“Given Dubai Holding’s structure, its restructuring may be more complicated than that of Dubai World, but investors now have a model of what a restructuring could look like,” said Faisal Ghori, principal at Middle East Ventures, a strategy consultancy firm based in Washington, with an office in Dubai.

Analysts welcomed DFM’s move on Nasdaq Dubai, expressing delight at the prospects of greater pools of activity. “The DFM and the Nasdaq Dubai merger should improve much needed liquidity for Dubai, and help investors become somewhat more comfortable with investing in Dubai,” said Faisal Ghori, Principal at Middle East Ventures.

Getting fresh cash from Abu Dhabi to alleviate some of the debt burden of Dubai World and its subsidiaries is a “great step forward for Dubai, the U.A.E. and the region,” said Faisal Ghori at Middle East Ventures. “It assuages investors’ concerns for the solvency of Dubai World.” What now remains to be seen is how Dubai World, and the government of Dubai will restructure their respective remaining liabilities, he said. “It also makes clear—to some extent—that Abu Dhabi will support Dubai in its pending liabilities.”

“Repayment of the Nakheel sukuk has moved Dubai from the precipice,” said Faisal Ghori, Principal at Middle East Ventures. “While the Nakheel sukuk has now been paid what now remains to be seen is how Dubai, and Dubai World will handle their remaining liabilities.”

MEV provides analysis in Monocle magazine’s article, Arabian bytes.

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The rocky crags of Jordan may be better known for Petra and the Dead Sea than they are for technology start-ups, but Amman, Jordan’s capital, is on the edge of a tech boom as the internet takes off in the Middle East.

“Egypt has one of the most robust economies in the region, buoyed by the largest population,” said Faisal Ghori, principal at Middle East Ventures based in Washington D.C. “This over the years has translated into a real and meaningful economy, driven by real consumer
demand.”

“This is nothing short of a sea change for the region,” says Faisal Ghori, a principal at strategy consultancy Middle East Ventures.

the Middle East has become an “increasingly important” market, says Faisal Ghori, principal at Middle East Ventures, a Washington-based business strategy consultancy focused on the Middle East and North Africa.

“In the next five years, you’re going to see people taking risks on both the entrepreneurial and the invest- ment side,” says Ghori.

Hope is often in short supply in the Middle East, but that may be quickly changing, at least for the region’s entrepreneurs. On August 25, Yahoo!, the Internet giant, announced that it will acquire Maktoob.com, the Middle East’s largest web portal and online community founded and operated in Jordan. As the very first acquisition of a Middle East-based technology company by an American technology giant, this is nothing short of a sea change for the region. Overnight it has bolstered the region with instant credibility and given its entrepreneurs reason to hope that they too can succeed in creating companies. The acquisition, in short, has fundamentally altered the technology landscape in the Middle East.

Earlier this week Yahoo! announced that it will acquire Maktoob.com (read the press release here).

Below, we speak to Samih Toukam, CEO and founder of Maktoob.com; Emile Cubeisy, Managing Director of IV Holdings; and Khaldoon Tabaza, Managing Director of Riyada Ventures.

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MEV: What does this means for you and your organization?

Samih:  This is a great success story for me and the maktoob team. We have worked hard and proved that it is possible to create something good out of the Arab world. We are all proud of what we have done.

Emile: IV Holdings congratulations Yahoo! on its acquisition of Maktoob.com, which opened up broader opportunities for Arab online entrepreneurs and firms.  For Accelerator and IV Holdings, this strengthens our conviction in what we have always believed, that Arab entrepreneurs will play an important role in shaping the global internet and interactive landscape.  An industry and an opportunity that has always sought validation has found it.  For IV Holdings, this is an important milestone, in that it proves to Arab entrepreneurs that if you focus on building true value in your businesses, execute patiently and with professionalism, and go through the full stages of growth, real exit opportunities will emerge.  It proves to the wider investment community that real opportunities for value creation does exist in the knowledge-based talent pool in the Arab World, and validates the existence of quality entrepreneurs that can pull it off.

Additionally, Maktoob’s history of working with regional VCs to build itself up towards global relevance validates the importance of our industry’s role in helping Arab entrepreneurs achieve their full potential, something that IV Holdings is a first mover in committing itself to.

Khaldoon: The Yahoo! Maktoob deal is an inflection point for the Internet industry in the Arab world, a milestone that indicates that the online market in the Arab world has reached critical mass, and the start of a new phase for start-ups, VCs, and the industry at large in a region that remains largely untapped in terms of its potential, and that will be one of the key drivers of growth in emerging economies in the years to come.

MEV: What does this means for Jordan and the region?

Samih: It’s a success story for Jordan and the region and a message that we can build something big and strong in the Arab world and this is where we should be focusing our investments, in the talents and brain power that we have not in real estate and buildings.

Emile: This reaffirms Jordan as a regional beehive of technology and dot.com entrepreneurs.  In a journey that started in 2000 with Jordan’s focus on its human resources as its differentiator, and its emphasis on global economic relevance, not just local and regional, Maktoob, as one of the first pioneers, has confirmed this belief.  We should expect to see many more such success stories from Jordan, especially due to what they have already proven they can accomplish.  We are ripe with entrepreneurship, and the Yahoo! acquistion of Maktoob will only shed more light on the innovation and the entrepreneurs in Jordan.  The ripple effect to entrepreneurs in neighboring countries will be felt as well in the coming years.

Khaldoon: This will no doubt encourage investors from the region to be more proactive and aware of venture investments, and most importantly, it will encourage international investors to pay attention to the Arab world as a source for deals (rather than just capital). It should also encourage accomplished expatriate Arab entrepreneurs to look towards their home countries for their next venture, as well as encourage experienced Arab talent at home to take the step towards creating new start-ups.

MEV: What does this mean for entrepreneurs throughout MENA?

Samih: It’s a message to all entrepreneurs out there that hard work and innovation will pay off.  Maktoob is just the beginning for many success stories to come.

Emile: While entrepreneurs in the Arab World have always believed, it will be hard for the mainstream to neglect what they have always felt…the region will firmly be entrenched as part of the global internet landscape much sooner than many believe.  For these entrepreneurs, it allows the spotlight to be shifted towards them a little, as they now have a proof point that innovation, perseverence,  passion, and relevance, if effectively executed, can yield globally relevant businesses.

MEV: What does this mean for foreign investors investing in tech. in MENA?

Samih: It means that its time to invest in the Arab world. The market is ready and has huge growth potential and there is good talent and brains out there and also good exits for your investments.

Emile: We’ve had our early entrants in our market, most notably Intel Capital, Microsoft, Cisco, among others that should be recognized.  Foreign investors, while their focus may be on China and India, will now take notice of the MENA Region as a viable market in which innovation and value does exist, and where realistic exit opportunities are emerging.  The stars are aligning for the Arab tech and internet industry, a fact global investors are sure to notice more and more over the coming few years.

Khaldoon: As an acquisition that is a first of its kind, all eyes will be on Yahoo!/Maktoob to test the chemistry on the long-term between Yahoo! and the Arab culture and community. On the shorter term, the industry will be closely watching to monitor the integration of Maktoob’s team inside Yahoo!, the delivery on the promises to Maktoob’s employees in terms of their stock options and benefits, and how will Yahoo! deal with many border-line intellectual property issues on Maktoob especially with regard to video music, and software, which made up much of the recent growth of Maktoob as a result of acquisitions in the past few years.