@TasmeemME a social network dedicated to creative talent in the #MENA

Finding talent in the MENA region can be a difficult task, there isn’t a specific place for people to find creative minded individuals with trusted feedback. The problem also exists for the people at the other end i.e. for freelancers who are looking for work. Where do they go? And how can they be sure to trust whom ever is hiring them. Enter tasmeemME, a social network dedicated... Read More

Taktek Games aiming to develop the gaming ecosystem in the #MENA

Continuing with the companies I met at AmmanTT 2012, I had the chance to sit down with Gaith Kawar and Odeh Haddadin from Taktek games, the story of this venture is an interesting one, it starts back in 2008 when Gaith Kawar the current CEO and Co-founder launched a company called Zero3 Digital which is a website design and development company based in Amman, Jordan. Gaith remembers... Read More

Feesheh: Your Plug into the Music World in the #MENA

So you must be wondering what Feesheh means, literally it means plug in Arabic and the founders of this new Jordanian startup named it Feesheh as a play on words in Arabic which would be very difficult to explain, so I’ll just move on. Feesheh is an Oasis 500 company incubated on Feb. 1, 2012. Its the first of its kind in the region, they provide musical instruments at competitive... Read More

Istikana the MENA’s answer to Hulu

Istikana launched just over a year ago at Arabnet Digital Summit 2011, and I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Samer Abdin, one of the Founders in Dubai to chat on how things have went so far. The key players at Istikana are: Samer Abdin and Tareq Abu-Lughod (co-founders) Sami Shalabi (Investor & Technology) Habib Haddad CEO of Yamli and Wamda (Advisor) When I... Read More

AmmanTT 2012, Second Anniversary Review

This past Tuesday the first of May was a special day for startups in the MENA, especially in Amman, Jordan. Amman Tech Tuesdays which is a monthly gathering for techies in Jordan celebrated it’s second anniversary last Tuesday and they threw an impressive event. I personally thought it was a success, it had panelist discussions as well as a drop in visit by HRH Queen Rania... Read More

Talking with Rony El Nashar of @SeedStartup

Entreprenerurship in the MENA region is changing I’m meeting a lot of young ambitious people with great new ideas lately, but what about VC’s and investors in the MENA? Are things changing on that front? Luckily I had the chance to meet with the founder of Dubai’s first startup accelerator and he had some very good insights as well as sound advice for entrepreneurs... Read More

Q&A with Yahki the social storytelling platform (2 OF 2)

 This article is the continuation of our interview with Yahki published last month.  General  Can you give us any statics on the number of users? Yahki has average of 2500 daily page views. Why do think people will use Yahki? As I said earlier, Stories are what makes us Human, The Story is the thing. Yahki is a very easy to use storytelling social network that enables it’s... Read More

Startups from Arabnet 2012: Souqalmal.com

Did you know that there are over 50 banks in the UAE? I was surprised to find that out myself during a conversation I had with Ambareen Musa founder and CEO of Souqalmal. It is actually one of the main reasons why she started her startup over a year and half ago. Ambareen is a very ambitious and intense mother of a 10 month old,  she’s not entirely new to the startup scene... Read More

Q&A with The Big Start

  The startup scene in Dubai is picking up, yet if you speak to anyone trying to set something up you’ll hear them complain about a major issue: securing funds and VC’s in the MENA region. In a recent interview with Dr. Adel Youssef of Intafeen.com he mentioned “VC’s in the MENA region are not real VC’s, they don’t want to take risks”.... Read More

Startups from Arabnet 2012: Codely.com

Can you imagine a time or place where everybody knows a language, a programming language that is? How different would the world be? Well, today I want to share a really interesting new startup from Jordan called Codely that is looking to make that possibility achievable. Codely is an interactive learning platform that empowers students around proper ICT education within the classroom... Read More

Things I saw at Arabnet 2012: Intafeen.com

We’re back from Arabnet in Beirut and I think it’s safe to say that the event was a success. There were a number of interesting talks, presentations and most importantly startups from the region. I got the chance to speak to some of them. And we will write more about them in the coming days. First up I had the chance to speak with Dr. Adel Youssef who has been working on... Read More

Q&A with Yahki the social storytelling platform (1 of 2)

What is Yahki? Yahki is a multilingual, social storytelling platform, that gives you all you will need to tell your everyday stories using your best and loved findings of images, videos, articles and posts from all over the web. This helps you frame your thoughts about things you have seen, experienced or just crossed your mind or life. How Does Yahki work? Why did Yahki start? It... Read More

Eideal reaching women in the #MENA through social media

Social media is a wide spectrum medium where everything is obtainable. In my articles I have discussed how corporations are striving for more exposure and better enhancement through social media. And while social media is an open-free juncture all of us are trying to be someone by creating a persona. We all know that women care deeply about their hair’s health. And more to that,... Read More

BoboLink between social media & Online PR

Social media is a huge medium where people from all over the world have the freedom to approach it anyway they want. But this is not the end of it there’s more to it, I had an interview with Labib El Choufani; Social Media Specialist and Creative Director and online PR representative. El Choufani owns an online company called bobolink, which is mainly a social media & Online... Read More

Make Business Hub an urban cafe for entrepreneurs

For those of you who are following us on Facebook and Twitter you probably saw the images we’ve uploaded about MAKE a couple of weeks ago. Its a very nice place to work out from it has a very energetic and fun vibe, you will definitely meet a lot of interesting people there working on their projects and conducting meetings. MAKE is founded and managed by Leith Mathews a very... Read More

Pitch your story in 140 characters with PressPass

PressPass a new startup from the MENA region is looking to help people get their stories out. I was contacted recently by one of the co-founders  and was impressed by the site’s design and idea in general, so I wanted to find out more about presspass and what they’re looking to achieve with the website, so I sent them some questions to get their feedback and insights... Read More

Q&A with Omar Kassim, JadoPado’s Founder

Last week I met with Omar Kassim, founder of JadoPado an ecommerce website based in Dubai and described as the UAE’s best kept shopping secret. I could tell from talking with Omar that he loved what he was doing and felt very passionate about it, he’s not just another guy with an idea but truly believes that the region is lacking quality online shops that can serve... Read More

Flip Media acquired by Publicis Groupe

It appears that Flip Media, a leading digital media agency in the MENA has been acquired by Publicis Groupe. The agency setup in 2003 by Martin Diessner and Dinesh Lalvani in Dubai will be folded into Leo Burnett Wordwide but will keep its name. Both founders will act as non-executive directors and Yousef Tuqan will remain the CEO reporting to Leo Burnett’s Middle East North... Read More

Bandoora: A place for independent and local Arab musicians across the #MENA

Bandoora.com is a music discovery website that aims to disrupt the current state of music in MENA region by presenting  independent and local Arab musicians. The site currently has over 250 Band/Musician covering over 32 Arab cities and providing 33 musical genre. We had a quick chat with Abdullah Al-Khaldi the CEO and co-founder about bandoora, and he was kind enough to share... Read More

CareZone: The #MENA’s first mobile platform with a heart

A new application from Dubai is looking to give consumers a way to feel good about their purchases. The application which is developed by the Dubai based Innoventa, a leading provider of integrated solutions in management and marketing focusing mainly on the internet and mobile spaces, was recently launched and is a great and simple idea for people to shop, get rewards and help... Read More