Author: Amina Mirza
Amina Mirza
Amina Mirza is the Co-Founder & CEO of Startup Muslim, a platform dedicated to amplifying the stories of Muslim entrepreneurs worldwide. Through in-depth interviews and features, she documents the journeys of founders shaping the global Muslim business ecosystem.
The MENA startup ecosystem raised a record $7.5 billion in 2025, a 225 percent increase on the previous year. Capital is moving. Investor interest is growing. And yet, for the majority of early-stage founders building outside of Dubai or Riyadh, the practical question remains unchanged: where do you actually go to find the tools, the co-founders, the mentors, and the investors you need to build a company from the ground up? That question is one that Urooj Zia and Faizan Laghari have spent years watching founders fail to answer. Not because the founders lacked ability, but because the infrastructure to…
