Regional The female VCs of MENA Noor Sweid and Hala Fadel. (Image via Leap Ventures) There are two common complaints in the Middle East startup sector: a lack of funding,... Lucy Knight • 12 November, 2015 MIT Enterprise Forum GCC MIT Enterprise Forum Pan-Arab Zen Yoga
U.A.E UK’s Deliveroo makes its UAE debut Deliveroo's app now available in Dubai. (Images via Deliveroo) The UK-based food delivery site Deliveroo is launching in the UAE. With a... Lucy Knight • 25 November, 2015 Index Ventures Accel Hummingbird Ventures
Regional Car-hailing app Careem raises $60M Series C [Editor's note: This article has been updated to include details about Careem's peak pricing change.] Middle East-founded... Rachel Williamson • 10 November, 2015 Wamda Capital Lumia Capital Abraaj Group
U.A.E UAE's JadoPado raises $4M Series A JadoPado CEO Omar Kassim. (Image via ResellerME.com) Online marketplace JadoPado has sold a 14.8 percent equity stake for $4 million,... Rachel Williamson • 02 November, 2015 JadoPado acquisition Series A
Regional London calling A Lebanese, a Briton, a Dutchman and an Italian walk into a London investment firm. They bond over hip hop. One year later they launch a... Lucy Knight • 21 October, 2015 Braci Hoxton Ventures Slidr
Regional Private equity investors in MENA seek a place in the sun This is a crosspost with Knowledge@Wharton. The backbone of future economic development in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could hinge... Knowledge @Wharton • 19 October, 2015 IMF Abraaj Group private equity
Turkey 500 Startups launches $15M Turkey fund VC cash is shining on Istanbul's startups. (Image via Mybeautifuladventures.com) 500 Startups has launched a $15 million investment fund... Antoine Abou-Diwan • 22 October, 2015 erhan erdogan Webrazzi Summit yemeksepeti
Egypt What Egypt's local investors want Egypt has made headlines lately for attracting a series of high-level venture investments from foreign players, but local investors are... Sara Aggour • 29 September, 2015 KI angels Tennra ideavelopers
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
Saudi Arabia How this Saudi app developer is nurturing talent [Update]: Ibtikar released a new trivia game called HEXA, with tens of thousands of questions in more than 15 different fields... Ahmed Gabr • 13 October, 2015
Regional Beco Capital's tech investment 'periodic table' Tech investment firm Beco Capital have concluded that over the last 12 months the VC investment activity within the Middle East... Lucy Knight • 21 September, 2015 investing BECO Capital Venture Capital
Regional Raising the right kind of money [Opinion] I was at last weekend’s Mix N’ Mentor Beirut, and after sitting in on two fundraising mentorship sessions it became clear that... Fares Ghandour • 10 September, 2015 startup financing convertible note debt financing
U.A.E Compareit4me closes Series A round of $3M Compareit4me, the Dubai-based price comparison site for financial products has closed a Series A round of $3 million, lead by STC... Lucy Knight • 14 September, 2015 uae Investment Financial price comparison
Lebanon What we learned: Mix N’ Mentor Beirut Even the most amazing of ideas need a little help. (Images via Wamda with Sam Fakhoury) During our Mix N’ Mentor Beirut we gained s... Lucy Knight • 10 September, 2015 Choueiri Group Diwanee Y Venture Partners
Lebanon Is Lebanon a startup trap? [Opinion] The buzz about entrepreneurship and start-ups in Lebanon has never been louder. News of increasingly available venture capital funds, bank... Johnny Matta • 27 August, 2015 funding gap seed startups
Regional Zomato raises $60M round Restaurant review app Zomato has raised a $60 million round, led by Singapore investment company Temasek, and will use some of those... Rachel Williamson • 08 September, 2015 zomato ifood.jo uae
Egypt Egypt startups attract wave of foreign VCs Egyptian entrepreneurs are finally beginning to attract foreign investors, with jobs site Wuzzuf the latest to close a major Series A... Rachel Williamson • 27 August, 2015 piton capital vostok new ventures instabug
Jordan Oasis500 teaches Jordan's entrepreneurs to hustle for cash Launching a successful tech startup takes more than just a good idea and dedication. This is what Nidal Qanadilo, a coaching... Samuel Wendel • 26 August, 2015 tech startup Pitch Hardware
Lebanon What I know about Circular 331: Marianne Hoayek Marianne Hoayek at BDL Accelerate in November 2014. (Image via BDL) Lebanon’s Central Bank first announced that it would be taking special ... Lucy Knight • 23 August, 2015 Le Wagon UK Lebanon Tech Hub Leap Ventures
Regional Abraaj closes $375m North Africa fund The Abraaj Group has closed its second north Africa-focused fund, but the financial gap between early-stage investments and the $10... Rachel Williamson • 25 August, 2015 series B Leap Ventures Sawari Ventures
Maghreb Moroccan automobile classifieds platform Moteur.ma announces Malaysian investment Moteur.ma lets Moroccans buy cars online. Car classifieds website Moteur.ma announced late last week that they raised an investment via... Aline Mayard • 05 August, 2015 Moteur.ma car classifieds
Regional 6 steps to valuing a tech startup [Opinion] This is an edited crosspost with BOOSTMENA. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of posts on the subject of valuation, specifically... Amir Farha • 03 June, 2015 irr tech startup Valuation
Saudi Arabia High-tech startups to get up to $2M from new Saudi fund Since 2010 the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology has invested in more than 30 projects through its Seed Fund. These cash... Reine Farhat • 25 June, 2015 WATER fund solar energy
Maghreb Morocco attracts startups stars to Level Up event Moroccan entrepreneurs are rushing to develop a thriving startup sector, and this year they managed to attract major players from their... Houda Lahlou • 28 June, 2015 LevelUp LevelUp Morocco Moroco