First of all, I’d like to welcome everyone to StartUpArabia, which I’m officially launching today. There might still be some little details to work out here and there, but overall, I think it’s ready for me to share with you all.
I’ve been very busy working on this project recently, that I’m very passionate about, which I personally view as an important community project, and which I hope many people will want to get involved with.
StartUpArabia is a weblog dedicated to new Arab technology startups and services, profiling and reviewing them, providing interesting market news and information, and sharing tips and advice for the entrepreneurs behind them.
In addition to covering these new startups, existing services and companies that are making interesting new changes and big steps in the Arab world will be mentioned and discussed.
The idea and goal behind this project for me is to give a push to Arab entrepreneurs and the startups they’ve started by shedding the light on them and introducing them to a wider audience, and providing them with information that could come in very handy for them.
Another goal is to help promote a whole Arab startup culture that brings entrepreneurs, to-be-entrepreneurs and people who are interested in startups from the Arab region together, creating a better buzz, opening more doors, and really making the Arab world a new hub for creative ideas and projects.
Something my friend Isam Bayazidi said when he took the blog for a beta spin, and which I think portrays one of the main reasons behind me launching this project in the first place is that, and I’m paraphrasing here: It’s easier to hear and know about a newly launched one-man startup in San Francisco than an Arab startup that has been working hard for the two past years.
That is so true, we have many talented people who come up with very cool ideas and projects, some of them work on them and launch them from their own bedrooms or garages, some of them have a company behind them to support them a bit more, and they all do some really great work, but many people don’t even hear about them in the first place, they don’t get the chance nor the support to keep their projects going, and they end up by shutting them down. StartUpArabia aims to change all that.
I know the project sounds very ambitious, but believe me that’s only the beginning of what I have in mind and where I want to take this, and it’s all very possible. Up to now, I’ve had some very positive and encouraging feedback from the people I shared the project with.
Please do take the time to take a little tour of the blog, I’ve already put up a dozen or so interesting posts for you to read. If you have any ideas, thoughts, suggestions or anything at all, please do not hesitate to share them with me, they are more than welcome and will be greatly appreciated.
If you have any startups you’d like me to write about, please do share, so that we can spread the love even more and get more people covered and promoted.
Also if you come across any links or articles that could be interesting for others or if you want a certain topic to be covered, it’d be great if you could send them my way.
And finally, do not hesitate to link to StartUpArabia from your own blogs, it’ll be very much appreciated π
Great idea!
Always nice to see what is happening in other parts of the world.
Greetings from Berlin, Germany
daniel
Great idea!
Always nice to see what is happening in other parts of the world.
Greetings from Berlin, Germany
daniel
Hi. I am not Arab and perhaps I don’t know enough about the demographics of the Arab tech world.
Is the English language the de facto language among the Arab tech and entrepreneurial community?
If not, should you consider having a Arabic version of the site so your blog gets some serious traction?
Hi. I am not Arab and perhaps I don’t know enough about the demographics of the Arab tech world.
Is the English language the de facto language among the Arab tech and entrepreneurial community?
If not, should you consider having a Arabic version of the site so your blog gets some serious traction?
@Daniel: Thanks. I’m glad StartUpArabia will be able to open a window onto the startup scene in the Arab region for the whole world to see.
@GaltRoarc: English is the main business language in most of the Arab region, as well as the most used language among the Arab tech community. Plus it’s the best way to open up news about the Arab startup scene to the rest of the world.
Anyway, an Arabic version is planned and will be coming soon, I’ll also be considering a French version so as to make it even easier for the Arab Maghreb region (North Africa).
@Daniel: Thanks. I’m glad StartUpArabia will be able to open a window onto the startup scene in the Arab region for the whole world to see.
@GaltRoarc: English is the main business language in most of the Arab region, as well as the most used language among the Arab tech community. Plus it’s the best way to open up news about the Arab startup scene to the rest of the world.
Anyway, an Arabic version is planned and will be coming soon, I’ll also be considering a French version so as to make it even easier for the Arab Maghreb region (North Africa).
Mohamed,
Fantastic idea! It’s about time someone pays some attention to Arab startups. Like you said, there are many, but few are highlighted or encouraged. Hopefully this site will change this.
Mohamed,
Fantastic idea! It’s about time someone pays some attention to Arab startups. Like you said, there are many, but few are highlighted or encouraged. Hopefully this site will change this.
Congratulations & Best Wishes!
Looking forward to your tweets!
Congratulations & Best Wishes!
Looking forward to your tweets!
I would like to congratulate you on this great idea. It is a needed and a very important service and will help entrepreneurship in the region. My only comment is that an Arabic language service is needed. There are many entrepreneurs in many conutries in the Arab world who only speak Arabic or prefer to speak in Arabic. Its important to promote our work to the world but I think its more important to have such a service in Arabic because at the end of the day most of th startups you are promoting are related to Arabic services and content on the net.
Again I would like to congratluate you for the launch and we are happy at Maktoob to support this initiative and the startups in any way we can.
I would like to congratulate you on this great idea. It is a needed and a very important service and will help entrepreneurship in the region. My only comment is that an Arabic language service is needed. There are many entrepreneurs in many conutries in the Arab world who only speak Arabic or prefer to speak in Arabic. Its important to promote our work to the world but I think its more important to have such a service in Arabic because at the end of the day most of th startups you are promoting are related to Arabic services and content on the net.
Again I would like to congratluate you for the launch and we are happy at Maktoob to support this initiative and the startups in any way we can.
@Khaled Salah: Thanks, I’m happy you like the idea and that we share the same vision π
@eyedigress: Thank you for the nice words and wishes π
@Samih Toukan: Thank you for your comment and your support; it’s a pleasure to know you and the guys at Maktoob like the idea.
I totally agree with you on the need for Arabic language, and it is something that is already planned for the near future.
@Khaled Salah: Thanks, I’m happy you like the idea and that we share the same vision π
@eyedigress: Thank you for the nice words and wishes π
@Samih Toukan: Thank you for your comment and your support; it’s a pleasure to know you and the guys at Maktoob like the idea.
I totally agree with you on the need for Arabic language, and it is something that is already planned for the near future.
Well…I’ve been introduced to StartUpArabia like couple of weeks ago and since this isn’t my fist comment in here, I want to welcome everyone also thank Mohamed Marwen Meddah of doing this huge effort to help new entrepreneur and fresh business start on the right foot…Thanks again
Well…I’ve been introduced to StartUpArabia like couple of weeks ago and since this isn’t my fist comment in here, I want to welcome everyone also thank Mohamed Marwen Meddah of doing this huge effort to help new entrepreneur and fresh business start on the right foot…Thanks again
Great work Marwen.
Great work Marwen.
great idea. bettawfi9 inchallah π
great idea. bettawfi9 inchallah π
Maybe the Arabic version of this Blog is required for some, but I think that at the present time is better to focus on the English version. The openness to the world is more priority and will be more useful for entrepreneurs.
Thank you Mohamed for this great idea.
Maybe the Arabic version of this Blog is required for some, but I think that at the present time is better to focus on the English version. The openness to the world is more priority and will be more useful for entrepreneurs.
Thank you Mohamed for this great idea.
@TripleM: Thanks, I really appreciate your kind words.
@Houssein: Thank you, Glad you liked it. Thanks for writing about it on your blog. I really appreciate it.
@Aymen: Thank you man, I appreciate your wishes.
@Mohammed Said: That’s the same reasoning I followed; to me the English version was more important, because it not only informed people in the Arab world, but also those outside of it, which covers a big percentage of this blog’s goal.
An Arabic version will come soon, and maybe even a French one too (if it looks like one is needed).
Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me. Please do not hesitate to share with me any info about startups from Morocco.
@TripleM: Thanks, I really appreciate your kind words.
@Houssein: Thank you, Glad you liked it. Thanks for writing about it on your blog. I really appreciate it.
@Aymen: Thank you man, I appreciate your wishes.
@Mohammed Said: That’s the same reasoning I followed; to me the English version was more important, because it not only informed people in the Arab world, but also those outside of it, which covers a big percentage of this blog’s goal.
An Arabic version will come soon, and maybe even a French one too (if it looks like one is needed).
Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to me. Please do not hesitate to share with me any info about startups from Morocco.
hi MMM π
this is the kind of blogs we need now in Arabia, keep the good work.
bye
hi MMM π
this is the kind of blogs we need now in Arabia, keep the good work.
bye