Iran startup Shafajoo helps get rid of fake doctors
During our trip to Iran, we met the founders of Shafajoo.com, a local startup based in Tehran. Shafajoo means “health/cure finder” in Persian and their goal is to improve healthcare access across Iran by providing a user-friendly platform that enables patients to search and book appointments with their preferred healthcare providers in a few simple […]
HOW TO TURN A “LOST GENERATION” OF ENGINEERS IN IRAN INTO AN INNOVATION ASSET
Iran’s Wealth of Untapped Engineering Talent During the trip to Iran, one thing we noticed was the great number of engineers and scientists in the country. There are a few reasons for this. First, Persia has historically been a center for science and has made important contributions to our current understanding of nature, medicine and […]
A demo day in Nairobi, Kenya: local innovation rules
During the Afrikoin conference in Nairobi, we were lucky to attend the Demo Day of the Savannah Fund, a Kenya-based VC betting on startups all over Africa. Since a picture is often worth a thousand words, I’ll leave you to browse this Slideshare documenting the exciting ideas presented at Demo Day. Encouragingly, the startups are all focusing on local needs and […]
IRAN SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ITS PERSIAN DIASPORA TO BECOME A STARTUP NATION
The Story of Persian Diaspora: Immigrants and Emigrants Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, millions of Iranians have migrated to other parts of the Middle East, US, Europe, and other areas around the world. The political crackdown following the 2009 election protests has also accelerated the exodus of Iranians. There is no exact number for […]
BEHIND THE VEIL – IRANIANS HACK THE SYSTEM AND SHOW AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET
An Iranian Impression – True or False? Before coming to Iran, we weren’t sure of what to expect apart from what we had read online and in Lonely Planet. Because of the name of the country itself (the Islamic Republic of Iran), we assumed everyone would be very religious. We also knew that women would have […]
Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2013: How entrepreneurship is fit for Asia's electrifying youth
I’m always a bit wary of politicians’ speeches. After all, this is their profession. This morning, however, in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, I was amazed and enthused after Malaysia PM Najib Razak’s and US Secretary of State John Kerry’s speeches. Together, they launched the 4th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit immediately after the Global Youth Startup where 500 youths gathered to tackle the world’s […]
MOHSEN MALAYERI WANTS TO RE-EDUCATE IRAN'S ENTREPRENEURS
Mohsen is a startup enthusiast. He loves community and entrepreneurship. He founded a startup awhile ago and is now helping the youth in Iran practice entrepreneurship. Mohsen is now the local organizer and global facilitator of StartupWeekend, and the vice president of Iran Entrepreneurship Association. Can you introduce yourself? What projects are you working […]
STARTUP WEEKEND SHIRAZ, IRAN
Unique Demographic of Participants @ Startup Weekend Shiraz, Iran At the end of October, we attended Startup Weekend Shiraz. Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs with over 400 past […]
Kenya startup ecosystem: welcome to the land of mobile money
The Kenya startup ecosystem is often described as a one of the hottes in Africa, alongside South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. Its mobile money system, known as MPesa, is praised, copied, lauded, but it’s not the only feature of its startup scene. How this West Africa country has built its tech hub? Who are the key […]
Kenya's lesson on innovation to Africa – From hack schools to long-term capability building
Njeri Chelimo’s « Nairobi Dev School » – An Exemplary Beacon for Kenya’s innovation ecosystem The story of Njeri Chelimo is a compelling one, and a shining example of the proverb « when there is a will, there is a way ». This 20 y.o Kenyan girl had planned to attend a hack school in New York a few months ago. The 12-week program was free […]
