Wamda

U.A.E

The UAE’s formula for startup success: vision, investment and innovation

An article by Maryam A. Hassani, Head of Trends & Innovation at the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) The United Arab...

smes Investment

Regional

Community-led commerce fuels MENA’s shopping shift

An article by Irina Tatarinova, Brand Director at Flowwow From Instagram-driven shopping to WhatsApp business groups, businesses...

community-driven commerce E-commerce

Regional

The hidden cost of rushing funding for MENA startups

An article by the CEO of Atiom, Matthew Spriegel. Startups often chase large early funding rounds, believing that more capital...

oped Funding

Regional

Five proven strategies for winning the GCC B2B market

An article by Andrew Baturin, CMO of Tumodo, an online business travel platform The GCC region provides a corporate environment...

oped b2b

Qatar

Beyond the hype, what actually happened in Web Summit Qatar: Pt. 2

An overview of key trends, investment climate, and real opportunities for regional startups from the floor of Web Summit Qatar 2025. An...

Web Summit Qatar 2025 oped

Qatar

Beyond the hype, what actually happened in Web Summit Qatar: Pt.1

An overview of key trends, investment climate, and real opportunities for regional startups from the floor of Web Summit Qatar 2025. An...

Web Summit Qatar 2025 oped

Regional

Convertible debt could be the right solution for MENA funding gap

An article by Hannah Curran, the founder & CEO of PureBorn In many ways, we are in an exciting era for SMEs. Accessible...

oped funding gap Convertible debt

Regional

Think local, act local: The secret to thriving in GCC e-commerce

An article by Mohamad Salah Khouzam, COO of the Kuwaiti online classifieds platform, 4Sale For over 30 years, while...

oped

Saudi Arabia

The real impact of Saudization on the Kingdom's economy

An article by Anil Kumar, country head for KSA at TASC Outsourcing The Saudi government has put a comprehensive Saudization policy in...

Saudization oped

Syria

Starting up a nation: Why Syria’s future depends on its entrepreneurs

After 11 years of being forcibly displaced, I’ve returned to Syria and found a country that has endured years of collapse yet feels...

syria entrpreneurship oped

Regional

Why is the DeepSeek lesson so important for entrepreneurs everywhere?

I recently posted a quick reaction on LinkedIn about the DeepSeek "bombshell" that rocked the US AI ecosystem, receiving the most...

ChatGPT DeepSeek

Regional

Green entrepreneurship drives MENA’s sustainable future

An article by Dr. Stavroula Kalogeras, MBA Programme Director, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University Dubai The concept of a...

solar energy clean energy oped

Regional

Why do startups fail?

An article by Karim Khorshed, co-founder and CEO of CEQUENS In recent years, the world has realised the importance of small and...

oped

Regional

Five trends will define MENA e-commerce in 2025

An article by Vera Modenova, COO at Flowwow E-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing rapid...

E-commerce Online shopping

Palestine

Palestine: MENA's hidden tech talent mine

An article by Rateb H.Rabi, Chief Executive Officer of Intersect In the rapidly evolving tech landscape, many leading companies...

Intersect Advisory Intersect Innovation Hub LINK insourcing program

Saudi Arabia

Tawaref series: Premium residency for entrepreneurs in Saudi

In our last article, we went over the different pathways and tracks to acquiring Saudi Premium Residency, touching upon details like...

Tawaref

Saudi Arabia

Tawaref series: Exploring Saudi premium residency system

What is Premium Residency in Saudi Arabia? The Saudi Premium Residency is a residential permit granted to any non-GCC citizen allowing...

Tawaref

Regional

What does it take to grow a global logistics business?

An article by Alan Coughlan, founder and CEO of global supply chain solutions company Lansil Global The past few years...

Logistics oped E-commerce

Saudi Arabia

Tawaref series: Saudization, labour compliance simplified

In Saudi Arabia, businesses are required to comply with specific government regulations. A thorough understanding of these regulations is...

Tawaref

Saudi Arabia

Tawaref series: Saudi tax system explained

A deep understanding of the tax system is one of the most critical factors for business success in any country, and Saudi Arabia is no...

Tawaref

Regional

Why do we need impact investing now more than ever?

An article by Dr. Stavroula Kalogeras, MBA Programme Director at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University Dubai There is a...

Impact investing oped Social Entrepreneurship

Regional

The impact of family offices on the MENA economy

An article by Ekaterina Chernova, the co-founder of Dubai-based Family Office (Octagon). Family offices are the private...

family offices oped

Saudi Arabia

Tawaref series: What you need to know about Saudi specialised licences

We have already discussed the types of business Licences offered to foreign investors who wish to expand operations in Saudi Arabia....

Tawaref

Iraq

The untapped potential of Iraq's startup scene: Insights from Five One Invest’s report

An article by Melissa Graham, Manager of Global Development and Partnerships at Five One Labs Iraq’s entrepreneurial...

Five One Invest oped

Thought Leadership

All the information you need to navigate Mena's startup ecosystem

Thank you