🚀 💻 MENA startups head to Silicon Valley

In a week when the Pope visited Algeria (in between being told to stay away from theology by noted religious philosopher JD Vance), and actress Anne Hathaway dropped a casual insha’Allah mid-interview, Musletter geared up for Modest Fashion Week in France, where modest fashion is banned.

Here’s what we have for you in this edition:

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☽ MENA startups head to Silicon Valley: Five startups from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt have joined the first cohort of Kernel Camp, an eight-week program run by Propeller in Silicon Valley. The program is designed to address a longstanding gap in access to Silicon Valley’s networks and offers exposure to everything the Bay Area has to offer. The founders will gain access to workshops, mentorship, and investor networks, as well as site visits to major tech firms. The MENA cohort includes companies working across AI infrastructure, developer tools, and cybersecurity, and the residency will conclude with a demo day where founders will be able to present to investors and industry figures.

🇲🇾 Malaysian tourism expands: Malaysia’s tourism sector continues to grow despite global chaos. There were 2.8 million international visitors in March, representing a 2.4% year-on-year increase. While most of this growth is coming from the east (specifically China and Indonesia), Malaysia is now looking to European and premium markets to further broaden its visitor base and boost long-term resilience. Meanwhile, the country’s well-established halal infrastructure will help keep it ahead of the competition in attracting global Muslim travelers.

📈 Boycat builds a boycott-aware investment tool: You already know Boycat. It’s the app you use in the supermarket when you’re not sure if that innocent bottle of ketchup is helping fund genocide. Well, they’re back. Or rather, they never left. Say hello to Whisqr, which is Boycat’s attempt to extend boycott and ESG awareness from the shopping mall to the investment portfolio. It works by scanning your portfolio against up-to-date boycott campaigns and ESG data, and it does it super fast while flagging up conflicts and suggesting alternatives along the way. It all happens in 60 seconds. Now investors can make choices that align with their values. Go to their website and hit validate my portfolio.

🇫🇷 🧕🏻 Modest fashion hits Paris: What better place to host Modest Fashion Week than the famously hijab-friendly country of France! Woohoo! Nevertheless, Paris did indeed host its first international Modest Fashion Week, featuring 30 runway shows over three days. Organized by the Turkish think tank Think Fashion, the event also featured industry panels and a showroom connecting designers with international buyers. Previous attempts by retailers to introduce modest sportswear have created all kinds of backlash (and those popular French debate shows where four white, male, non-Muslims discuss it), but there is no denying the numbers or the demand – the global market is estimated at $85 billion and rising.

🇹🇳 Tunis, city of culture: The Tunisian capital is returning to its status as a cultural hotspot, with visitor numbers reaching pre-pandemic levels. So be on the lookout for a slew of travel pieces that overuse the word ‘vibrant’. But it can’t be denied that the city is experiencing a creative surge, and it’s being felt in the movies produced, as well as the art, fashion, and food. Whether you want to sit down, relax, and just watch the world go by in a Sidi Bou Said café, hang out on a rooftop in the heart of the medina, or if you’re a list-ticker, you can work through the city’s many historic sites and museums.

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