Wamda

Regional

MENA startups raised $258 million in November 2024, a 90% MoM growth

As Q4 2024 almost comes to an end, tech startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) demonstrated significant momentum, securing an...

Investment

Regional

MENA startups raise $282 million in September 2024, bringing Q3 total to $727 million

The investment landscape in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region indicates a notable recovery, with 63 startups securing a total...

Investment

Regional

Bitcoin halving fuels MENA investors' appetite for crypto

An article by Vugar Usi Zade, COO of Bitget Historically, Bitcoin halving has brought about a significant change in the way the world...

Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies oped

Regional

Mena startups raised $88.7 million in February 2024

Startups in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region raised $88.7 million across 37 deals, a modest growth of just two per cent...

Investment

Regional

Growth-stage companies in Mena face $20 billion funding gap

Growth-stage funding in the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena) faces a $20 billion gap, with only $4.2 billion VC dry powder...

STV Growth-stage funding in Mena

Regional

A breakdown of Mena exits in 2021

Last year, 39 startups based in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) exited, through both acquisitions and mergers. Most were based...

exits

Regional

Mena startups raised $247 million in January 2022

Startups in the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena) raised $247 million across 46 deals, a 20 per cent increase month-on-month and a...

Investment

Regional

Wamda Research Lab report on Covid-19 impact

More than 70 per cent of startups based in the Middle East and North Africa have witnessed a negative impact on their business as a result...

Wamda Research Lab covid-19

Regional

Remote working: How founders can maintain team productivity

Several governments across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) have imposed self-quarantine and restriction of movement measures,...

remote work remote working Motivation

Oman

Oman's startup opportunity

The sultanate of Oman is gearing up to turbocharge its entrepreneurship ecosystem. While the Gulf state has not been traditionally known...

Oman Oman Technology Fund entrepreneurship

Regional

How Ads Work: Facebook attempts to increase Mena digital advertising spend

Social media users in the Middle East are the most engaged in the world and yet digital advertising spend in the region is among the lowest...

Facebook Advertising Digital Advertising

Regional

Arab youth drive e-commerce growth

The youth of the Arab world are becoming far more comfortable with making purchases online, with 71 per cent of those aged 18-24 across the...

Youth Arab youth E-commerce

Regional

The state of social media in the Middle East

Consumers in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) are among the most active users of social media platforms. The region’s large...

Social Media Facebook snapchat

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: A nascent ecosystem with huge potential

Saudi Arabia’s tech startup ecosystem is small and nascent compared to its vast oil sector. The contribution of its knowledge economy...

Wamda Research Lab Saudi Arabia

Regional

UAE startups attracted $400 million of VC funding in 2017

2017 witnessed 134 funding deals of 129 startups in 12 countries across the MENA, which brought in around $475 million worth of...

MENABytes Dubai MENA

Lebanon

Lebanese youth is entrepreneurship-driven, but needs more early-stage funding [Report]

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the insights of Jad Salame, managing partner of Phoenician Funds. The...

lebanon GEM UK Lebanon Tech Hub

Lebanon

About Beirut’s middle-stage ecosystem and its multiple opportunities [Report]

The World Bank’s Tech startup ecosystem in finding and recommendations report, analyzed the tech startup ecosystem in Beirut, in an...

lebanon world bank Report

Regional

When startups create solutions to MENA’s underprivileged communities [Infographic]

The daunting challenges that face underprivileged communities throughout the MENA region will continue to be a central issue for both the...

Humanitarian Aid startups refugess

Global

Positive ICT growth in the Arab world reflects more opportunities for SMEs

The 'smart' use of information and communication technology (ICT) by companies is a critical factor for success in innovation,...

ITU ict smes

Regional

Sports news are the most published on the region’s e-newspapers

Arabic news portals are increasingly relying on digital marketing channels, now that people refer to these portals for news. Social...

Digital Media Index news portals Newspapers

Iraq

First tech map for Iraq launched

This article is a crosspost from Bite.Tech Over the past six months, Bite.Tech, an independent newsletter covering the digital economy...

Bite.Tech Tech map startups

Regional

The journey towards MENA’s future jobs: a train wreck or a gentle stroll?

The battle between old and new is fierce. Ride hailing apps versus yellow cabs, telcos versus VoIPs, Youtube versus TVs. But the future is...

wef employent jobs

Regional

Where does MENA really do business? [Infographic]

Even as entrepreneurs look to the Gulf to expand their sales, they look to the Levant to expand their back office operations. Wamda...

Wamda Research Lab WRL backoffice

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's massive Public Investment Fund has become active in tech startup investing

This article is a crosspost with CB Insights. Over the last year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced a number of economic...

vision 2030 ksa Saudi Aramco

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