This contributed volume explores and reveals the dynamics, strengths and weaknesses, trends and implications of entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Presenting papers by respected experts in the field, it shares essential insights on the status quo of entrepreneurship and the opportunities and threats it faces in the MENA region. Topics range from development of entrepreneurial universities to international entrepreneurship, as well as emergent topics such as green entrepreneurship, sustainable entrepreneurship and youth entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial Rise in the Middle East and North Africa: The Influence of Quadruple Helix on Technological Innovation explores the relationships and inter-dependencies between innovation, political regimes, and economic and social development throughout the Middle East and North Africa region.

This contributed volume explores and reveals the new developments, dynamics and recommendations for entrepreneurship education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Presenting papers by respected experts in the field, it shares essential insights on the status quo of entrepreneurial education and training programs, the characteristics and motivations of early stage entrepreneurs, and the regional framework conditions in MENA. The book closes with a bibliometric perspective on the trends in the entrepreneurship research and education being developed in MENA.

Startup Rising presents a surprising look at the surge of entrepreneurship that accompanied the uprisings in the Middle East, and why it's the new best place for Western investment and opportunity. Despite the world's elation at the Arab Spring, shockingly little has changed politically in the Middle East; even frontliners Egypt and Tunisia continue to suffer repression, fixed elections, and bombings, while Syria descends into civil war. But in the midst of it all, a quieter revolution has begun to emerge, one that might ultimately do more to change the face of the region: entrepreneurship. As a seasoned angel investor in emerging markets, Christopher M. Schroeder was curious but skeptical about the future of investing in the Arab world. Travelling to Dubai, Cairo, Amman, Beirut, Istanbul, and even Damascus, he saw thousands of talented, successful, and intrepid entrepreneurs, all willing to face cultural, legal, and societal impediments inherent to their worlds. Equally important, he saw major private equity firms, venture capitalists, and tech companies like Google, Intel, Cisco, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and PayPal making significant bets, despite the uncertainty in the region. With Startup Rising, he marries his own observations with the predictions of these tech giants to offer a surprising and timely look at the second stealth revolution in the Middle East-one that promises to reinvent it as a center of innovation and progress.

Ecosystem Arabia captures the perspectives, insights, and ideas of over 100 of the most influential international thought leaders and experts on developing thriving startup and tech ecosystems, as well as some of the most prominent public and private sectors’ figures in the Arab world today. Through hundreds of hours of one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders—including global and local leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, accelerators, service providers, media professionals, educators, policymakers, and ministers—it distills the key drivers of building a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem anywhere. Amir Hegazi uses the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as his research laboratory and case study of a thriving ecosystem in the making. His underlying findings, however, can be used in any environment to drive innovation and transformation. Overall, this book provides a principled, well-structured, and practical approach to seeing and navigating such a complex topic using a comprehensive, multi-lens perspective that is unlike common methods. Ecosystem Arabia examines: The building blocks of a thriving ecosystem What is not working in ecosystem development globally The current state of the MENA startup and tech ecosystem, its evolution and outlook Where are the gaps in such areas as funding, talent, cost, and regulations The main challenges entrepreneurs face in this region and what can be done to tackle them How to attract international talent, companies, and investment How to foster practical education and 21st century skills training to empower the youth How to create a more innovation- and entrepreneurship-friendly culture and regulations The most exciting sectors and tech opportunities in this part of the world International best practices and case studies on ecosystem development Ecosystem Arabia provides a comprehensive blueprint of how communities, cities, and countries can approach nurturing and growing their own knowledge-based, new economies. Whether you’re a global-minded entrepreneur or investor interested in untapped opportunities in the MENA region; an educator or policy-maker seeking a more holistic understanding of the inner workings of ecosystem development; or an ecosystem builder looking to be more impactful—this book is for you.

Straddling North Africa and Western Asia, the Middle East has been a cradle of civilisation and entrepreneurship — well before the arrival of Islam. In this region, gender roles were traditionally specified by culture, with women often expected to stay within the family environment, while men would trade in society at large. This book contributes to the literature on a highly neglected field of study: women entrepreneurs in the Middle East. Recognising that entrepreneurship does not take place in a vacuum, it focuses on contexts, and the ecosystems of this region with largely patriarchal societies, that are influenced by culture, religion, and colonial experience.This book provides readers with a topical analysis of women entrepreneurs in the Middle East on the context, ecosystems, and future perspectives for the region. Authors have presented the reality of 11 countries from the region based on women entrepreneurs' historical backgrounds, challenges, and achievements, as well as the contribution towards economic development in their local/immediate communities and the Middle East at large. Following the country analysis by the authors of each chapter, the editors provide a general assessment of the future of women entrepreneurs in the region by focusing on the current entrepreneurship policy and strategies of various countries in the region. This volume will be an essential reading for anyone researching or working on projects related to women's entrepreneurship and small businesses in the Middle East.

The Middle East was the region least impacted in the 2008 crisis, has investment systems markedly different to the West, is largely governed by Islamic Shari’a, and has varying forms of governance and institutional organization, which are not understood by many, nor how these systems shape entrepreneurial and industrial development. While the Middle East as a region has seen a small growth in entrepreneurship for women, and business scholarship on the Middle East has grown, there is no text in English that has brought critical insights from the Middle East together in a single volume. In examining women’s entrepreneurship in the Middle East, this book aims to challenge Global North assumptions about the disempowering impacts of Islamic Shari’a and governance. Referring to the constraints of Islam on women’s subjectivity and agency greatly misunderstands religious identity, of both men and women, and the way in which public administration and private sector institutions are organized in very different ways to Western regions. This timely text expands and adds new insights to the theorizations of women’s entrepreneurship in the Middle East, through unravelling spatialized themes, and incorporates contemporary themes including: an Islamic science reading of women, work and venturing; changing families and entrepreneurship development; women managing social crises; Islamization, governance and women; Islamic feminist activisms and entrepreneurship; representations of women’s entrepreneurship on social media; and women’s collectives leading entrepreneurship via Facebook entrepreneurship. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of entrepreneurship, gender, work and organizations.