Startups Arabia

Noureddine Tayebi holds a Diplôme d'Ingénieur from Ecole Polytechnique of Algiers and a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University. He also holds three Master Degrees in various disciplines of Engineering and Management. After a rich entrepreneurial and corporate experience in Silicon Valley, he returned to the region to found Yassir which is the leading super App service for on demand and payment services in the Maghreb region with recent expansions into Sub-Saharan Africa. He holds over 50 patents and scientific publications.

Yassir was founded in 2017 in Algeria as a ride-hailing app. Since then, Yassir has expanded its services going into delivery and payment amongst other things. It’s well on its way to becoming a super app. It has also expanded its operation into different countries in Africa including Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.

To grow at such a fast rate, it has fundraised over 190 million dollars. The latest was 150 million USD announced in November 2022 and was led by global investors. Noureddine studied engineering in his home country of Algeria before traveling to Silicon Valley where he subsequently got three masters in different fields of engineering and management, as well as getting a PhD from Stanford.

He's been both an entrepreneur as well as working in the corporate world in his years at Silicon Valley. He subsequently came back to Algeria to set up Yassir. We talked to Noureddine about Yassir’s rapid growth, the main challenges for startups in the Arab region, and bringing his silicon valley experiences back home.

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The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the Arab region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.

Check us out here: https://www.startupsarabia.com/

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay updated and get in touch:

Twitter: @ArabiaStartups

LinkedIn: Startups Arabia Podcast

Facebook: @startupsarabia

Youtube: Startups Arabia Podcast

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Noureddine Tayebi’s LinkedIn account: @Noureddine Tayebi

Noureddine Tayebi’s book recommendations: 

Only the Paranoid Survive

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind

Yassir’s Website: https://yassir.com/en/home/

Mai Medhat is the CEO and co-founder of Eventtus; an events engagement platform and the leading event technology company in the Middle East. Eventtus has been acquired in July 2021 by Bevy, a California-based enterprise software startup for virtual conferences and community events.

Mai is an Egyptian tech entrepreneur who holds a Computer Engineering degree. She co-founded Eventtus with a mission to mobilize events after a personal experience at some events that used to be managed manually. The company raised +4M in VC funding and is successfully serving 20,000+ events in 60+ cities. Mai was named “Entrepreneur of the Year" by Arabian Business in 2016 and she has been recognized by the Global Entrepreneurship Summit as one of the most promising entrepreneurs and was invited to represent Middle East startups in an iconic panel with Former President Barak Obama and Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook.

We got to hear from Mai about the story of Eventtus, the details behind Bevy’s acquisition, and her experience as a female entrepreneur in the Arab world.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

03:42 Eventtus: how it started and driving early growth

14:33 Bevy’s acquisition of Eventtus

28:33 Fundraising and changing the business model due to COVID

45:01 Opportunities and challenges in the region

49:05 Difficulties of growing a startup and advice for founders

52:50 How to choose a co-founder and the female founder experience in the region

1:00:55 Rapid fire questions and wrap up

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The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the Arab region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.

This episode is sponsored by the venture capital firm, Endure Capital. Endure Capital invests in early-stage companies that will achieve extraordinary impact. If you're a founder that fits this criterion, contact the Endure Capital team on http://www.endurecap.com. Thank you to our sponsors for making this show possible.

Check us out here: https://www.startupsarabia.com/

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay updated and get in touch:

Twitter: @ArabiaStartups

LinkedIn: Startups Arabia Podcast

Facebook: @startupsarabia

Youtube: Startups Arabia Podcast

—--- Resources—--------:

Mai Medhat’s LinkedIn account: @Mai Medhat

Mai Medhat’s book recommendation: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Endure Capital’s Website: https://endurecap.com/

Afnan Ali is the founder of Eureka Tech Academy. Eureka Tech Academy prepares kids to be engineers, innovators, and tech entrepreneurs, and she's had an impact on thousands of kids in the process. Afnan started her career as an electrical communications engineer and has worked in research and development before starting Eureka Tech Academy. She has also won many awards including the UN's UNCTAD award for best female tech entrepreneur in 2020 and best Arab entrepreneur in 2015. We got to hear from Afnan about the story of Eureka Tech Academy and it’s impact, what she finds most important when starting a project, and how she manages a balanced life alongside her professional commitments.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

02:45 Eureka Tech Academy: how it started and early beginnings

08:17 Experience working with children and seeing them grow and develop

10:48 The importance of having a clear vision and purpose for a project’s success

12:58 Eureka Tech Academy’s digital transition after COVID and future plans for growth

18:38 Queen Rania of Jordan visiting Eureka Tech Academy and government partnerships

24:31 Living a balanced life and the importance of happiness

27:59 Rapid fire questions and wrap up

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The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the Arab region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.

Check us out here: https://www.startupsarabia.com/

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay updated and get in touch:

Twitter: @ArabiaStartups

LinkedIn: Startups Arabia Podcast

Facebook: @startupsarabia

Youtube: Startups Arabia Podcast

—--- Resources—--------:

Eureka Tech Academy’s Website: https://eurekatechacademy.com/

Afnan Ali’s LinkedIn account: @Afnan Ali

Tarek Fahim is the managing partner at Endure Capital. Tarek has invested in some of the most prominent startups of the region like Careem, Breadfast, and Wuzzuf as well as investing in North American companies like Boom Supersonic and Aspect Biosystems. Tarek’s broad exposure gives him a strong insight into the world of venture. We got to hear from Tarek about his best tips for founders and investors, his experiences abroad from interacting with funds like YC, and the most promising prospects for startups in the region.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

01:42 Early career and introduction into the world of venture

17:36 Early investments and making it into the big leagues

34:27 Most prominent challenges of the region and what you need to combat them

44:39 Emerging trends driving growth in the region

59:00 What Tarek looks for in an investment opportunity

1:02:52 Tarek’s investment experiences: Boom Supersonic, Brimore, and other interesting stories

1:21:49 The VC experience in the region as opposed to abroad

1:26:09 Rapid fire questions and wrap up

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The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the Arab region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.

Check us out here: https://www.startupsarabia.com/

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay updated and get in touch:

Twitter: @ArabiaStartups

LinkedIn: Startups Arabia Podcast

Facebook: @startupsarabia

Youtube: Startups Arabia Podcast

—--- Resources—--------:

Endure Capital Website: https://endurecap.com/

Tarek Fahim’s Twitter account: @trkfhm

Tarek Fahim’s LinkedIn account: @Tarek F.

As the founder of Otlob (which later became part of Talabat), Ayman Rashed is behind one of the first startups and first exits of the region. Starting Otlob in 1999 and going from idea to acquisition within a span of less than a year, Ayman stands out as one of the pioneering startup founders in the region. We got to know from Ayman about his journey as founder of Otlob, how he sees the MENA startup region today and how he predicts its growth into the future.

The Startups Arabia Podcast connects you to the most prominent founders, investors, and operators of the region. You will be inspired by their success, the challenges they overcame and the opportunities they see.

Check us out here: https://www.startupsarabia.com/

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay updated and get in touch:

Twitter: @ArabiaStartups

LinkedIn: Startups Arabia Podcast

Facebook: @startupsarabia

Youtube: Startups Arabia Podcast

—--- Resources:

Ayman Rashed’s Twitter account: @arashed123

Mentioned by Ayman, Noon: https://www.learnatnoon.com/

Check us out here: https://www.startupsarabia.com/

Follow us on our social media platforms to stay updated and get in touch:

Twitter: @ArabiaStartups

LinkedIn: Startups Arabia Podcast

Facebook: @startupsarabia

Youtube: Startups Arabia Podcast