Data Powers MENA’s New Startup Reality Amid AI Challenges

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Data took centre stage in Bahrain as Tenmou hosted the 10th MENA Angel Investors Summit 2025 at The Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, where founders and investors confronted the region’s biggest barrier to startup growth.

Speakers made it clear that while artificial intelligence is now a minimum requirement for new ventures, data quality and access have become the defining obstacles for companies hoping to scale.

His Excellency Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, attended the summit, signalling continued government commitment to strengthening the innovation environment. The event gathered founders, angel investors, venture capitalists and ecosystem partners in what has grown into Bahrain’s flagship platform for early-stage investment.

Data Barrier

Zade Al Borshaid, Director, Investments, Antler MENAP, said AI is no longer a differentiator because every early-stage venture is expected to use it. He explained that the real challenge lies in data, particularly within large organisations still tied to legacy, non-cloud systems that limit startups trying to build accurate, scalable tools.

He highlighted Roya AI as an example of a new generation of ventures focused on sovereign, on-premise large language models for government agencies. These systems include technologies that help law enforcement recreate a suspect’s appearance or voice from DNA when databases cannot provide a match.

Team Strength

Al Borshaid added that early-stage investment decisions hinge more on the founding team than the initial idea, emphasising that most startups pivot repeatedly before settling on a viable path. He noted that Antler MENAP’s screening process illustrates this focus, with 10,000 applicants narrowing to fewer than 100 residency participants and only 20 to 25 ultimately securing investment.

Suhail Ghazi Algosaibi, Chairman of Tenmou, said that founders across the world share similar hurdles, including fundraising, cash flow, team development and product-market fit. He encouraged MENA entrepreneurs to recognise how far the region has come, supported by sovereign funds, accelerators, government programmes and collaborative networks between financial institutions and venture capital firms.

Regional Insight

Zainab Al Sharif, Partner at Plus VC, said founders are increasingly building products rooted in local data rather than importing Western franchise models. She noted that smaller markets such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar offer ideal environments to refine ideas before expanding into larger economies. She also stressed that 70 percent of investment decisions depend on the strength of the team, including communication, responsiveness and evidence of traction. Sherif Abdelaty, Co-Founder of Gainz, said execution consistently outweighs hype and that trust must be established long before formal fundraising begins. He urged founders to present their achievements confidently, value their work and select investors who recognise long-term potential rather than short-term gains.

This year’s summit showed that the region’s next wave of innovation will be led by founders who can navigate the data challenge, build resilient teams and sustain execution, with Bahrain positioning itself as a platform where those capabilities can take shape.