Startup funding across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP) region rose sharply in 2025, increasing by 225 percent to reach $7.5 billion, reflecting a rise in investor participation and capital deployment. Despite this growth, early-stage founders operating outside major hubs such as Dubai and Riyadh continue to face limited access to structured support systems, making it difficult to identify co-founders, connect with investors, and access operational tools required to build startups from the ground up.
The absence of a centralized platform has remained a persistent issue across emerging startup ecosystems, where founders often rely on fragmented resources and informal networks. This gap has affected the pace of execution and reduced visibility for startups outside established markets. Urooj Zia and Faizan Laghari, after observing these challenges over several years, launched Qaflah in January 2025 as a startup operating system designed specifically for MENAP founders. The platform has been bootstrapped and operates on a subscription model priced at $6 per month.
Qaflah integrates multiple functions within a single interface, including artificial intelligence-based co-founder matchmaking, investor filtering across more than 30 countries, and access to over $200,000 in partner perks from platforms such as Webflow, HubSpot, JetBrains, Brevo, and Make. It also includes built-in financial and accounting dashboards, a centralized data room for investor interactions, and a community feed for updates and collaboration among founders. These features are aimed at providing practical tools rather than informational resources alone.
Since its launch, the platform has onboarded more than 400 founders within a few months, indicating early traction. It has also established associations with Gitex Global, Replit, She Loves Tech, Entrepreneurship World Cup 2026, and Accelerate Prosperity under Aga Khan Development Network, expanding its reach within the broader startup ecosystem. According to its founders, the platform was developed to address the gap between knowledge and execution by offering founders access to tools required to build and scale more efficiently across the region.
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