MENA events season begins
The tech world descends on Dubai for Expand North Star, GITEX and SuperReturn ME, and an update on our deep-dive on cloud kitchens.
Jamie Lane & Zoe O Dwyer
October 16, 2024
Welcome back, and a warm welcome to all our new subscribers who’ve joined FWDstart since the last deep dive! 👋
This week, we intended to explore the rise of cloud kitchens in the MENA region, with Kitopi — one of the region’s fastest unicorns — at the centre. However, the piece still isn’t quite where it needs to be, so we’ve decided to hold off for now.
While we usually stick to deadlines, we’re not comfortable releasing something out into the world that doesn’t meet the standards we aspire to. After a hectic few weeks for us both, living out of a suitcase and being out of routine, it feels more important to get it right than to rush it.
So, instead of a new deep dive, we’ve compiled some of our most popular pieces from the past few months below. If you’ve recently subscribed, this will get you up to speed, and for our long-time readers, thank you for your continued patience.
It’s also been terrific to meet many of you at SuperReturn ME, Expand North Star and GITEX in Dubai this week! Jamie will be around until the end of the week, so please do feel free to reach out.
Okay, thanks for bearing with us — now, let’s dig in! 👇
Without further ado, check out some of our favorite pieces, covering everything from digital mental healthcare to Arabic AI, remote working in Palestine, and the rise of MENA as a gaming powerhouse.
It’s an eclectic back catalogue to say the least!
🧠 In this edition, we looked at how a wave of startups like Tuhoon and others are addressing mental health challenges in MENA, and the current state of digital mental healthcare in the region.
🇵🇸 A two-part deep-dive, looking at how companies like Manara and TAP are helping Palestinians to land tech jobs, and continue remote working amidst the horrific ongoing conflict in Gaza.
🤖 AI is taking over the world, gradually transforming how we work and live. Yet, many Arabic speakers risk being left out. This deep-dive was a big one, as we explored the regional startups like Intella are bridging the gap between the Arab-speaking world and advancements in AI.
🕹️ The inaugural Esports World Cup kicked off in Riyadh during the summer, so we thought it would be fitting to take things up a level and explore whether MENA could become a world leader in the gaming industry, by tracing gaming’s history in the region from Sakhr in the late 1980s, to Tamatem today.
✏️ For this deep-dive we looked at all things private tutoring and edtech related in the MENA region, examining startups like Abwaab and Noon and asking - what if every child in the MENA region had a personal tutor?
You can check out the rest of our deep-dives by clicking below.
There are 15 to choose from, so hopefully there’s something that tickles your fancy👇
👋 Message from the team
Thanks for reading this week’s deep-dive! We’ll see you again on Friday for our weekly round-up.
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