commercial arm of Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone Authority, has partnered with Swedish multinational telecommunications pr... Lucy Knight • 04 February, 2015 Ericsson tech hub Issa Aghabi
Regional The Arab region's freelance economy: some data By all accounts the global freelance economy is burgeoning. For many, it acts as a way to earn income in the absence of formalized,... Ahmed Moor • 29 January, 2015 freelance Employment nabbesh
Egypt Proposed Egypt technology park facing bureaucratic delays Big plans to create a technology and entrepreneurial hub in the southern Cairo suburb of Maadi could be stalling, for which some are... Rachel Williamson • 28 January, 2015 maadi technology park Hardware Egypt
U.A.E Dubai's 'Drones for Good' competition enters finals Look at that drone go. (Images via Dubai government) Dubai’s government is pushing engineers and entrepreneurs to create drones that a... Wamda • 30 January, 2015 Drones for good Drones uae
U.A.E Dubai fintech startup Cashnomix acquired by Singapore firm The Dubai tech startup Cashnomix, a cloud based platform that allows small businesses to collect money early on their invoices, has been... Lucy Knight • 27 January, 2015 fin-tech DSO acquisition
Kuwait $5 million private VC fund - Kuwait's first - announces 3 investments Arzan Financial Group (AFG), one of the oldest and largest publicly listed investment firms in Kuwait, announced this week its investment... Maya Rahal • 22 January, 2015 Arzan VC kuwait Funding
Egypt First stop for Mix N’ Mentor 2015: Cairo “There is progress… not at a Silicon Valley pace but you can see clear milestones,” Ideavelopers Managing Partner Tarek Assaad told Wamda i... Wamda • 21 January, 2015 wamda mix n mentor cairo Mix N'Mentor Cairo wamda mix n mentor
Saudi Arabia Sawerly announces $200,000 round from QB Co This piece has been adapted piece from Firnas. Sawerly, the online marketplace that connects photographers and clients, have... Ryan Adil • 20 January, 2015 Photography Sawerly Saudi Arabia
U.A.E How Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi is stoking creativity in the UAE Select mentors featured as part of Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi's intensive program. The newly launched Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi, helmed by Managing... Wamda • 19 January, 2015 flat6labs abu dhabi Flat6Labs