Wamda

Regional

Are MENA’s SME business reforms doing enough?

Governments have been adding their cogs to the startup machine of MENA. Enough though? (Image via Mikehoolboom.com) For entrepreneurs...

business reform Endeavor Insight The Economist

Regional

Wamda Capital announces the launch of its $75M regional growth stage venture fund

Wamda Capital announced today the launch of its regional growth stage $75 million investment fund, Wamda MENA Ventures I. The Fund,...

Mena Venture Investments Wamda Capital aramex

Jordan

Inside Kharabeesh's path to scale [WRL Report]

Kharabeesh's geographic reach (Images via Wamda Research Lab) The MENA region is facing an acute unemployment crisis that is...

Kharabeesh Digital Arabic Content growth

Lebanon

What does it take to make it in the Lebanese ecosystem?

There was plenty to discuss at Energy Boost. (Images via Facebook) How do you make it big in a country like Lebanon? How do you...

Energy Boost UK Lebanon Tech Hub Beirut Digital District

Regional

Programmatic marketing, what is it and why entrepreneurs need it

There is no doubt that marketing and advertising is now an essential part of any entrepreneur's business strategy. Even if the funding a...

Artificial intelligence Rocket Fuel EMEA Dominic Trigg

U.A.E

How digital loyalty platform Tarifah is using cloud technology to revolutionize customer experience

Tarifah founders Ismail Issa, foreground, and Mostafa Khalifa. (Images via Tarifah) The idea for the mobile application Tarifah was...

customer loyalty tarifah

Bahrain

How entrepreneurs are shedding light on Bahrain's underground music scene

Aalaat performed at Malja Bahrain last month. (Image via Malja's Facebook page.) Tiny Bahrain has been making a lot of noise lately. The...

malja malja bahrain mideast tunes

U.A.E

Under the hood of the HyperSport: the $3.4M Arab star of Furious 7

All images via W Motors' website. “This time it ain’t just about being fast,” growls Vin Diesel in the newly released, box office record b...

w motors furious 7 fast & furious

Regional

MEVP announces first round of $30M MEVF II fund

Yesterday, Middle East Venture Partners announced the first round of investments as part of its $30 million Middle East Venture Fund II....

yougotagift The Luxury Closet AlTibbi

Regional

How animation studio Kharabeesh drew its own success

Kharabeesh was one of the first companies to start making animated and video Arabic content, but their success didn’t come...

Kharabeesh ksa YouTube

Regional

'They're not there yet but they will be soon': Ubisoft analyst on MENA gaming [Wamda TV]

No matter how you slice it, the gaming industry in the Middle East lags behind European, Asian, and American markets when you look at...

mena games conference beirut mena games conference teut weidemann

Jordan

liwwa announces seed round led by DASH Ventures, hints at new product launch

liwwa, the Amman-based peer-to-peer Sharia-compliant lending site, has closed a seed round led by DASH Ventures, with participation from...

crowd economy liwwa DASH Ventures

Regional

Global VCs investing in MENA are like pink diamonds: rare but existent

Though it might seem quiet, some VCs are on the prowl. Towards the end of 2014 Wamda published an interview with Lebanese VC Khaled Nasr....

MarkVIP Jereen Utrack.tv

Maghreb

Is localization the key to Genious becoming the GoDaddy of MENA?

Can you name the leading web host or registrar in the Arab world or Africa? Hamza Aboulfeth, founder of Morocco’s only registrar and most f...

Web hosting Genious MENA

U.A.E

Can Yebab use photo messaging to take on Instagram?

Instagram is one of the most popular social networking sites to upload and share images, but the founders of Yebab believe that their...

Yebab instagram

Kuwait

Physical gets digital for self storage with Kuwait's BoxIt

For decades now, self-storage in America has been big business. Fuelled by that all-American accumulative consumerist instinct, by 2009...

sirdab lab self-storage storage

Turkey

Turkey's Modanisa Islamic fashion ecommerce announces $5.5M investment led by STC Ventures

Last week, Modanisa.com, an Islamic clothing ecommerce website based in Turkey, announced the conclusion of a $5.5 million investment from...

citrastyle modanisa ifash

Lebanon

Lebanon's Blessing Foundation to scale its network of women in business to the region

Last month, 85 business owners – many strangers to each other – gathered in an upscale Beirut café. Each was in a specific stage of their bu...

networks blessing foundation blessing

Regional

Crowdfunding platforms see education as key to growth

A recent panel at the MENA ICT Forum included liwwa's Ahmed Moor, second from left; crowdfunding strategist Ronald Kleverlan, third...

eureeca zoomaal liwwa

Global

How to finance the scale-up of your company

This article has been crossposted with The Harvard Business Review Online. Tom Szaky knows well the meaning of the saying “Beware your d...

Terra Cycle Isenberg scale up

Regional

Arabic Q&A site Jawabkom turns down 4 VCs

It took Twitter 24 months to reach one million users. Tumblr published its one-millionth blog after 27 months. Facebook’s millionth user s...

jawabkom

Jordan

2 Jordanian startups nominated to join Endeavor's network

Two Jordanian companies were nominated on Saturday to join Endeavor’s International Selection Panel, which will determine their...

luminus monojo Endeavor Jordan

U.A.E

'Never behave like an employee': Rasha Shehada's key to business success

On the factory floor. (Image via Diamond Line) At not yet 29, Rasha Shehada is already the managing director of an international trading...

Oil uae Women

Regional

LMTD's Will Hutson talks to Wamda about scaling service-based businesses [Wamda TV]

At our final Mix N’ Mentor of the year in Dubai earlier this month we took some time to talk to the mentors about their particular...

will hutson LMTD mix n mentor dubai

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