Analysis | FWDStart | MENA Startups, Tech News & VC Insights

The MENA Diaspora 50

Meet 50 of the world’s highest-potential tech startups led by MENA diaspora founders.

Oct 29, 2025

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29 min read

Key Capital’s London Trek and the Architecture of Gulf Capital Flows

As global investors look to deploy into the Gulf, Key Capital’s London Trek has quietly become one of the region’s most effective bridges between mandate and deployment. Behind its small, curated format sits a deliberate architecture designed to convert interest into capital flow.

Oct 22, 2025

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12 min read

Saudi Data Embassies And The New Geopolitics Of Compute

The Kingdom’s compute triple advantage, its forthcoming Global AI Hub Law, the emergence of one of the world’s largest inference clusters in Dammam, and the looming prospect of a “compute OPEC.”

Oct 8, 2025

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5 min read

Advice for the solo (for now) founder

If you are still searching for the right co-founder, or weighing up whether to go it alone, know that you are far from the only one.

Sep 17, 2025

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4 min read

How to choose a co-founder with complementary skills

Finding a complementary co-founder is about balance. Know what you need and what you don’t have – then find someone you respect enough to handle that realm completely.

Sep 17, 2025

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7 min read

How to find the right co-founder

Co-founders are like a marriage, the cliché goes. But beyond the saying, how do you actually choose the person (or people) you’ll build with? And how do you set that relationship up for long-term success?

Sep 17, 2025

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11 min read

How to get partnership terms right: legal and equity considerations

Spelling out the hard stuff early; equity division, vesting schedules, roles and titles, decision rights, departure clauses – can save enormous pain down the road.

Sep 17, 2025

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3 min read

How to manage co-founder conflict

Even the “perfect” co-founder pairing will run into friction. In fact, you should expect it. A bit of creative tension is often the hallmark of a strong founding team. The difference lies in how you handle it.

Sep 17, 2025

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4 min read

How to test for co-founder compatibility and alignment

A variety of approaches, from gut-feel heuristics to deliberate trial periods, to vet a co-founder match.

Sep 17, 2025

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4 min read

How Lean Technologies builds around the merchant’s hierarchy of needs

Lean’s Mehdi Tazi on why revenue in Saudi still skews to data while the UAE is driven by payments, how the firm applies Maslow’s hierarchy to merchant needs, and what A/B testing reveals about consumer trust.

Sep 15, 2025

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10 min read

Property Finder and the Last Mile of Venture Investing

Venture investing is won and lost in the final stretch. Using Careem and Property Finder as case studies, Amir Farha explores how compounding, timing, and investor courage determine whether funds deliver liquidity or leave multiples on the table.

Sep 11, 2025

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11 min read

The Gulf’s new space race for sovereignty

Why sovereignty in space matters, the divergent bets of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the players shaping the race, and whether these efforts will coalesce into a regional ecosystem, or remain a contest for supremacy.

Sep 3, 2025

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9 min read

The battle to own Arabic AI voice

Why voice is arguably the most important AI communication interface; how Arabic dialectical diversity complicates matters; the regional use cases and verticals; the competitive landscape; and what might come next.

Aug 20, 2025

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9 min read

MENA’s new playbook for non‐dilutive funding

Murabaha mark‐ups instead of interest, revenue‐share buybacks instead of rigid instalments, and new structures like NICE and WAQFA that keep funding both founder‐friendly and Shariah‐compliant.

Jul 31, 2025

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4 min read

The rise and rise of venture debt across the Gulf

What's behind the increase in new venture debt funds launching across the Gulf, promising “founder-first,” non-dilutive capital? Who are the players rewriting the playbook? And what does all of this mean for founders, investors, and LPs?

Jul 30, 2025

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7 min read

Tabby's tightrope: inside the numbers

Unpacking Tabby’s Q1 2025 numbers in Saudi Arabia – profit surge, credit‐loss drag, break‐neck revenue growth, and the leverage‐heavy funding stack behind the Middle East’s most valuable VC‐backed fintech company.

Jul 17, 2025

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4 min read

How Adam Neumann Is Turning Riyadh into His Second Act

$350 million from a16z, $300 million from 33 Saudi families, a full Saudi launch in 60 days, and 92% of “trial guests” now tenants. Is Flow just WeLive in a thobe, or the first real brand in the Kingdom’s untapped BtR market? We unpack what Flow is, why a16z doubled down, how Neumann went local overnight, and just how big Saudi’s premium-renting gap really is.

Jul 9, 2025

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5 min read

What led to Ebrahim Al-Jassim’s exit from HungerStation in 2019

A detailed look at HungerStation’s 2019 leadership transition, the legal dispute between Delivery Hero and Ebrahim Al-Jassim, and the rise of Ninja as one of Saudi Arabia’s first q-commerce unicorns.

Jul 3, 2025

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4 min read

Valu and the Discipline Engine

Inside Valu’s EGX debut: With Amazon now on the cap table, we unpack the model behind Egypt’s most disciplined fintech, covering product strategy, underwriting logic, unit economics, investor dynamics, and the operators running the machine.

Jun 25, 2025

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9 min read

Why Careem’s ride-hailing chapter in Pakistan is ending after nearly a decade

In 2019, Pakistan was the company’s single largest market, accounting for nearly 30% of its billion cumulative rides. Six years later, Careem's ride-hailing days in Pakistan are numbered.

Jun 19, 2025

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4 min read

Why Talabat isn’t rushing into Saudi Arabia

Six months after its blockbuster IPO, Talabat is prioritising margins, loyalty, and strategic M&A over market conquest.

Jun 11, 2025

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5 min read

Tamara turned a profit, but the real story is how

Saudi Arabia’s fintech crown jewel is now profitable. But its Q1 financials come with caveats, and reveal a seemingly quiet re-architecture of its business model.

Jun 4, 2025

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3 min read

The return of the SPAC, Saudi-style

What the CMA’s new draft framework tells us about the next chapter of public markets in the region.

May 29, 2025

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3 min read

Why are we suddenly seeing a surge in funding for Egyptian startups?

As of mid-May, Egyptian startups have raised $124 million across at least six major deals, a 406% YoY surge and a staggering 8,000% MoM increase.

May 23, 2025

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2 min read