Seeing Around Corners: What to Expect from the Middle East Startup Ecosystem

Despite rapid growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 has witnessed a massive contraction across the tech industry. Global tech leaders have significantly cut staffing, earnings have dropped, and the consensus outlook for the tech industry has been significantly moderated. That said, momentum and optimism remain high across the Middle East. In 2022, startups across the region saw a record-breaking $3.94 billion in investment. What's more, spending across the tech sector is expected to continue growing through 2023. But is the outlook for the Middle East tech sector as bright as investors may believe -- or is there more to this story?

With us today to dissect tech and the road ahead is Fares Ghandour, a Partner at Wamda Capital. Wamda Capital is a leading regional VC Firm focused on deploying growth capital in the Middle East and North Africa's leading entrepreneur-led technology companies.