3 ways the Arab tech diaspora can stimulate regional development

From the Rise Up Summit (a conference dedicated to innovation and Egyptian startups), to the MENA Innovation DemoDay (a series of...

Samir Abdelkrim • 12 December, 2013

silicon valley Diaspora

Saudi Arabia's Rwaq builds a online courseware platform for the Middle East

It’s not every day that a leading education initiative launches from Saudi Arabia. But one Riyadh-based company is poised to offer the r...

Nina Curley • 05 December, 2013

MOOC

MySportner founder Kenza Bennani on her greatest challenges, and big plans for the future

The New Work Lab, a Moroccan co-working space based in Casablanca, recently held the first edition of Pitch Lab won by MySportner....

Fatim Zahra Biaz • 12 December, 2013

mysportner new work labs morocco

Can Bitcoin transform Africa?

If there is one thing to know about payments in Africa, it’s that digital money is poised to disrupt transactions on the continent. Now t...

Jonathan Kalan • 04 December, 2013

Bitcoin

5 tips for small businesses on Facebook

Jonathan Labin is Facebook's Head of Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. He contacted us with some tips, based on Facebook's own research,...

Jonathan Labin • 09 December, 2013

small business sme Facebook

Egyptian daily deals site Waffarha confident amidst uncertainty

The recent shutdown of Dare’n’Deal, Egypt’s most popular website for daily deals and group buying, sparked much curiosity about whether the...

Hanan Solayman • 16 December, 2013

E-commerce Daily Deals Egypt

Global Entrepreneurship Week Benghazi goes ahead despite unstable situation

For the first time, the Libyan city of Benghazi participated in the Global Entrepreneurship Week between November 18th and 24th, despite...

Hadeel Houni • 15 December, 2013

GEW

Mobile advertising more vital than ever to marketers in the Arab world [Infographic]

With more than 366 million mobile phone users in the region, penetration rates and usage data are attracting more attention every day....

Ahmed Gabr • 15 December, 2013

mobile advertising Advertising Infographic

Gamification startup KidzWeekend wins Startup Weekend Dubai

Startup Weekend Dubai is quickly becoming a rite of passage for many serious startups, who come to the weekend like a band of travelers...

Kia Davis • 02 December, 2013

Startup Weekend

Looly's takes home Startup Cup Maroc

It’s official: the Moroccan startup of the year is Looly’s! At least, it’s the startup that won the first edition of Maroc Start...

Aline Mayard • 05 December, 2013

events Competitions

Why e-commerce site Namshi stopped using 'Sukar' as a keyword

In an e-commerce sector that is increasingly competitive in the Middle East, online retailers of all sizes are seeking to enrich their...

Eman Mostafa • 26 December, 2013

sukar Namshi Google

Global

littleBits, led by a Lebanese founder, releases Synth Kit, secures $11.1M investment

Lebanese entrepreneur and maker Ayah Bdeir’s startup littleBits, which has been hailed as the LEGO of electronics, has just released its n...

Glen Dalakian II • 02 December, 2013

Electronics Hardware littlebits

What's distracting the Middle East's workers? [Infographic]

Work-hours flexibility is not the only problem threatening employee productivity and efficiency in the work environment; 59.3% of...

Ahmed Gabr • 11 December, 2013

workplace work distraction

A way forward in Egypt: Rise Up Summit galvanizes entrepreneurship by Tahrir Square

Tahrir Square will forever stand as a symbol of Egypt’s revolution and its ongoing transformation, its power seared into c...

Nina Curley • 01 December, 2013

Ecosystem

Maghreb

A co-working space to develop the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem

Who better than entrepreneurs to solve Tunisia’s most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges and contribute to t...

Leena AlOlaimy • 01 December, 2013

tunisia Coworking Coworking Spaces

How an Egyptian traffic app partnered with the Kuwaiti government [Wamda TV]

If you ask a random big city resident about their city’s main problem, it’s very likely that their response will be the traffic. With more a...

Gulay Ozkan • 01 December, 2013

istanbul traffic wasalny

Dubai SME debuts the first World Entrepreneurship Forum in the Middle East

Dubai SME is set to host the UAE chapter of the World Entrepreneurship Forum to promote entrepreneurial idea exchange and networking ...

Wamda • 02 December, 2013

wef entreprenership Dubai

Can SearchinMENA.com raise the funds it needs to build an Alibaba for the Middle East?

[Update: Eureeca has extended SearchinMENA.com's campaign.] After three years of building SearchinMENA.com, Syrian entrepreneur Salim...

Nina Curley • 28 November, 2013

SearchinMENA crowdinvestment

PayPal announces regional discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Buyers throughout the Middle East will have access to discounts and sales on US websites this Friday and next Monday, thanks to a new deal...

Wamda • 28 November, 2013

PayPal

3 ways to optimize mobile ads

Although mobile ad spend in the Middle East is lower than in most regions in the world, it's expected to grow faster than in any other...

Maya Rahal • 02 December, 2013

Nabd Waveline Media

New payment solution in Kuwait wants cloud-based tokens to replace cash registers

Some say that in order to see a new startup ecosystem really take off, you just need to build one billion dollar company. Just one...

Abdullah Alshalabi • 27 November, 2013

Payment systems Payment Gateways

The Middle East gets its first peer-to-peer lending site, with Sharia compliance

Looking back at the year, 2013 has clearly been the year of crowdfunding– especially in emerging markets and the Middle East. This y...

Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 27 November, 2013

crowdinvestment liwwa Jordan

Digital music app Zambaleeta launches in Egypt, offering access via prepaid cards

New music app Zambaleeta intends to corner the mobile music market in an old-fashioned way: by taking the fight offline. As...

Ahmed Gabr • 03 December, 2013

prepaid smartphone Egypt

Meet the all-woman gaming community igniting creative culture in Saudi Arabia

Gaming, they say, can make a better world. Games make us better at being hopeful, forming social bonds, being productive, seeking...

Nina Curley • 26 November, 2013

W4Women Wamda for Women Entrepreneurs Gaming