A neighbourhood shop can look like a small customer for a technology company.

For years, multinational companies serving the Middle East typically ran their regional operations from Dubai. Saudi Arabia wanted to change that.

Islamic fintech is growing quickly, and the Gulf is becoming one of the most important places where that growth is being tested in the real world.

The Middle East has become unusually fertile ground for super apps. The reason is fairly simple: millions of consumers already live through their phones, but many of the services they use every day are still fragmented across different apps.

For many Saudis, ALBAIK is more than somewhere to grab fried chicken. The chain has been around since 1974, survived wave after wave of global fast-food competition, and somehow remained one of the most talked-about food brands in the country.

A new MENA unicorn and Tabby is now more valuable than Klarna ...

Saudi Arabia has entered the chat 🤯

Fundraises and major tech news deep in the summer period.

Investors continue to deploy despite the summer break.

Summer fundraises in full swing!

Another strong week across MENA.

'Tis the season for demo days and fundraises!

Another week of activity across the ecosystem.

The start of summer is proving to be busier than ever!

A quieter week with the Eid celebrations.

Momentum remains strong across MENA this week!

A big week of fundraising and international VCs doubling down on MENA.

MENA startups continue to raise as the region remains resilient.

MENA startups continue to raise as the region remains resilient.