Founded in June 2021, by second-time founders Shyam Visavadia, CEO and Lalita Chopra, CTO; Wasta is a start-up that uses artificial intelligence to curate a one-on-one introduction between founders, investors, and entrepreneurs that share the same goals, interests, and objectives.
Wasta is a super-connector that helps share and explore mutual social and professional interests, whether it’s helping find a co-founder, fundraising, accessing resources, or finding talent. Wasta is truly building a network designed to reflect the multifaceted nature of what people need to move forward in their entrepreneurial journey.
Wasta currently operates across United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt but has plans to expand across GCC, India, and Africa. Wasta will also look at launching a mobile app, onboarding key hires, strengthening their corporate partnerships, and commencing fundraising. Wasta is a smarter, more dynamic alternative to in-person networking. It represents the future of how people will make new connections as well as nurture existing relationships within their network.
The community is rapidly expanding with over five hundred verified members in just three months and hundreds of prospects on the waitlist.
Shyam Visavadia, CEO at Wasta said, “The pandemic continues to change how people interact. Face-to-face networking events have been scaled back, business meetings are moving virtually, and an increase in remote working has opened opportunities for virtual collaboration that transcends regional boundaries. Traditional networking events are cumbersome, time-consuming, and for some inaccessible. This leaves most people polarised and increases inequality in accessing opportunities. Current online professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn and Lunch club are lacking in personalisation and relevance”.
“Our goal is to make meeting people more relevant and meaningful. Wasta takes away the things we hate – constant self-promotion, likes, inbox spam, and small talk. We are building a community that really supports first-time founders, solo founders, professionals with side hustles, and women entrepreneurs. Our matching algorithm is unique which gives way to our network moat, differentiation in terms of network curation, and consequently the impact on the quality of the community” said Lalita Chopra CTO at Wasta.
Ahmad Kamal, Global Head of Tax SWVL said “Wasta is the smartest way to grow your network in the region”
Tara Hession, Be Spark Talent says, “Wasta has helped build my pipeline of clients across UAE and Saudi Arabia”
Ahmed Kamal, Tech Lead, artificial intelligence platform at Careem notes “Wasta is a brilliant way to connect to an amazing pool of like-minded people in our new remote-friendly world”.
