Erika is Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at Lucidity Insights. Having  spent 15 years advising Fortune 500 companies  and multinational conglomerates  from around the world on how to grow businesses in emerging markets, Erika found that data and knowledge underpinned and empowered strategic decision-making. The creation of Lucidity Insights was inspired by the idea that strategic C-suite level data and insights could empower startups and Venture Capitalists in the MENAPT region, elevating the entire regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Data is not just for the Chief Executive, or the data analyst after-all. Democratizing access to quality data across the tech ecosystem will elevate every startup and every investors’ decision-making, and thus, benefit the economy, overall.

Erika has worked with data to develop comprehensive business success stories and strategies for her entire professional career. She is a thought leader in growth strategies in fast-moving emerging markets, with a focus on Middle Eastern and Asian Markets. She is an expert on the startup ecosystems in the Middle East, and a thought leader on entrepreneurship, disruptive technologies and sustainability. She has worked with both government and corporates clients, across over 30 different industry verticals and in over 40 countries. She is best described as a data-curious strategic thinker and advisor, who also happens to be an  enthusiastic storyteller and writer.

Erika graduated from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business with an Executive MBA (MSx), and also holds degrees from McGill University (B.Sc Neuroscience) and the University of Cambridge (Sustainability in Business). She speaks English and Japanese, is conversational in French, and speaks survival Arabic. In her spare time, she is an avid globe trotter, having travelled to over 70 countries, and counts scuba-diving, free-diving and yoga among her favourite activities. She is a self-described wellness-junkie and adventure enthusiast. She is also a dog mum.

Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer

Erika Masako Welch

Shaping The Future of Fintech

Articles

Saudi Arabia

The Mena Region's 5 Top Fintech Hot Spots

Fintech

Ranking Mena Markets by Size of Fintech Opportunity

Understanding the MENA Region from a Fintech Perspective

Ashok is a storyteller who uses numbers as his medium. He loves to crunch data, analyze it, and investigate deeper questions until the stories begin to emerge on their own. Ashok comes from a finance and consulting background, having worked in the strategy consulting and private equity fields across the Middle East and Emerging Asia for over 15 years, prior to becoming a business writer. When it comes to tech stories, Ashok has a penchant for startups in the fintech, B2B SaaS, AI and ML spaces. He loves writing about Venture Capital, M&A and the general investor landscape of startup ecosystems.
Ashok holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as a diploma in Finance. He speaks English and Hindi fluently.

Researcher

Ashok Raman

Stay Ahead of the Global Finance Technology Adoption Curve

Global Fintech Adoption

We are a team of passionate Researchers, Data Junkies, and Story-Tellers that believe there is not enough quality business insights and compelling data analysis available in the marketplace, told in the formats users want. We want to give an insider's look into the industries, businesses and economies that are changing the world today, so our users can become inspired, empowered and equipped to run their businesses as best they can.

Lucidity Insights Research Team

Infobytes

India

Fintech Funding in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa takes the largest dive YoY in H1 2023 compared to other regions

Global Fintech Funding H1 2022 vs H1 2023, by Region

Global Fintech Funding and Rounds from the First Quarter of 2022 to the Second Quarter of 2023

Global Fintech Funding and Rounds from Q1 2022 to Q2 2023

Middle East and North Africa: Ranking of Countries based on Total Addressable Market for Fintech

Ranking of MENA Countries Based on Total Addressable Market for Fintech

Smartphone Penetration Rate (%)

Top 3 MENA Market Fintech Investment Activity (VC, PE & M&A) in H1 2021 (Billions USD)

Distribution of Fintech Start-Ups Active across the Arab World (2020)

The Most Exciting Countries to Watch for Fintech Opportunities in MENA

Cross Border Payments Opportunity: 5 of the Top 20 Countries for Remittances Are GCC Markets

Top 20 Countries by Outward Remittances (Billions USD)

MENA: Internet Penetration Rate vs Smartphone Penetration Rate

Internet Penetration Rate by MENA Market (%)

The briefest history of some of the most disruptive innovations in banking

Rate of global consumer adoption of fintech

Consumer Fintech Adoption Across 27 Markets (2019)

Freshly Minted Fintech Unicorns

Global Fintech Funding more than Doubles to Record $132B in 2021

Quarterly Fintech Fundraising and Deals (2015 to 2021)

Fundraising 2020 vs Q1-Q3 2021 by Fintech Vertical

Global payments revenue

The mana region's performance on the fragile states index (2021)

The ease of doing business index across mena 2021

MENA Population by Country (2020)

The mena region by population

Anamika  is a change maker with 15+ years of management consulting, project management, event management and research experience. Having worked for Accenture for over a decade, she began her career overseeing change management and digital learning and development programs across Fortune 500 clients globally. 
Today, Anamika works with select clients on large-scale change programs, and writes whenever she can. As a life-long learner, and lover of writing, she found herself becoming an excellent interviewer, story-teller and speaker. She is passionate about giving voice to startups, projects and new technologies that are nearing break-through. She is curious about the intersection between technology, human behaviour and wellness, and is often most intrigued by startups that help people live better and happier lives.  
Anamika received her BA in Economics and Chinese Studies from the University of Nottingham. She is London born and bred, and splits her time between London and Dubai. She is a certified HIIT instructor, NLP coach and world traveler with a love of experimental cooking.

Anamika Patel

Aby Sam Thomas

Special Reports

United States

The Business of Impact Investing in 2023 - Test

Crypto, Blockchain & Web3

Special Report: "The Growing Business of Foodtech"

The Growing Business of Foodtech

Food Tech

Special Report: "Sustainable International Trade for a Resilient Future"

Sustainable International Trade for a Resilient Future

Sustainability

Special Report: "Opportunities in Web3"

Opportunities in Web3

Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem

Entrepreneurship

The Future of Fintech in Africa

Diriyah and the Giga Projects: Defining the New Saudi Arabia

Tourism

Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem Evolution 2010-2022

The Evolution of Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem 2010-2022

Dubai's Digital Economy and Its Growing Startup Ecosystem

Dubai’s Digital Economy and Its Expanding Startup Ecosystem

MENA's M&A Landscape 2017-2022: A Comprehensive Review

The Middle East & North Africa’s M&A Landscape 2017-2022

Economies

Sustainable Innovations and Startups in the MENA Region

Innovations In International Trade

Egypt's Burgeoning Start-Up Ecosystem

Dubai’s Roadmap to Becoming the Digital Economy Capital of the World

The Electric Vehicle Revolution: Growth & Challenges Ahead

The Electric Vehicle Revolution Has Arrived

Bringing The World to Saudi

Shaping the Future of Fintech in MENA

An ultimate guide to fintech in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Crypto Universe: Insights into Blockchain & DeFi

The Crypto Universe

Primed for Growth Cloud Kitchens in the GCC

Primed for Growth: Cloud Kitchens in the GCC

Spotlights

Luxembourg

PayTabs Egypt Case Study

PayTabs Egypt: In Conversation with GM Hany Soliman

A Newcomer looking to Empower Financial Literacy amongst Middle East Youth

Cashee | A Newcomer looking to Empower Financial Literacy amongst Middle East Youth

Egypt’s BNPL Leader Plays in Market Forecasted to Reach $1.6 Billion by 2028

Egypt’s BNPL leader ValU plays in a market forecasted to reach $1.6 Billion by 2028

Videos

By 2025, the Asia Pacific region is expected to own more than half of the total global payments revenue, amounting to $1.3 Trillion USD

All GCC countries have over 90% internet penetration rate

Which countries are hotbeds for Fintech Startups in the Arab world?”

Which countries are hotbeds for Fintech Startups in the Arab world?