Building a startup in the Middle East

Building a startup anywhere can feel like walking through a minefield with occasional bursts of clarity and joy. But doing so in the Middle East adds a unique layer of complexity, a blend of contradictions that either propels you or pulls you back. I’ve seen this story play out many times, and if you’re thinking about starting a company here, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind.

The Fragmented Landscape

The first thing you notice about the Middle East is how fragmented it is. You’re not just building a startup in one market. You’re building in multiple markets simultaneously. Even though there’s a shared language (mostly), the region is a patchwork of cultures, economies, and regulations. What works in the UAE won’t necessarily work in Jordan or Egypt. This fragmentation creates both a challenge and an opportunity. If you figure it out, you get rewarded with access to a large, under-served market. But it also means that your growth curve won’t be as smooth as it might be in more unified regions like the U.S. or Europe.

Bureaucracy: The Silent Co-Founder

A startup in the Middle East also comes with an uninvited co-founder: bureaucracy. Regulations here can feel like a relic of a different era, designed not to move fast but to preserve the status quo. In many countries, you’ll find yourself spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with paperwork, permits, and officials who might not understand what you’re trying to do. It’s not impossible, but it takes a lot of patience and persistence. Those who succeed tend to be good at navigating these roadblocks without losing momentum.

Talent: Abundance and Scarcity

There’s no shortage of talent in the Middle East. The universities here churn out engineers and business grads by the thousands. The real issue is experience. If you’re building something innovative, it’s likely that your team will be doing something no one in their family, or their circle of friends, has ever done before. There’s no “old guard” of successful startup founders who can mentor you in the same way you’d find in Silicon Valley. You’ll have to build your own support network as you go.

That said, there’s also an advantage here. Because the tech ecosystem is still relatively young, the best talent hasn’t been sucked up by established companies yet. You can get smart, driven people who are hungry to prove themselves. They’re not jaded by years of corporate life and are willing to take risks with you.

Capital: The Good, the Bad, and the Regional

Funding a startup in the Middle East is a double-edged sword. There’s a lot of money in the region, particularly in the Gulf countries. Venture capitalists and government funds are actively looking for ways to invest in tech. But the flip side is that many investors don’t fully understand the startup model. They’re used to traditional businesses, where profitability is a near-term goal. In Silicon Valley, investors will support you through years of losses if they believe in your growth potential. In the Middle East, they might pressure you to generate revenue earlier than you’re ready for.

Still, this landscape is changing. As more success stories come out of the region—Souq.com, Careem, Anghami, Salla—the appetite for high-risk, high-reward investments is growing. If you can tap into that shift in mindset, you can access serious capital. But it’s essential to manage expectations carefully.

Opportunity in the Underserved

Here’s the secret that not everyone realizes: the Middle East is full of underserved markets. Startups that succeed here usually don’t just replicate what worked in the West. They build solutions tailored to local problems. You don’t need to convince people to use digital payments; you need to build the infrastructure for it. You don’t need to make people understand the value of e-commerce; you need to ensure they have reliable logistics to receive their orders.

The region has gaps—big ones—in infrastructure, digital services, and even basic financial tools. That can be frustrating if you’re used to mature markets where the plumbing of modern life is already laid. But it’s also what makes the Middle East so ripe for disruption. If you can fill these gaps, you can build something not just big, but transformative.

Resilience as a Feature

Perhaps the most underrated aspect of building a startup in the Middle East is the resilience it breeds. This is a region where things don’t always work the way you expect. Sometimes the power goes out. Sometimes a regulatory change can derail your entire product roadmap. And other times a regional conflict can put so much emotional pressure about the future. But it’s precisely these challenges that build a kind of toughness you don’t often see in founders from more developed ecosystems. Startups here learn to be adaptable out of necessity. They develop a kind of resourcefulness that serves them well as they grow.

This resilience is not just a survival mechanism; it’s a competitive advantage. In a region where things can go wrong at any moment, you get very good at anticipating problems and finding workarounds. You learn to turn every challenge into an opportunity.

The Long Game

So, what does it feel like to build a startup in the Middle East? It feels like a roller coaster built on sand. Every step forward feels precarious, but also exhilarating. You’re not just building a company; you’re helping to build an entire ecosystem. That makes the journey slower and more unpredictable than in other parts of the world, but it also makes the successes that much more meaningful.

Building a startup in the Middle East is not for the faint of heart. But for those who are willing to navigate the complexities, the rewards can be enormous. You’re not just playing in a game that’s already been defined. You’re helping to write the rules.