We've started 2013 with a number of articles plenty of tips and ideas to give you a boost for the new year. We've also opened our platform up for community posts, giving you a chance to be read by the largest audience in the Middle East and win a free subscription to WamdaCard. Read more about our competition here.

Pic of the Week

Now that the holiday season is officially behind us, it's time for us all to dig our teeth into our plans for 2013. But what exactly does "roll up your sleeves" translate to? Find out what Managing Editor Maya had to say about it in this post.

Upcoming Events

• 10 Jan - Deadline for Wamda's Best Community Blogpost Competition: Hurry up and publish your post and it could be featured on Wamda's front page!
• 12 Jan - Finance for Entrepreneurs and SME's
• 16 Jan - Women Entrepreneurs in MENA: Successes, Challenges, and Policies

Make sure to check wamda.com/events, or follow @WamdaME on Twitter to stay updated about more events you can!

Entrepreneur of the Week

This week's 'Entrepreneurs of the Week' is Mansour Mansour, CEO of Javna. Mansour is an Endeavor Jordan entrepreneur. Javna, from Jordan, offers mobile media and technology solutions, and is considered as an innovation house in the space of mobile and social web. Find out what challenges he faced while bringing the successes he worked on in the West, to the Arab world in our interview with him.

Articles you Might have Missed 

5 Entrepreneurial Lessons for the New Year

Thinking of ideas for a new startup in 2013? Find out what advice Dave McClure has to give to those “crazy enough” to still want to be entrepreneurs in this post.

Could an Egyptian Crowdsourced Review Site Be the Next Big Middle East Success Story?

In his post about Trustious, a review site hailing from Egypt, Wamda contributor Omar Aysha describes the startup as potentially the "next big thing". Find out what makes this review site so different in this post.

Start 2013 Smarter: 3 Resources to Help You Manage Your Money in the Middle East

Are you looking to make 2013 the year of better finances? Then check out three resources that are customized to the financial needs of the region.

Meet the 19-year-old Moroccan Entrepreneur Behind Casablanca's Yearly Geek Iftar

For the past 2 years, Morocco has been witnessing the rise of a new type of events labelled "GeekFtour". While the organizers were only expecting 32 participants to its first edition, they were a little more than surprised when 98 people showed up. Find out who is behind GeekFtour, what they've got planned for 2013 and more in this post.

How to Track Popular Keywords: What Every Startup Should Know

As viewers typically find your website either directly through typing in its address, or indirectly through search engines and social media channels, putting in place solid SEO practices is crucial to making sure you get all the traffic you deserve. But how do you recognize the right keywords for your business? Find out in this post.

3 Tips for Localizing Global Trends in an Emerging Market

Timing is everything for start-ups. So how should startups in emerging markets read trends and apply them? Find out what Wamda contributor Gulay Ozkan had to say about it in this post.

8 Tips for Building a Wildly Successful Arabic Website

During its first year, Arabic women's portal Nawa3em grew to one million monthly unique visitors. Then, CEO Rodolph Jabr and Editor-in-chief Zoya Sakr Jabr decided to to replicate its popular model. Find out about their latest site, Chababs, which targets Arab youth with games, music and technology in this post.

How to Invade the World Using YouTube: Lessons from 2012

In 2012, we witnessed PSY take over the world via YouTube with his famous Gangnam Style tune. We also witnessed many YouTube regulars make it big with video content ranging from tutorials to entertainment. What lessons can be drawn from YouTube? Find out in this post.

Mix N' Mentor Panel

Our last series for this year comes straight from our Mix N' Mentor events. Check out the topics covered on the panel featuring Fadi Ghandour, Muhammed Mekki, Joi Ito, Brian Sigafoos and moderated by Wamda CEO Habib Haddad.

1. Agility, Focus and the Power of Pull: Tips from Fadi Ghandour and Joi Ito
2. Why Entrepreneurs Don't Need MBAs to Succeed
3. How the Private Sector Can Support Startups
4. Entering the Saudi Market, and Global Trends for 2013
5. Why Gamers Make Great Managers & Tips on Startup Culture
6. Hiring and Scaling a Startup Culture
7. Why Startups Should Support Sustainability
8. Tips from Fadi Ghandour on Bootstrapping