At the recent World Economic Forum Meeting on the Middle East and North Africa in Dead Sea, Jordan this May, we chatted with Usama Fayyad, Exective Chairman at Oasis500, the Arab world's earliest and now largest tech-focused startup accelerator.

The current hype in the Middle East startup ecosystem is dangerous, says Fayyad; watch to see why, and what he has to say about accelerators that may be little more than marketing fronts. 

To amend hype, stakeholders will have to communicate that the ecosystem needs more funding options, and more training for potential investors, says Fayyad. 

To expand the amount of capital for early stage companies in the Middle East, Oasis500 recently launched a new investment track that will place investments of up to U.S. $500,000, with an average ticket size of $200-300,000, in early stage ventures that are looking to scale.