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Startup Communities

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it means to the MENA Region!

in Collaborative Economy, Startup Communities

The MENA region has its fair share of initiatives to move towards the 4th industrial revolution – Dubai has launched the blockchain council and some Arab countries are willing to transfer to self-driving cars so what could be the outcomes of these to the region? What could it hold up?

This year, I’ll be at World Government Summit and the first Arab Youth Forum in Dubai on Feb. 12–14, which brings government, futurism, technology and innovation together under one roof. These events set the tone for the impacts of technology on businesses, governments, and societies.

2Feb

Introducing Startup Syria: A Platform for Syrian Founders

in Startup Communities, Startups Syria

Working closely with the startup community, especially the Syrian community, has inspired me to launch the Startup Syria platform where we’ll be doing our best to empower founders and entrepreneurs in Syria and outside.

Syrian entrepreneurs are a living proof that nothing can kill the innovation spirit. Startup Syria is a community page with a mission to support Syrian entrepreneurs everywhere in the world.

Throughout the journey, we will shed light on everything a Syrian entrepreneur (or any entrepreneur) can make use of. From articles and publications to online sessions with mentors and networking, we aim to inspire and support Syria’s entrepreneurial community that will shape the future of Syria.

27Jan

6 Reasons Behind Excluding Your Application From Startup Programs

in Startup Communities

With few chances to participate in accelerator and entrepreneurship programs, the competition has become rigorous. As working closely with many of Techstars Accelerator programs, here are 6 reasons that lead your application to rejection:

1) Not having a great team

Having a strong, comprehensive team is critical in the evaluation of early-stage startups, and that is why you have to show what makes your team unique and stand out in the field, in addition to the relationship that got you working together as well as the experience that inspired you to work together. Mentioning the experience you have in this field and showing how much you understand the problem you are trying to solve in addition to the market you are aiming at is also advisable.

2) You lack the numbers

It’s always good to tell the story behind your project, but mentioning numbers makes that story much stronger and makes your application stand out. This includes how much capital have you raised, years of experience, the numbers of clients and customers using your product, your revenues of the last month, in addition to new customers per month.

Using numbers shows how much you understand what building a project is all about, for it relies hugely on numbers because companies that rely on numbers and growth stand out during the selection and evaluation stages.

7Jan

How To Build A Collaborative Startup Community

in Startup Communities

Building a collaborative startup community is not easy; there is no particular rule you can set. It is a community ideology, mindset, and shared dreams between all of its players. But where do you start? What is important? Here are three important things you should keep in mind.

16Dec

Why Kuala Lumpur Might be Your Next Option To Establish Your Startup!

in Startup Communities

Kuala Lumpur becomes one of the top cities to launch your startups in, and here are six Insights on Malaysia startup ecosystem.

1 ) The cheap cost of living in Kuala Lumpur makes the city an attractive destination for startups that move here even though they are still incorporated and mainly operated elsewhere in Southeast Asia like Singapore, where there are a lot of investing money for a startup. Also, the diverse demographic of the Kuala Lumpur population (Chinese, Malay, and Indian) made the city a significant market test for earlier stage startups in different potential Asian markets.

2) Starting in 2013, the Malaysian government formed a $100 million fund to invest in startups as part of a broader 10-year plan to develop high-tech industries.

3) 2014 marked the launch of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), an innovation and creativity center that works to support the local, and to some extent regional, entrepreneurial community and enhance the startup ecosystem with many initiatives, most importantly:

14Oct

Insights on the Turkish startups ecosystem

in Startup Communities

During my attendance of Techstars Community Program Summit, Startup Weekend MENA, and Startup Istanbul I got the chance to witness what Turkey offers as an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Here are 7 interesting facts I have put together:

1) The excellent location of Turkey in the middle of East and West, and the stability that the country has compared to its neighbors makes Turkey a platform for both regional and global startups.

2) Delivery Hero, Berlin Based food delivery has acquired Turkey’s Yemeksepeti for $589 million which considered to be the biggest exit in the Turkish ecosystem, and probably MENA.

3) Iyzico, a Turkish online payment system that raised the largest investment fund in the country in Series A and B, with more than $9 Million in total since it was founded in 2012.

25Jun

Insights on The Iranian‬ ‪Startup‬ Ecosystem

in Startup Communities

Interesting facts I learned about the ‪Iranian startup‬ ecosystem: I’ve collected up some thoughts of this emerging ecosystem that I was able to explore.

1) It’s a startup clone market! Because of the sanctions Iranian entrepreneurs start setting up Iranian versions of the international successful startups like: YouTube (Aparat), Groupon (Takhfifan), eBay (Mozando), Amazon (Bamilo), and Uber (Taxi Yaab).

2) It worked: ‪Digikala‬, is an online Iranian e-commerce site similar to Amazon, is estimated to be worth $150 Million which has around 750,000 unique visitors per day!

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