How do Saudis use social media? [Infographic] Saudi Arabia is no doubt one of the main markets digital entrepreneurs want to dominate. With more than three million active Twitter users,... Maya Rahal • 16 December, 2013 the online project TOP twitter
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
Can Airbnb clone Agaztak boost tourism in Egypt? Not every entrepreneur is comfortable admitting that his startup is a local clone of an internationally successful business idea. But... Ahmed Gabr • 28 November, 2013 Egypt Travel
8 leading startups get connected with Silicon Valley at MENA Innovation DemoDay Despite the instabilities at home, Egyptian startups are gaining global recognition for their innovations lately; it’s not just that I... Akram Dweikat • 25 November, 2013 techwadi palinno disrupt
How are teenagers using social networks? Can Shots of Me surpass Facebook? Shots of Me, the new social network for selfies (photos taken of oneself), has famously raised $1.1 million USD in a seed-funding round... Aline Mayard • 25 November, 2013 shots of me teenagers Social Networks
Voucher book The Entertainer bets on a new mobile app for global expansion While daily deals are no longer as popular as they were a few years ago, the prospect of getting more for less is a perennial hit. Voucher... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 19 November, 2013 uae entertainer Dubai
How Lebanon's fashion industry can create the next Elie Saab Krikor Jabotian thinks it started with Halle Berry. Before the beauty won her Best Actress Oscar in 2002, the Lebanese fashion industry... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 20 November, 2013 zuhair murad reem acra rabih kayrouz
Can media marketplaces disrupt traditional news outlets? The statistics are by now familiar: newspaper and magazine subscriptions are in free fall, Facebook and Twitter are on the rise, and what... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 30 October, 2013 marketplace news Media
12 tips for young entrepreneurs from an Egyptian startup founder Amira Azzouz is the founder and editor-in-chief of Fustany.com, a fashion portal for the Middle East in both Arabic and English, which... Amira Azzouz • 24 October, 2013 fustany amira azzouz Egypt
How a Dutch woman became an entrepreneur in Beirut - with a little help from her friends This piece is part of a new series on expat entrepreneurs. Last week in Beirut, a crowd of native Beirutis and foreigners... Aline Mayard • 17 October, 2013 Independant Publishing Book
Dubai's Emaar launches $100 million fund for emerging designers As a series of glamorous events this week in Dubai attract the fashion world’s heavyweights, Emaar, the Middle East’s biggest developer, ha... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 16 October, 2013
6 tips for successfully crowdfunding your creative project Got an idea so crazy it just might work? You’re in luck: Zoomaal, the Arab world’s only crowdfunding site, is launching its Cre... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 30 September, 2013
New TV show ‘Generation Entrepreneur’ to launch tomorrow night on OSN Those interested in meeting the Arab world’s next generation of entrepreneurs will want to catch a new TV show tomorrow night that will c... Nina Curley • 01 October, 2013 Layalina TV Entrepreneurship shows Reality TV
Morocco's FollowLetter: an alternative to Google Reader for newsletter lovers? Trying to collect and read news during the day is often an essential part of work, and yet it can also be massively distracting; an email,... Aline Mayard • 25 September, 2013 Task management Slow-reading Media
What Mashrou' Leila's crowdfunding success means for the Arab music scene Last month, 543 fans of the Lebanese indie rock band Mashrou' Leila gave a combined total of over $66,000 USD to fund the release of the... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 25 September, 2013
Can new media site Beacon create good revenue streams for longform journalists? Beacon, billing itself as a new kind of media outlet, launched last week to considerable fanfare. The site works on a subscription... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 23 September, 2013 revenue streams Citizen Journalism
NGO connects young Iraqis to international art scene When war descends, art is often one of its first casualties. As gallery spaces close down and funding dries up, artists often have little... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 17 September, 2013 ngos Social Change Social Entrepreneurship
Beirut's SMEX launches an aggregator to support Arabic content online You've often heard the statistic: while Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world, with 360 million Arabic speakers, only... Maya Rahal • 11 September, 2013 Aggregation Arabic Content
The rise of online video in the Middle East [Wamda TV] The rise of online video creation is one of the year’s biggest stories in the Middle East. With the region boasting 300 million views on Y... Zeina Tabbara • 10 September, 2013 Online video Entertainment Digital Media
Edgy streetwear brand challenges sedate Egyptian fashion market Young Egyptian streetwear brand Krak Baby has successfully brought 1990s-revival trucker hats and graphic t-shirts to the local fashion... Ahmed Gabr • 08 October, 2013
How two Bahraini filmmakers launched their own studio to galvanize storytelling in the Arab world Five years ago, after a typical 18-hour day working on a particularly long and tiresome production in Bahrain, Saleh Nass and Chaker Ben... Leena AlOlaimy • 02 September, 2013 Film Entertainment
Lebanon Wixel Studios launched Little Heroes, Big deeds; will it bring them long-awaited success? “To make a successful game, you need to have a good product and a lot of money to market it,” says Ziad Feghali, one of the... Reine Farhat • 29 August, 2013 Education Gaming
How comedy is reshaping entertainment in Saudi Arabia Comedy ventures have been at the forefront of the rapidly evolving entertainment industry in Saudi Arabia. Within the past few years,... Ahmed Al Majid • 26 August, 2013 Comedy Saudi Arabia Entertainment
What does Rotana's entrance into the Arabic video on demand market mean for startups? The massive popularity of online video streaming in the Arab world is beginning to attract the attention of big companies looking for... Ahmed Gabr • 28 July, 2013 Video On Demand