Egypt Egyptian financial services app takes steady path towards growth Lack of funding is one of many obstacles that startups face. Many try to develop their goods and services as economically as possible... Eman Mostafa • 30 June, 2015 mohamed hamada financial services
Jordan Achievement unlocked: Tamatem announces new games, new investment and 10 million downloads Screenshot of Tamatem's Share'h El Mawt game. (Images via Tamatem) We’ve had many discussions on Wamda on what makes a... Reine Farhat • 02 June, 2015 Arzan VC tamatem games games
Palestine Tiny package, quick power: Palestinian startup crowdfunding phone battery solution A nifty charger that won't weigh you down. (Images via BOLD Gadget) As technology still lags behind the growing demand for longer... Rachel Williamson • 26 May, 2015 portable battery Knot BOLD Gadget
Regional Silicon Valley investor on MENA’s road to startup success Bern Shen at Flat6Labs mentoring a startup team working on children education. Investor Bern Shen is optimistic about the MENA region’s a... Pamela Kesrouani • 03 June, 2015 MENA ecosystem Bern Shen MENA
Lebanon Lebanese game developers Wixel Studios targets cancer with new project Still from the Aurora game. (Image via Wixel Studios) Despite a growing tech-healthcare sector - which by now has hundreds of... Maysaa Ajjan • 12 May, 2015 Cancer Aurora Wixel Studios
Regional Don't be afraid to scale This is a crosspost with LinkedIn. The MENA entrepreneurship landscape has come a long way since the days when I was at... Amir Farha • 26 April, 2015 VC investment Amir farha startups
Global Lebanese m-health entrepreneur meets President Obama "Everybody has ideas. Most people are afraid to take first step. Go for it." @mcuban #StartTheSpark @WhiteHouse #PAGE... Lucy Knight • 13 May, 2015 Spark Global Entrepreneurship Initiative Global Entrepreneurship Summit White House
Bahrain MENA Angel Investors Summit 2015 in Bahrain Bahrain’s second MENA Angel Investors Summit 2015 will take place on May 11th to bolster the investment ecosystem and endorse... Wamda • 11 May, 2015 events Bahrain
U.A.E UAE online listings startup Melltoo raises $205,000 in seed round UAE startup Melltoo Marketplace recently closed a seed round of $205,000, led by Turn8, Dubai Silicon Oasis... Antoine Abou-Diwan • 08 May, 2015 morrad irsane sharene lee melltoo
Regional Beyond Oil: Tech and Future of Work in MENA Moving from traditional to knowledge economies is a prickly problem for any country, but especially so for oil-bound Middle Eastern... Pamela Kesrouani • 10 May, 2015 Diversification FOW Future of Work
Bahrain How entrepreneurs are shedding light on Bahrain's underground music scene Aalaat performed at Malja Bahrain last month. (Image via Malja's Facebook page.) Tiny Bahrain has been making a lot of noise lately. The... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 14 April, 2015 malja malja bahrain mideast tunes
Regional Vea starts fundraising campaign to expand its tire rubber tubes upcycling operations Vea, an environmental fashion store in Beirut’s downtown Souks mall, has launched a $10,000 campaign on MENA crowdfunding platform Zo... Raed Khalil • 22 April, 2015 Marwan Ammoun Layal Jebran Patrick El Zoghbi
Regional MEVP announces first round of $30M MEVF II fund Yesterday, Middle East Venture Partners announced the first round of investments as part of its $30 million Middle East Venture Fund II.... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 20 April, 2015 yougotagift The Luxury Closet AlTibbi
Iran 10 digital startups debut at a demo day first in Tehran Witnesses to the next big startups out of Tehran? [Images via AvaTech]. Since launching in 2014 the Tehran-based accelerator AvaTech... Lucy Knight • 15 April, 2015 Tehran AvaTech iran
Lebanon USAID launches MENA-II in Lebanon amidst growing landscape of support Last week, representatives of USAID, the Berytech Foundation (a Lebanese incubator and VC fund), and the United States... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 08 April, 2015 im capital Circular 331 Berytech
U.A.E Dubai’s The Luxury Closet secures $2.2m in VC funds Dubai’s The Luxury Closet, an online platform buys and sells pre-owned luxury goods on consignment, has secured $2.2 million USD of its S... Antoine Abou-Diwan • 03 April, 2015 Kunal Kapoor The Luxury Closet investement
Regional Hatcher announces new seed and Series A funding for MENA startups Hatcher, the Singapore-based ‘B2B venture builder’ connecting startups in emerging markets with investors, is looking to “double down,” as ... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 02 April, 2015 hatcher fund hatcher beirut
U.A.E AstroLabs Dubai sign on 30 startups ahead of Google tech hub launch Ahead of its official opening of the Google Tech Hub Space, AstroLabs Dubai has launched a temporary coworking space in the city with 30... Pamela Kesrouani • 14 April, 2015 Google Tech Hub Dubai Astrolabs
U.A.E Two years in, In5's impact on Dubai's entrepreneurship sector “In5 is a center specialized in supporting the development of private companies and entrepreneurs and in the encouragement of creativity a... Pamela Kesrouani • 20 April, 2015 in5 Dubai
Jordan liwwa announces seed round led by DASH Ventures, hints at new product launch liwwa, the Amman-based peer-to-peer Sharia-compliant lending site, has closed a seed round led by DASH Ventures, with participation from... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 31 March, 2015 crowd economy liwwa DASH Ventures
Global Fadi Bishara on what will attract the VC from Silicon Valley [Wamda TV] Catching up with Fadi Bishara at the recent ArabNet conference in Beirut Wamda got a chance to chat with him about his thoughts on the VC... Lucy Knight • 29 March, 2015 Fadi Bishara blackbox silicon valley
Maghreb Why crowdfunding isn't easy in North Africa Following the success of Kickstarter.com and IndieGoGo.com, crowdfunding platforms around the world have taken off. There is big... Eric Reidy • 26 March, 2015 Smala & Co Jumpstart Africa zoomaal
Regional Global VCs investing in MENA are like pink diamonds: rare but existent Though it might seem quiet, some VCs are on the prowl. Towards the end of 2014 Wamda published an interview with Lebanese VC Khaled Nasr.... Lucy Knight • 10 March, 2015 MarkVIP Jereen Utrack.tv
Kuwait Kuwait’s fund Arzan VC announces third investment of the year Last time we checked with Arzan Venture Capital, Kuwait’s newest Series A fund, Managing Partner Hassan Zainal told Wamda that Arzan... Reine Farhat • 25 March, 2015 Arzan VC investement kuwait