Hello!
The most recent report from the Wamda Research Lab Country Insights - Exploring trends and challenges to scale for startups in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the UAE finds that Jordan, the UAE, Lebanon and Egypt alone are home to 60% of MENA's entrepreneurship ecosystem institutions.
The study, launched in partnership with Endeavor Insight, the International Finance Corporation and Beirut Digital District, also found that many companies are seeking to expand into the GCC, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
These findings suggest that not only are ecosystems growing in MENA, but companies are looking to expand and many of them have already begun accessing new markets. Please see the visual below on how these pathways play out. However, many challenges remain, which need greater attention from the ecosystem:
- Lack of mentorship: 50% of entrepreneurs surveyed in Lebanon did not have a mentor
- Gender gaps: 82% of all surveyed founders in Egypt were male
- Talent access challenges: 68% of UAE companies said finding talent was a challenge
A focus on these challenges can help to ensure that these countries do not simply create ecosystems but that they grow them and help companies to scale as well.
We would also like to send our sincerest thanks our partners for the study - Endeavor Insight, the International Finance Corporation and Beirut Digital District for their support and look forward to sharing more research with you soon.
Thank you!
The Wamda Research Lab team | 
