Startup news ticker: Google partners with edX; Apple releases iOS 7 Golden Master; Globe Express Services expands in Turkey;
Welcome to Wamda's weekly startup news ticker, which will offer quick announcements and stories relevant to the region. If you have a quick news release to share about your startup, let us know at editor@wamda.com
Wednesday, September 11th
Google partners with edX to offer free online courses on YouTube [Tweet]
As part of boosting its role in Digital Education, Google partners with edX, a non-profit organization that provides massive online open courses (MOOC) to offer free online courses on YouTube.
The two companies are planning to launch MOOC.org, which will go live during the first half of 2014. The goal of this website is to help organizations, companies, schools and universities build online courses open for anyone and can be accessed from anywhere.
Globe Express Services plan to expand in Turkey [Tweet]
Globe Express Services (GES), an international logistics provider, has announced its plans to expand its air freight business in Turkey.
The company had already opened an office in Istanbul in 2006, to handle the GES offices there, and began cooperating more closely with the Arab markets such as Dubai, KSA, Kuwait and Beirut improving its air freight transactions.
The company is now expanding in the air freight Turkish market, as it's a key market and serves as a commercial bridge between Asia and Europe, as the press release mentioned.
Apple releases iOS 7 Golden Master [Tweet]
Apple announced yesterday the release of the new iOS 7 Golden Master to developers, before making it public on September 18th. The iOS 7 will launch two days before the release of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.
some of the main new features are a Control Center, which notifies about new emails and tasks and AirDrop which allows listening to music while the phone is locked and accessing camera, flashlight, timer and calculator at the same time; easier multitasking and other features. Fore more information about the new features, click here.
Tuesday, September 10th
LinkedIn reveals what are the best recruiting trends in the world [Tweet]
LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, has released today the results of its third annual global recruiting trend survey.
The network, which has more than 238 million members worldwide and over nine million in the MENA region, asked over 3,300 HR professionals around the world what tactics they use to recruit talent.
The top tactics, according to the survey include: 1) using social and professional networks (37%), 2) upgrading an employer’s branding (30%), 3) finding better ways to discover passive candidates (those who aren’t actively seeking a job) (29%), 4) being a strategic talent advisor to the business (24%), and 5) boosting referral programs (21%), which are the best sources of hires for many companies.
Drawdeck launches its newest blog [Tweet]
Drawdeck, an online community that allows you to create your own drawings, upload them and share them with other people and organizations, launched its newest blog a week ago, to boost creativity among community members and promote local and global talent.
Drawdeck, which is based in Dubai and founded by David Hammond, has expanded globally to the UK, Europe, United States and Australia, and is working on building “a hustling creative community that focuses on all aspects of drawing,” said Hammond.
Qatar International Businesswomen Forum launches its fourth edition [Tweet]
The Qatar International Businesswomen Forum, in association with Qatari Businesswomen Association and Interactive Business Network, will hold its fourth forum on 11 and 12 Novemeber and will discuss the role of “Arab Businesswomen as Change-Makers” as well as the issues businesswomen face, and how can they overcome the barriers that prevent them from practicing their roles as leaders and women entrepreneurs.
An award ceremony will be held on the evening of the first day of the Forum. Those who want to attend can register for free here.
Monday, September 9th
12 Startup teams join TURN8 and i360accelerator in Dubai [Tweet]
A dozen early stage startups from the Middle East, Western Europe and the Ukraine have traveled to Dubai to join two local seed accelerators.
TURN8, an accelerator that launched last May by DP World, welcomed 10 startups to its first round, chosen from 185 applicants The winning ideas include an interactive educational tool for teaching math; a geolocation app for touring artists; an automated approach to help travelers connect with kindred spirits; and an app that allows people to share their dreams online.
i360accelerator selected two startups for its second round, an e-commerce site that aims to be the UAE’s largest online supplier of school and office supplies, and a mobile app that lets users survey their friends or family members related to a specific decision.
Careem receives $1.7m investment from STC Ventures [Tweet]
Careem, a UAE-based chauffeur-driven car booking service, currently serving Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh, announced $1.7 million in investment in a round led by STC Ventures and including prominent regional angel investors.
It plans to use the investment to strengthen its operating platform and expand to other cities in the Middle East.
“We are very excited to have STC Ventures as an investor and partner”, said Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder of Careem. “This investment will accelerate our regional expansion plans and further strengthen our operating platform that needs to cater to relatively complex logistics of the region.”
Software AG introducing an in-memory platform for big data in Dubai [Tweet]
Software AG, a German company specialized in business processes, integration and big data, has announced that it will be showcasing the capabilities of its e-commerce in-memory data management solution at the 1st Electronic Transaction and Commerce Summit which is taking place today (September 9, 2013) at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai.
iMENA invests in Hellofood [Tweet]
iMENA Holdings, a regional group of consumer online businesses in the Middle East and North Africa, along with Rocket Internet, has announced a strategic partnership with and in investment in Hellofood, a company built by global Internet incubator Rocket Internet. The investment, which comes as part of a $20 million round led by Investment AB Kinnevik and Phenomen Ventures, will be used to aid its expansion across the Middle East.
Hellofood, which launched in Nigeria and Morocco last year, is a website that allows users to look up restaurants, order and pay online and have their food delivered. The website is currently operating in 28 countries and has so far three billion people worldwide; it will use the investment to continue expanding in the Middle East and North Africa.
“As a result of this new partnership, we will be rolling out Hellofood across various countries in the Middle East to address the demand for a highly efficient and quick food order and delivery service in the region”, said Adey Salamin, iMENA’s co-founder and CEO.
