Wamda

Regional

The costly marketing assumption MENA founders make

An article by Charral Izhiman, the author of the book "The Marketing Movement" When founders say, “We’ll invest in...

U.A.E

At Family Office Summit Dubai, governance and AI redefine wealth strategy

As global volatility reshapes capital markets and artificial intelligence redraws competitive advantage, family offices are quietly...

oped family offices

U.A.E

The true price of scaling AI in the UAE

An article by Matt Spriegel, the Founder and CEO of Atiom The United Arab Emirates has spent the past decade positioning itself as...

oped AI

Regional

AI regulation is taking shape, and companies need to act early

An article by Jadd Elliot Dib, Founder and CEO, PangaeaX Over the past year, governments around the world have begun rolling out...

AI oped

Regional

What short-form videos really mean for founders, brands and media

An article by Reim El Houni, CEO of Ti22 Films The one thing that is absolutely guaranteed in the media industry is change. The...

oped

Regional

What winning MENA startups will do differently in 2026

An article by Waseem Afzal, Founder & CEO of FAST Ventures Six months into observing early-stage startups across...

oped

Regional

Wamda's most read articles in 2025

In 2025, Wamda was home to many of the MENA ecosystem’s most influential voices. Through their insights and opinions, they helped...

oped

Regional

10 tech forces shaping GCC's innovation landscape in 2026

As 2025 draws to a close, the GCC’s technology and startup ecosystem stands at an inflection point. The past year was characterised...

oped AI

Regional

Why the Middle East's $4 trillion is our strongest asset

An article by Nour Al Hassan, the CEO of Arabic.AI and Tarjama The Middle East does not suffer from a capital shortage. It...

oped

Regional

Fintech, AI shift the economics of GCC business travel

An article by Andrew Baturin, CMO at Tumodo Business travel across the GCC is entering a new growth cycle, just as companies are under...

oped

Regional

How MENA's female founders thrive in an ecosystem built for men

An article by Somaiah Al Dabbagh, Founder of Maeya Starting without a playbook Being a female founder in the MENA region often feels...

oped female entrepreneurs

Regional

The shift AI startups need to win over GCC investors

An article by Farid Yousefi, Founder and CEO of Finder Group Ai Artificial intelligence is accelerating across the GCC at a pace...

oped AI

Saudi Arabia

Slow transitions drain billions from Saudi economy

Saudi Arabia has invested billions to transform its economy, attract global companies, and build a high-skill, high-productivity labour...

oped

U.A.E

Is the UAE building the region's first true open finance economy?

An article by Tewfik Cassis, chief product & technology officer ay Lean Technologies The UAE’s bold move Financial...

oped Fintech Open banking

Regional

MENA startups face a cybersecurity wake-up call

An article by Dmitry Marinov, CTO of ANY.RUN, a UAE-based cybersecurity company As the MENA startup ecosystem matures,...

cybersecurity oped

Regional

Gaming emerges as MENA’s next big venture bet

An article by Kirill Gurskiy, Managing Director at GEM Capital. Today, the Middle East and North Africa region stands at a unique...

Gaming oped gametech

Regional

Fail fast, learn faster: Lessons from Musk’s playbook

An article by Baha Hamadi, founder & MD of Keel Comms In traditional corporate culture, failure is treated like a contagious...

oped

Regional

The balancing act of innovation and growth for scale-ups

An article by Daniel Bryant, CTO of iyris. In the GCC, scale-ups — SMEs that have proven their business models and are targeting...

oped scale-ups

Regional

MENA family offices explore the future of frontier investments

Family offices are becoming pivotal players in MENA’s investment landscape, but their strategies are evolving fast—and not...

family offices oped

Regional

The emerging VC gamble for family offices

Family offices are increasingly courted by emerging venture capital managers, drawn in by the promise of outsized returns and early access...

family offices oped

Regional

What if the unicorn obsession is holding MENA back?

An article by Imad Eddine Oubiri For over a decade, the term “unicorn” has defined what success looks like in the startup...

Unicorn oped

Regional

Time for MENA businesses to lead with digital discipline

An article by Andrey Fedorov, the Founder of Velter When I walked into my first business meeting in the UAE, I immediately...

oped

Regional

MENA founders: stop obsessing over profit, start tracking cash

An article by Moataz Mukhaimer, Strategy & Finance Advisor The income statement, often regarded as the pinnacle of financial...

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Regional

AI, digitisation could hold the key to MENA’s food security challenge

An article by Belal Zahran, Foodics' International Managing Director, Egypt & UAE The food and beverage (F&B) industry...

oped f&b foodtech

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