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Instagram Enhances Campus Engagement With New Student Directory Feature

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

August 27, 2025

Instagram is evolving its platform to better resonate with college students by launching a sophisticated feature designed to foster meaningful campus connections. The new student directory enables U.S. students to add their college or university affiliation directly to their profile banner while offering the ability to explore a comprehensive list of peers.

Add School For Verified Connections

The new feature is activated via an ‘Add School’ option, guiding users through a verification process with UNiDAYS. Once verified, students can display their academic institution on their profiles and control the visibility of this information, ensuring that privacy remains a top priority.

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Seamless Directory Access

After updating their profile, students can browse a curated list of verified peers at their institution. With filtering options by class year or an entire directory view, this functionality mirrors the early vision of Facebook—from its inception as a Harvard-only platform—to foster community engagement among students.

Competitive Innovation and Privacy Concerns

This move follows TikTok’s recent rollout of a similar feature, underscoring an industry-wide effort to capture the college demographic. Despite the clear benefits for campus connectivity, these innovations also raise important questions about user privacy and the potential for digital tracking, highlighting the constant balance that social platforms must maintain.

Shaping The Future Of Digital Campus Culture

As Instagram refines its offerings, the emphasis on verified, community-centric features is set to redefine digital campus culture. While the feature has clear advantages for student engagement, it also reinforces ongoing discussions about privacy in an increasingly interconnected world.

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FinTech’s Dominance In MENA: Three Strategic Drivers Behind Unyielding VC Success

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 11, 2025

Despite facing tightening global liquidity and macroeconomic headwinds, the FinTech sector continues to assert its leadership in the MENA region. In the first half of 2025, FinTech emerged as the most resilient and appealing arena for venture capital investments, proving its worth as a catalyst for financial innovation and inclusion.

Addressing Structural Financial Gaps

In many parts of MENA, a significant proportion of the population remains underbanked and underserved by traditional financial institutions. FinTech companies are uniquely positioned to address these persistent challenges by bridging critical access gaps and driving financial inclusion. With the proliferation of payment apps, digital wallets, and micro-lending platforms, investors have witnessed firsthand how these solutions pave the way for scalable growth and eventual exits. Early-stage momentum in the region is underscored by a doubling of pre-seed deals year-over-year, reinforcing the sector’s capacity for rapid innovation and sustainable expansion.

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Highly Scalable and Replicable Business Models

One of the key factors behind FinTech’s dominance is the inherent scalability of its business models. Once the necessary infrastructure and regulatory approvals are in place, these models have demonstrated robust performance across borders. The first half of 2025 saw a marked acceleration in deal activity, with payment solutions leading the charge with 28 deals in MENA—a significant increase over the previous year. Lending platforms, in particular, experienced a meteoric 500% year-over-year increase in funding, emerging as the fastest-growing subindustry. Such replicability makes FinTech an attractive proposition for investors seeking high-growth opportunities in diverse markets.

Supportive Regulatory And Government Backing

The strategic support offered by key government initiatives in the UAE and Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in propelling the FinTech sector forward. Progressive frameworks, such as the UAE’s open finance and digital asset directives, coupled with Saudi Arabia’s live-testing sandboxes, have materially lowered entry barriers for startups. These measures not only foster innovation but also streamline the path to commercialization. Consequently, the combined efforts of these regulatory bodies have enabled the UAE and Saudi Arabia to account for 86% of MENA’s total FinTech funding in H1 2025.

The resilience of FinTech in MENA is not merely a reflection of contemporary market trends—it signals a fundamental shift in the region’s economic fabric. With an unwavering commitment to addressing real financial challenges, scalable and replicable business practices, and robust regulatory support, FinTech is setting the benchmark for sustainable innovation. As capital markets become increasingly discerning, this sector stands out as a beacon of long-term growth and transformative impact.