Weekly Wrap-Up: October 27-31
Sleep-deprived, failing fast, and pivoting smartly: Day 1 on StartupBus Europe
Our very own French Editor Aline has joined StartupBus Europe to report back on her experience as part of the hackathon roadtrip with startups. Find out how the "buspreneurs'" first day on the tour went, and what topics were discussed!
Upcoming Events
- 01 Nov - Hivos Creativity Competition on Zoomaal
- 02 Nov - How to Attract Venture Capital Interest seminar in Dubai
- 04 Nov - 10th Annual Conference on Innovation Based Regional Development in Riyadh
- 05 Nov - DIC Excellence Series: Gamifying the Planet
- 06 Nov - Webit Congress 2013 in Istanbul
- 07 Nov - MENA+SocialGood Summit in Washington, DC
- 07 Nov - DGTL#U Beirut 2013
- 07 Nov - Harvard Arab Weekend & Startup Pitch contest 2013
Be sure to check wamda.com/events, or follow @WamdaME on Twitter to stay up to date on the region's top upcoming events!
Articles you Might have Missed
5 graphs that explain the ICT sector in Jordan
Some companies are considering leaving Jordan. Here's a great roundup of what hurdles entrepreneurs in Jordan are facing, and what should be done to prevent them from switching to another entrepreneurship hub.
12 initiatives working to empower women in the Middle East
As women's empowerment and integration into the workforce is quickly becoming a hot topic in the Arab world, we've rounded up 12 interesting initiatives working to empower women in the region - check them our here.
This young Jordanian entrepreneur bootstrapped a funky gadget e-commerce site from home
While shopping for an out-of-the-ordinary gift recently, Loay Malahmeh realised that the only interesting products he found online were either too expensive, or a delivery hassle. So he decided to found a company targeting his own needs - here's the story of TickyTacky.
How one Saudi woman entrepreneur found success through Instagram [Wamda TV]
Working as a kindergarten teacher did not prevent this young entrepreneur from pursuing her passion: event planning. Now the founder of Lace Events, Sarah Al Dabbagh has been able to build a solid clientele with over 35,000 Instagram followers regularly engaging with her and promoting her work. How does she do it? Check out her tips.
What are Saudi consumers hungry for? A look at search trends in the Kingdom [Infographic]
Amman-based location review platform Jeeran has over a million Saudi monthly active users - what data can they share about this customer segment's behavior on the platform? Find out in their first infographic.
Could Middle East e-commerce benefit from Pinterest?
Before 2010, the verb "pin" didn't really carry a specific resonance with netizens - but today, pinning can only mean one thing: adding an entry on Pinterest. Our Arabic editor Reine goes over the startup's history and their recent foray into ads.
One bus, 40 entrepreneurs, a 5-day hackathon: StartupBus comes to southern Africa
StartupBus was launched in 2010 and can be described as "Startup Weekend on wheels" - this hackathon bus trip will first focus on Johannesburg and Harare, adding new locations as they ramp up next year. Find more about it here.