The reason for the Middle East

So it will be 6 months in Jordan on November 8th for me. I arrived at Queen Alia airport on May 8th, wondering about the adventure that lay ahead of me. and so far, it has been a good one.

To bring the story to the point of inception (that was a good movie), I was introduced by a mutual friend to Bassel Ojjeh, someone I had heard of through the grapevine, but had never met before. We talked about what I had been up to since leaving TechCrunch, and the interesting opportunities the Middle East presented for entrepreneurs looking to start companies. It seemed to be at the beginning of massive growth as an internet-on population. So after some discussion, I decided it was time for me to head out to Amman, and thus launched Edufina.

Startups have always been a passion of mine, the idea that a small company can offer services to millions and change the face of entire industries is an alluring thought. Yes, the story of David and Goliath comes to mind, but it’s more than that. It’s that we as a people, a worldwide people, have entered the internet age, and that nothing will ever be the same. It’s the dawn of a new era, and while the first influencers have established themselves, the next wave are rising. The Middle East offers a younger version of the startup scene in the west, with the (arguably) first major exit being the sale of Maktoob to Yahoo. So for startup aficionado’s, this is one of the best places to be.

I’ll go more into why Amman in another post, but suffice it to say, this place has a solid budding startup scene.  Yes, its not the Bay Area, but neither is Boston, Mass., Boulder, Colorado, Seattle, Washington, Europe, or dozens of other places. Major cities around the world are trying to be Silicon Valley, so it’s not fair to knock an emerging market to top tier technology cities. What Amman lacks in developed “startup infrastructure”, it offers a lot of opportunity for those willing to work that extra mile to build their own “startup infrastructure”.

With the building of Edufina, I’ve enjoyed the process thoroughly. And along the way I’ve met some great people, from Fouad Jeryes who is the main man about town, to Mohamed Marwen Meddah who is a walking encyclopedia of the Middle East tech scene. Some like Kamel Al-Asmar and Ahmad Fahad Al-Shagra are a couple I’ve conversed with but am looking forward to meeting. It’s these relationships that make a startup community what it is, and these entrepreneurs have set the bar high for the next batch of disruptors.

In post’s to come, I’ll dive further into some of the startup events I’ve attended, what is missing from the tech scene in the Middle East and how we can help build it, and hopefully some interviews with players in the scene. I look forward to meeting each and everyone one of you, don’t hesitate to say hello.