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Tricks are supposed to be scary. No one wants one done to them. But what if we told you that it’s good to trick yourself – to think differently? Fall brings about change to the weather, the leaves – why not to our mindsets? We’re focused on new approaches this month. Check out our After Hours section for more ways to look at the world and yourself a little differently. It is the ultimate treat.
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212's startups did it again! For the 3rd year in a row 2 of the 10 highlighed startups in Wired are 2 of our star portfolio companies! Here is the magazine’s list of the top 10 startups in Istanbul in 2017. Props to Iyzico and Insider, 212 portfolio companies, on the list. |
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From Retail to Finance: An E-Commerce Story Ebay and PayPal pioneered it. Alibaba has been spreading it. All have been moving e-commerce from retail to finance. Hey, if you can’t pay for something, you can’t buy it. Hepsiburada, an Ebay like platform out of Turkey, has teamed up with Turkey’s Is Bank to provide financing for promising enterprises. |
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What’s unicorn in Arabic? CB Insights, a venture capital database and resource, put out a map of the world’s unicorns. While everyone went gaga over the growing list in China, our eyes landed in UAE, where Careem, the ride sharing company, made it onto the list. |
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Among the most important things refugees need: shelter, sustenance, and information. Turkcell, the Turkish mobile carrier, has been supplying that to Syrian refugees for the past year through an app called Hello Hope. Last month, the United Nations Global Compact platform recognized the company’s efforts by naming it one of the 10 Sustainable Development Goal pioneers. It’s well-deserved. Since September 2016, Hello Hope has reached half a million users and has had 8 million users on its translation feature. |
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MEVP invests in online travel company Wego One of MENA’s leading venture capital firms, MEVP, invested in Wego, an online travel marketplace. Wego was founded in Singapore in 2005, but now has a headquarter in Dubai. What’s the big deal? The growth in online travel. Global economics may seem like its having a hard time. The reality is more people across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are moving out of poverty and into the middle class. More people in the middle class means more travel. Watch this space. |
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U.S.-based PROS Holding acquired the Bulgaria-based Vayant Travel Technologies – a cloud software company. Price tag on the deal $35 million. That’s not a lot, admittedly. But the acquisition is an indication that Bulgaria is in the IT game and becoming a global player. The deal has the Bulgarian startup scene abuzz and lots of young techies excited. #WeToldYouSo |
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Jordan’s POSRocket raised $650K from Jabbar Internet Group, Arzan VC, and Propeller Inc. So what? POSRocket offers cloud-based point-of-sale services for SMEs. Making money move, particularly as a business owner is a critical vertical. Lots of opportunity in FinTech. We’re watching closely. |
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In the lab. Memphis Meats, a San-Franscisco based company “on a quest to make meat without animals” completed a $17 million Series A fundraising round. The company has raised $22 million to date. Bill Gates and Richard Branson were in it, along with DFJ (who led) and Atomico, among others. Food security is a growing issue, along with climate change. Companies like Memphis Meats are trying to reduce the carbon footprint animals that are raised for meat produce. Mooo-ve over Elsa. |
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Celebrated on 11/11, Singles Day is now the Internet’s biggest eCommerce boom in terms of revenue. Last year alone, Singles Day acquired a revenue of $17.8 billion in 24 hours. More items were bought on Alibaba's platform in that 24 hours than the entire combined Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the United States. In the eBook "24 hours of shopping madness on 11/11! Is your brand ready?", we uncover top strategies brands need to meet and exceed customer expectations. |
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Istanbul Teknik University hosts Big Bang from 4-7 October. Ali will put his judge’s cap on for it. From there, Ali will put his finest tea attire on and head to London where he’ll attend Invest Istanbul on 23 October. Meanwhile, Numan heads to Dubai to attend GITEX from 23-25 October. Endeavor’s hosting an International Selection Panel in Sofia October 23-25. We’ll be there.
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“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt |
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