The CTO Show with Mehmet - Week in Review: Jan 7, 2024

January 07, 2024

Welcome to the 48th edition of "The CTO Show With Mehmet" Weekly Recap Newsletter! If you're new here, a warm welcome to our dynamic community of 1589 subscribers across LinkedIn and Substack. Whether you're here for the first time or a loyal follower, your engagement is the lifeblood of this unique platform dedicated to tech, startups, and entrepreneurship.

What is inside?

-      Weekly Startup Insights From Middle East, Türkiye & Africa

-      Tips, Recommendations, and Trends

-      Episodes Recap

Without further ado, let's dive into this week's multifaceted insights!

 Weekly Startups Insights:

This edition includes content and data from:

https://disrupt-africa.com/

  • Haberler: 

https://haberler.com

Fintech continues to gain traction, as seen in Saudi Arabia, and ed-tech also secures significant funding, as evidenced by iSchool in Egypt. Remarkably, early-stage startups gain investor attention globally, returning to pre-pandemic funding levels.

1. Fintech Sector:

  • Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Growth: Tameed's Series A Success Tameed, a Saudi Arabian fintech startup, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round. This investment, led by Alromaih Investments, will fuel Tameed's growth in providing Sharia-compliant financing options. See more

2. Education Technology:

  • Egypt’s Ed-tech Milestone: iSchool's Funding for Expansion Egyptian ed-tech startup iSchool secured $4.5 million in funding, marking a significant step in expanding digital education across MENA and Ireland. See more

3. African Startup Resilience:

  • Rwandan Innovation: Ampersand’s Electrifying Funding Ampersand, an e-bike startup in Rwanda, raised $19.5 million, showcasing the potential for sustainable transport solutions in East Africa. See more

4. Turkey's Digital Transformation:

  • EGaranti’s Seed Funding Triumph EGaranti, a Turkish digital solutions startup, raised approximately $968.7K in seed funding, highlighting Turkey's innovative tech landscape. See more

5. Global Startup Funding Overview:

  • Comparing Africa with the World African startups raised $2.9 billion in 2023, a reflection of the global trend towards early-stage startup investments. See more

 🔍 Conclusion

The MEA region and Turkey are witnessing dynamic growth in the startup ecosystem, particularly in fintech and ed-tech sectors. The global trend towards investing in early-stage startups shows confidence in emerging technologies and innovative solutions post-pandemic.

 Tips, Recommendations, and Trends

 Embrace Low-Code/No-Code Solutions

Speed up innovation in your startup by utilizing low-code/no-code platforms. These user-friendly tools enable quick prototyping and MVP development, even without extensive coding expertise. They're cost-effective, foster team collaboration, and are scalable for growing needs. Ideal for testing new ideas rapidly and efficiently, they're a game-changer for startups looking to stay agile in a competitive market. Remember, balance their use with custom development for more complex needs.

 Episodes Recap:

We were on a short break this week, we will be resuming our podcast starting tomorrow!

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Best, Mehmet