Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the engine of economies around the world. SMBs come in all shapes and sizes from mom-and-pop stores to businesses with dozens of employees and multiple locations. Globally startups have zeroed in on SMBs, particularly small merchants and retail stores as a rich segment to…

This piece was originally published on the newsletter Emergent. Egypt has always been famous for its rich history and culture and the subject of numerous Hollywood movies. But in the past few years Egypt is increasingly making a name for itself for something else — startups. …

A Tipping Point for Global SAAS Companies — This piece was originally published on the newsletter Emergent. Enterprise software companies serving large corporate customers has long dominated the world of venture capital and startups as the category that most excites investors, attracts numerous great entrepreneurs and consistently produces large companies. However, over the last decade as the tech…

Digitizing payments in Nigeria and Africa — This piece was originally published on the newsletter Emergent. Fintech has proved to be one of the most fertile categories for entrepreneurs to innovate in globally over the past decade. Finance is the engine that powers an economy both at an individual level — bank accounts, mortgages and credit —…

This piece was originally published in Techcrunch analyzing the rise of Pakistan’s technology ecoystem and Pakistani startups in 2020 and 2021. Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous country, has been slow to adapt to the internet economy. Unlike other emerging economies such as China, India and Indonesia, which have embraced…

An Indian edtech startup with global ambitions — This piece was originally published here. Attending school and education are a right of passage for kids worldwide and of critical importance in an increasingly complex world. Despite the importance of education, the field has changed little over the past 100 years. However, the burgeoning educational technology sector — “edtech”…

GoTo, Sea, Grab and the battle for supremacy in Southeast Asia — My name is Mikal — I’m an early-stage tech investor and I was born in Asia, grew up in Africa and now live in the US. Every week I break down a fast-growing business in an emerging market to understand its product, market and growth strategy. This week I’m breaking…