Emerge

What does it take to build a licensed fintech in one of Africa's most cash-dependent markets?

Ismael Belkhayat, Founder & CEO of Chari, didn't start there. He started with BCG slides, a ride hailing app and a property portal before co-founding Chari in 2020 - a B2B e-commerce and fintech platform built specifically for merchants in Morocco.

The path wasn't straight. Chari launched as an e-commerce business, lost money on purpose using it as a Trojan horse to earn merchant trust, then pivoted to financial services once that trust was there. Three years later, Chari holds a full banking license from the Central Bank of Morocco and is growing fast.
But the license wasn't the finish line. It was the beginning of the problems.

In this episode of Emerge, Ismael sits down with Nader, founder of MoneyHash, for an honest conversation about what building in Morocco actually looks like. From the BCG wake-up call to the YC cohort that only knew one KPI, from losing money on e-commerce to becoming a licensed financial institution, and from admiring the Egyptian startup mafia to calling for a Moroccan one.

What does it take to become the #1 payment method in every restaurant? Qlub's Co-founder reveals the unconventional strategy that made them one of the fastest-growing fintech startups in the region.

From spending a year working out of Dubai Mall restaurants to keeping the entire team on the ground with clients, this is what customer proximity actually looks like in action.

Belal El-Megharbel, Co-founder and CEO of MaxAB, shares the unfiltered journey of building one of MENA's largest B2B e-commerce and fintech platforms—from spending nights at shisha cafes observing inefficiencies to navigating the brutal market shift after 2022. 

"What works in other parts of the world will not work here. You cannot force technology everywhere." - Belal El-Megharbel, CEO of MaxAB

This is the reality of building world-class companies in emerging markets—the problems, the pivots, and the playbook that doesn't exist yet. 

What happens when your restaurant flops, your first software product misses the mark, and a competitor gets you banned from Google Ads?

You pivot. You get creative. And apparently, you rank for 2,000+ keywords globally.

Dani El-Zein, Co-founder of Supy, joins the CEO of MoneyHash, Nader on the Emerge Podcast for one of the most honest founder conversations we've had. From investment banking to running a restaurant that "never paid a dividend," to building one of the fastest-growing inventory management systems in the region - this is what graduating through the hard stages actually looks like.

Real conversations with founders building in emerging markets. The pivots, the fundraising truths and the ambitions.