VC React Podcast VC React MENA E57: Jahez + noon against Keeta, Shgardi shuts down, DataCamp acquires UAE’s Optima
Nov 14, 2025
Amjad Ahmad, Managing Partner at 500 Global, and Hasan Haider, Founder of Plus VC, provide sharp insights into the MENA startup landscape. They discuss how Keeta's aggressive strategy is disrupting delivery services and the defensive alliance between Jahez and Noon amid fierce competition. The guests also touch on the implications of public market dynamics on startups, Shgardi's shutdown as a market casualty, and the importance of local growth capital in developing regional champions. Additionally, they analyze DataCamp's acquisition of Optima and the challenges facing the edtech sector.
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Protect Shareholders With Growth And Story
- Focus on performance and a compelling future narrative to protect shareholders after IPO.
- Hasan Haider says growth plus storytelling sustain public valuations.
Individual Trading Makes Prices Volatile
- MENA public trading is dominated by individual investors, creating volatile sentiment-driven prices.
- Amjad Ahmad highlights the need for better investor relations and institutionalization.
Shgardi: A Public Casualty
- Shgardi shut down publicly citing intense competition and market price dumping.
- Jamie Lane treats this as the first visible casualty of the escalating delivery price war.