How Wasta Is Hurting Startup Growth in the Middle East

Wasta is the difference. Imagine you’re a brilliant software engineer with a disruptive fintech idea, bootstrapping your startup out of a coworking space in Amman or Cairo. You pitch to a VC firm, but they pass, only to fund a rival founder with less traction but stronger family ties. The difference? Wasta.

In the Middle East, wasta, a deeply entrenched system of personal connections, influence, and favoritism, remains a powerful cultural force. While it has long been a way to navigate bureaucracies and get things done, it may now be the Achilles’ heel of MENA’s startup ecosystem.