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- The CTO Show with Mehmet - MEA Tech & Startup Digest: Apr 14, 2024
The CTO Show with Mehmet - MEA Tech & Startup Digest: Apr 14, 2024
Welcome to the 62nd edition of " The CTO Show's MEA Tech & Startup Digest" Weekly Newsletter! If you're new here, I extend a warm welcome to you, joining our dynamic community of 1762 subscribers across LinkedIn and Beehiiv. Your presence, whether as a first-timer or a loyal follower, is the heartbeat of this platform dedicated to unfolding narratives in tech, startups, and entrepreneurship.
What is inside?
- Weekly Startup Insights From Middle East, Türkiye & Africa
- Global Tech Industry and Startup Trends & News This Week
- Episodes Recap
Let's not wait any longer and dive into this week's rich insights!
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🌍 Regional Investment Highlights & Startup Insights:
This week we had the Eid break across the region, though activities were at the minimum, yet we still had something from Africa.
1. Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures' Milestone: This joint venture has successfully closed its inaugural fund at $60 million, targeting growth-stage companies across Africa. With a diverse sector focus, including fintech and healthcare, VKAV is poised to bridge the Series A and B funding gap, injecting much-needed capital into promising ventures. Read more.
2. Challenges in African Startup Funding: The startup scene in Africa, particularly within the "Big Four" economies (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt), faces a challenging environment with a 27% decrease in funding in Q1 2024. The sectors witnessing the most activity are fintech and transport/logistics, although a concerning gender funding gap persists. Read more.
🔍 Actionable Insights From Mehmet
After talking to many people within the startup ecosystem, we are likely to still have to deal with a major gap between early-stage startups and investors. This is a work in progress and I am eager to see how things will change.
Local founders in the region are encouraged to shift their efforts in identifying possible new markets during the early stages, leaving that to the right time might be risky so having a plan is paramount.
Global Tech Industry and Startup Trends & News This Week
Global Funding Landscape: The first quarter of 2024 has seen a modest increase in startup funding globally, particularly in the tech sector which leads in attracting investments. Despite this uptick, there's a noted decline from the previous year's figures. AI startups continue to draw significant attention from investors. The trend reveals a shift towards more early-stage funding amidst a decline in late-stage investments, possibly a ripple effect from the 2022 liquidity crisis. Read more.
Google Cloud Next: Google made generative AI a major focus at their Cloud Next conference, highlighting its potential for various applications [TechCrunch].
Episodes Recap:
In this episode, Mehmet interviews entrepreneur Colin Hirdman , who shares his journey from a fresh college graduate to a seasoned entrepreneur. Colin discusses the initial challenge of diving into entrepreneurship without a formal business education, emphasizing the creative and rewarding aspects of building businesses from scratch. He also touches upon the importance of embracing risks and failures as part of the entrepreneurial path.
In this episode of the CTO Show, Mehmet hosts Dan Balcauski , the founder of Product Tranquility, a consulting firm that assists B2B SaaS CEOs with pricing and packaging strategies. Dan discusses common misconceptions about pricing, emphasizing the importance of focusing more on whom and how you charge rather than on the price itself. He introduces a pricing model comprising four components: Segments, Value, Competition, and Strategy (SVCS), explaining how each plays a crucial role in determining successful pricing strategies.
In this episode of the CTO Show, host Mehmet is joined by Stephen Tafaro , who shares his extensive experience in the business world, emphasizing the evolution of selling strategies from hardware and software to Software as a Service (SaaS). With a background in teaching, IBM, Oracle, and founding Associates in 1990, Steve discusses the shift towards value-based selling and the importance of customer-centric cultures in SaaS companies. He highlights the critical role of marketing in generating leads and nurturing customer relationships for sustainable growth.
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