Regional The problem with e-payments What traditional payment solutions look like. Google ‘payment solutions Middle East’ and you’ll see tens of solutions, which can lead... Yazin Alirhayim • 07 October, 2015 e-payments fin-tech Payfort
Kuwait Startup Weekend Kuwait: first steps to forming a local Silicon Valley The atmosphere at Startup Weekend Kuwait was filled with enthusiasm as 22 groups pitched their ideas. "It was an exhausting and... Faisal Alqarefah • 06 October, 2015 kuwait event Startup Q8
Global The growing list of global VCs investing in MENA startups Earlier this year we published an article about the reasons behind foreign VCs' increase interest in the Middle East. Here... Lucy Knight • 06 October, 2015 vostok new ventures New Enterprise Associates Goldman Sachs
Palestine Freelance marketplace Nabbesh helps Palestinians leap borders Unemployed youth in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank can now find virtual freelance work more easily, following the launch of an... Christina Ganim • 06 October, 2015 Fursati west bank Gaza
Saudi Arabia Meet Fatima Batook: the woman who helped make Saudi women’s gyms a reality again Women in Saudi Arabia who wish to go to the gym can do so once again, thanks to the lobbying and entrepreneurial efforts of one woman:... Reine Farhat • 05 October, 2015 Saudi Arabia Health Women
Iraq Exchanges are creating Iraqi changemakers Over the past 10 years some 3,000 young Iraqis have travelled on exchange programs funded by foreign governments, and it's some of... Marwan A. Jabbar • 05 October, 2015 cultural exchange entrepreneurship iraq
Saudi Arabia Fab Lab Dhahran: building a new generation of makers The country's future makers (Images via Fab Lab Dhahran) Fab Lab Dhahran launched in 2014 and is Saudi Arabia’s eastern locus for p... Banan Hassan Alhajaji • 05 October, 2015 Fab Lab makers Saudi Arabia
Lebanon What I know about life: Nicolas Sehnaoui (Image via mpt.gov.lb) Instrumental in the creation of the Beirut Digital District, bringing Lebanon ever closer to faster internet and... Lucy Knight • 05 October, 2015 UK Lebanon Tech Hub Beirut Digital District lebanon
U.A.E Melltoo launches premium service Things are moving fast at Melltoo Marketplace. The Dubai-based mobile classifieds startup has just rolled out a new premium service just a... Antoine Abou-Diwan • 04 October, 2015 Melltoo Marketplace melltoo
Regional Disrupting lives: how tech is changing us When it comes to technology changing our lives and revolutionizing the way we do things the examples are endless - from steam engines to... Pamela Kesrouani • 04 October, 2015 disruptive technology IoT MEMakers
U.A.E Taskspotting app raises $1.2M Series A round Market research app Taskspotting has announced the closing of their Series A round, to the tune of $1.2 million, led by Mena Venture... Lucy Knight • 02 October, 2015 Mena Venture Investments Series A Investment
Egypt Yaoota raises $2.7M Series A from UAE's KBBO Yaoota cofounders Sherif ElRakabawy and Mohamed Ewis (Image via Rachel Williamson) Egyptian startup Yaoota has landed a $2.7 million... Rachel Williamson • 01 October, 2015 yaoota Series A Egypt
Regional Optimization finally matters in MENA e-commerce [Opinion] Back in 2010, I wrote about the upcoming ecommerce boom in the Middle East, despite the many omni-present barriers at an... Mo Ali Yusuf • 01 October, 2015 funnel leakage friction
Lebanon Former Lebanese bakery serves up innovation The Obsessive Drafter hard at work. (Image via theBakery) Let’s head to theBAKERY, a cozy design lab in Beirut's Mar Mikhael n... Christina Fakhry • 01 October, 2015 Guillaume Crédoz The Obsessive Drafter theBakery
Oman One-stop shop for Oman’s entrepreneurs launches at Oman SME Summit 2015 Al Sayyid Dr. Adham Turki Al Said addresses the summit. (Images via International Finance Magazine) Omani entrepreneurs in search of... Antoine Abou-Diwan • 01 October, 2015 oman sme summit 2015 sme summit smes
Lebanon Lebanese teens invent urine-powered generator As Lebanon's environmental woes continue to escalate, with mountains of garbage rotting in the street and power cuts lasting... Maysaa Ajjan • 30 September, 2015 urinegenerator lebanon aub