It’s a fact, the startup ecosystem is blossoming in the Arab world. How did it happen? Who are the main players? How can the Arab diaspora help?

In partnership with Wamda, Simplon.co, a French diversity-aiming digital co-working space, and StartupBRICS, a French-written blog on startups in the BRICS countries, are inviting French entrepreneurs and members of the Arab diaspora to discuss this startup revolution.

Several key players will lead the debate:

• Julien Le Bot, co-founder at Yakwala, a French media focusing on hyperlocal news and data;
• Rayna Stamboliyska, expert on open data and technology in the Middle East, founder at RS Strategy;
• Ahmed Chebil, Tunisian entrepreneur (hosting, cloud and data security), via Skype;
• Aline Mayard, Wamda‘s French Editor;
• Akram Belkaïd, author of “Être Arabe aujourd’hui”.

The debate will be curated by Hugo Sedouramane, a journalist at l’Opinion and project manager at Club 21ème Siècle. The event is #Simploff 3, and will take place on 2 December 2013, at Simplon.co’s premises in Montreuil.

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