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
Regional Building the Arab region’s biggest B2B market place is not without its challenges Two years ago Syrian entrepreneur Salim Akil was poised to make his SearchinMena.com, a Yellow Pageseque search engine, the region’s l... Pamela Kesrouani • 17 February, 2015
Egypt Palestinian startup seeks to bridge Egypt’s digital divide Jacob Korenblum, CEO of Palestinian startup Souktel, says there is a a huge potential in Egypt for audio mobile services and low-data... Rachel Williamson • 22 January, 2015 Bayt Iqraaly Zambaleeta
U.A.E Ustad Mobile to scale mobile ed tech programs to the Middle East Access to technology has long been seen as key to developing education programs in low-income countries, but the availability... Alexander Hawkes • 12 January, 2015 Feature phones Afghanistan uae
Jordan 4 lessons on scaling from 2014's MENA ICT Forum Last week, Amman’s King Hussein Business Park played host to the 2014 edition of the MENA ICT Forum, a two-day event that brought together ... Hayden Pirkle • 17 November, 2014 mena ict forum Jordan
Egypt Startups are filling gaps left by Egypt's banking behemoths Mohamed Sameh Fouad, MENA and Pakistan sales director of banking SunGard Financial Systems, Abeer Khadr, National Bank of... Rachel Williamson • 16 November, 2014 mobile finance bank tech finance
U.A.E Personal finance app Wally launches on Android, aimed squarely at UAE A year after its initial launch at Arabnet Beirut, personal finance application Wally is now rolling out Wally+, a... Abdulghani Kataya • 12 November, 2014 wally finance Mobile
Regional Mobile dominates even offline shopping in MENA [Report] Shoppers and retailers in the MENA region have long known that consumers have been spending more and more money online. What is new,... Wamda • 21 October, 2014 smartphone penetration Mobile Report
Regional Former Maktoob exec raises 800K to bring social TV app to MENA The Los Angeles-based, MENA-focused app Vyu has just closed an $825,000 USD round led by Jordan’s Jabbar Internet Group. The company will u... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 20 October, 2014
Lebanon Messaging startup enlists Arab pop star to boost downloads Despite what you may see on the Instagram account of a Saudi royal, the Arab world is traditionally a very private place. From the high... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 19 October, 2014
Audio news for the blind with new Saudi app Despite finding it hard to keep up with rapid developments in the world of technology, Hamza Abbasi, 21, has found success with the launch... khaled sleiman • 15 September, 2014 saudi Saudi Arabia
Newly launched Mobily Ventures invests in Anghami, Easy Taxi Mobily, a leading telecom in Saudi Arabia, will announce today the launch of Mobily Ventures, a venture capital fund seeking to invest... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 31 August, 2014 mobily ventures mobily easy taxi
Code no more: Jordanian platform debuts drag-and-drop builder for in-app ads When Samer Tarazi and Omar Massad of RedTroops – an in-app advertising-focused startup that connects advertisers and app developers, and a... Hayden Pirkle • 31 August, 2014 in-app ads redtroops Advertising
WebTeb goes mobile with Arabic language app Leading Arabic health and lifestyle portal Webteb has announced the launch of its mobile WebTeb App, the first of its kind in... khaled sleiman • 18 August, 2014 webteb Health
Lebanon PinPay leads mobile payments trend in Lebanon Mobile phones in emerging markets are still widely used for texting, making phone calls, taking pictures, reading news, and using... Reine Farhat • 14 August, 2014 m-pesa pinpay Beirut Digital District
Arab Mobile App Challenge 2014 The Arab Mobile App Challenge (AMAC) opens its doors to the Pan Arab region teams to compete with mobile solutions in the focus areas of en... Wamda • 18 August, 2014 competition Mobile
Here's how group messaging app Palringo raised $230,000 for Syria and Gaza this Ramadan Palringo, a London-headquartered group messaging and gaming app for iOS and Android launched in 2006, used its 27 million-strong user... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 12 August, 2014 group messaging charity palringo
This startup is riding the wave of soaring mobile ad spending in MENA Mobile advertising is the next big thing: analysts say that mobile ad spending is growing seven times faster than desktop internet... Aline Mayard • 07 August, 2014 mobile advertising
Ramadan a new opportunity for gaming startups, if they play their cards right (Image via ajib.fr) Update 2/9/14: Game Cooks' Haram Al Maarifa, originally slated for release during Ramadan, is now available for... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 13 July, 2014 Ramadan Gaming
Lebanese game developer fights uphill battle despite international recognition Over the past few months, I’ve heard numerous stories from game developers in the Arab world and across Europe looking to target regional c... Glen Dalakian II • 10 July, 2014 indie Competitions Mobile
Al Mwajaha launches as the QuizUp for the Arab world “Online challenge games are very popular in the region. However, most of them are only available in foreign languages. That is why we d... Maya Rahal • 16 July, 2014 AlMwajaha trivia quizup
U.A.E Can this Dubai startup revolutionize market research through crowdsourcing? Late last year, against the backdrop of Dubai’s gilded markets, Karim Aly sold his share of Ecobility, the startup he’d... Stephanie d'Arc Taylor • 09 July, 2014 consumer data market research uae
Zain to match funds with creative Jordanian projects on Zoomaal Last week, Zain Jordan signed an agreement with Zoomaal, the region’s largest crowdfunding platform, as part o... Maya Rahal • 08 July, 2014 Hivos Zain Jordan partnerships
Lebanon Can mobile games be social? Meet Qwidz, a board game gone mobile Ever wondered why board games like Monopoly, Chess and Risk are still popular? Unlike mobile and online games, board games increase... Reine Farhat • 01 June, 2014 games Mobile Gaming