Analysis
Analysis
+1
Jul 29, 2026
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27 min read
The rise and fall of the B2B e-commerce marketplace
Across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, B2B marketplaces like Wasoko, Sary and MaxAB raised hundreds of millions to digitise informal retail, backed by aggressive growth capital from kingmakers like Tiger Global. But when subsidised expansion collided with razor-thin margins, the category unravelled. Inside the boom, the bust, and the quiet pivot of the survivors.
Analysis
+1
Jul 8, 2026
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13 min read
The year debt out-deployed equity in the Gulf
From Capifly to Stride Ventures to Jefferies, GCC startups climbed a three-tier debt ladder in 2025, as global desks including Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan moved in behind the region's own funds.
Analysis
+2
Jul 1, 2026
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14 min read
Tokenmaxxing and renting the frontier
How are founders and operators building across MENA thinking about token-spending caps, frontier versus open source model usage, and export controls?
Analysis
+2
Jun 10, 2026
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18 min read
Does CargoX's $250M bet on drone delivery in the Gulf make sense?
The man who rang the bell on Talabat's $10B IPO is back with a $250M warchest. We piece together what CargoX actually is, where in the delivery chain the economics genuinely work, and dig into the UAE's regulatory tailwinds.
Analysis
+1
May 27, 2026
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24 min read
Why Uber probably wins Delivery Hero
Analysing Uber and DoorDash's global expansion strategies, why Talabat and HungerStation might matter for reasons that have more to do with advertising and membership than restaurant commissions, and the small matter of a conflict of interest called Careem.
Results
+5
Apr 29, 2026
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20 min read
Inside Tamara's Books
What 40 pages of audited financial statements reveal about how Saudi's first homegrown fintech unicorn rebuilt its revenue model, underwrites a lending book it didn't have twelve months ago, funds it all at rates its nearest competitor can't match, and prepares for what comes next.
Fintech
+2
Apr 8, 2026
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32 min read
Inside Tabby's Books
What 35 pages of audited financial statements reveal about how MENA's most valuable fintech actually makes money, funds its lending, manages its risk, and plans to outmanoeuvre the regulatory constraints boxing it in.
Fintech
+3
Mar 25, 2026
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23 min read
How stablecoins are rebuilding MENA cross-border payments
How stablecoins actually work and why Tether owns emerging markets. The regulatory landscape across Saudi, Egypt, and the UAE. The founders building the pipes, the sovereignty question, and why the window is closing.
Analysis
+3
Mar 18, 2026
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22 min read
AI is eating legal work, so why aren't MENA startups queuing up?
Harvey is worth $8 billion, and Anthropic just sent LexisNexis to its worst day since 1988. Legal AI is the hottest vertical in tech, and the GCC is almost entirely absent from it. We spoke to the founders of the region's only funded legal AI startup to understand the structural reasons why, what they're building in response, and whether there's a path through.
Analysis
+1
Mar 6, 2026
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14 min read
Inside the AWS outage that took down UAE fintechs
Drone strikes knocked out two of AWS's three UAE data centres, taking Sarwa, Abhi, and a dozen other platforms offline. FWDstart spoke to the CEOs steering two of those companies through the crisis to find out what it actually looked like from inside the building.
Analysis
+2
Mar 4, 2026
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11 min read
How GCC Founders and Investors Are Navigating The Strikes
On missiles, fintechs going dark, and the strange normalcy in between.
Data
+2
Feb 18, 2026
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5 min read
The Careem Mafia Database
Tracking 44 ex-Careem founders, $1.6B+ raised, 13 countries, and 16 sectors. The region's most consequential startup diaspora, mapped.
Analysis
+2
Feb 11, 2026
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20 min read
Robotaxis, Chinese Competition, and What Happens To The Gulf's Drivers
What it actually costs to run an AV, how Cruise's collapse handed the UAE to Beijing, and how all of this might affect Careem, Uber, Yango and Bolt.
Analysis
+1
Jan 28, 2026
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15 min read
Where are the calls for a MENA Inc?
Last week at Davos, Europe unified its corporate structure for startups. Could MENA do the same?
