In a difficult economy, tech startups offer hope

Facing regulatory obstacles and difficulty finding investors, tech industry insiders say these entrepreneurs could stand the best chance of tackling rampant unemployment among the country’s youth.

Mahmoud Ghoz’s business idea came to him while he was watching cartoons with his 5-year-old son Yusuf. They were watching “Ed, Edd n Eddy,” an American-Canadian animated comedy.

Ghoz liked the way the figures were drawn, but he didn't like the story or the fact that one of the characters was best friends with a piece of wood.

“It was my nightmare that my son would one day come home and talk to a piece of wood,” he says. “I felt that this cartoon was not conveying the values I wanted my son to grow up with.”

Looking for alternatives, Ghoz discovered there were almost no Arabic cartoons for kids. He also discovered that there was a large demand for this kind of programming.