Startups from Lebanon
Following the Arabnet Conference in BeirutMarch 2014
#1 – Instabeat, the smart swimming goggles
• Connected swimming goggles to scan motion & heart rate• Indiegogo $50k+ campaign, $100k seed-funding and undisclosed series A in
Jan. 2014• Founder Hind Hobeika is a former swimmer
#2 – Anghami, the Spotify of the Middle-East
• A streaming music service with almost exclusive access to MENA region music labels, serving clients there + diaspora
• Partners with major labels (EMI, Sony, Universal) and telcos, known funding of $1.25M
• 3.4M users, 100K paid-for
#3 – Shahiya, the Arabic world cooking platform
• A cooking platform online with 5K+ recipes and 1.3M unique visitors each month, mostly from Saudi Arabia
• $500k in funding in 2013
#4 – Cedar Books, a source of books for Amazon
• Sourcing books in the Arabic world and beyond for Amazon and other retailers. 1.5M books sold.
• Founded in 2009, $20M revenues in 2013 mostly in the US
#5 – Lamsa World, edutainment content in Arabic
• A platform for Arabic digital edutainment content for children• $500k series A in 2014
#6 – Shawarmanji, the shawarma fast food chain
• 8 outlets in Lebanon and UAE• $400k funded by MEVP in 2013
Our project
An exploration of innovation ecosystems across the world
Innovation has no place in a global world, it’s everywhere
Innovation ecosystems can learn from one another
Local context matters and should be a source for innovators
This is why…
We’re on a world tour of innovation ecosystems!
We believe…
Martin Pasquier
Entrepreneur in Singapore (social media
agency), long-time traveller
Mixes economics, politics and travels to analyze ecosystems,
reports on innovation
About our teamAnalysis, community & network
Anne Lalou
CEO of Innovation Factory & Web School
Factory in ParisTransfer knowledge of
ecosystems to new generation and to a
network of top French companies
Nicolas Loubet
Serial entrepreneur in Paris
with 3 companies, growth hackerManages and
nurtures creative communities on & offline
A world tour of innovation: 2013-2014
SUPPORT US! Travel & time of exploration isn’t free Custom reports on emerging markets & trends Workshops, talks on innovation trends Connection to key local players for VCs, brands, tech communities
