Page 12 - Gulf Marketing Review

D I G I T A L

HIGH FIVE

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he start-up ecosystem in the MENA region countries such as the US (Intelak and Techstars Summit and the past two versions of Dubai
Thas continued to grow in 2017, seeing sev- Dubai, respectively). Dubai is considered the Lynx, where start-ups have increasingly been
eral major developments including increased hub of start-up activity in the GCC and, often, in the spotlight.
investment, successful exits of home-grown the MENA region as a whole. This is clear to GMR presents five start-ups in the GCC that
companies and the development of new start-up those who have attended major events in the are helping marketers with their functional or
initiatives both created locally and imported from city, such as STEP Conference, ArabNet Digital technological offerings.

NABBESH. Launched in June 2012, the com. After all of the ups and downs experi- are proud to have created an ecosystem for
platform has played an active role in the enced on this journey, she has been rewarded creative and independent individuals, whose
development of the gig economy in the Arab with success, joining Dubai Silicon Oasis and work continues to power this region’s start-ups,
world, especially for women freelancers. receiving honours, such as Nabbesh.com being SMEs and multinational organisations," says
Nabbesh, which means "to look for" in named this summer by the World Economic Khazen Baz.
Lebanese Arabic, helps companies fi nd the Forum and the International Finance Corpo- "Through Nabbesh.com, companies can
talent they are looking for to handle freelance ration as one of 100 Arab start-ups shaping access more than 27,000 designers, market-
work of all types. Nearly half of the freelancers the Fourth Industrial Revolution. ers and media specialists, as well as 13,000
on Nabbesh are women, including mothers She recently shared more with GMR about writers and translation experts and more than
who want to utilise their talents to earn money her start-up and how the platform helps the 20,000 software and IT experts. Our team
but through a fl exible schedule. marketing industry . works tirelessly to support our community
Founder Loulou Khazen Baz took a leap of "Welcome to the gig-economy. With more of clients and freelancers in order to ensure
faith and left her traditional job to embark on than 100,000 registered freelance experts on that, together, we can build a sustainable shift
the entrepreneurial journey to launch Nabbesh. Nabbesh.com spanning the MENA region, we into the future of work," she notes.

LOULOU KHAZEN BAZ, FOUNDER, NABBESH

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12 I GULF MARKETING REVIEW I DECEMBER 2017/FEBRUARY 2018