Streams of Progress

We had a chance to sit with Issa Aghabi, VC Investment officer for IFC, heading the MENAP region. 

He shared his insights into the Venture Capital space of the region as well as how he got started in this space over a decade ago.

Enjoy the show!

Posted on February 27, 2019

• 01:15 - Issa’s backstory
• 01:45 - From Jordan to Canada back to the Middle East
• 2:45 - From dinner party to Venture Capital
• 4:30 - Understanding how do they create startups when entrepreneurs themselves didn’t know what startups were
• 5:00 - The catalyst for the growth of VC in the region
• 5:45 - Looking up what Venture Capital means
• 6:00 - The first investment portfolio Issa was involved with
• 7:15 - TwoFour54 reaching out to Issa to grow their investment arm
• 8:30 - What is media?
• 9:00 - His short term consulting role at Yahoo! and developing their M&A strategy for the region
• 10:15 - The Rocket Internet of the Middle East
• 13:00 - Issa’s return to TwoFour54
• 13:30 - Launching one of the first accelerators in the UAE
• 14:00 - N2V’s model and entrepreneurs
• 14:30 - His ad-hoc role of head of sourcing for a portfolio company
• 15:00 - The Middle East’s own diversity of cultures and
• 15:30 - Not knowing what IFC was
• 16:00 - IFC - the private sector investment arm of the World Bank
• 17:45 - Indirect founder funding through funds
• 18:45 - Direct funding at later growth stages (Series B onwards)
• 19:45 - Investment question to ask, “are we going to make money?”
• 20:30 - The importance of additionally - what are they bringing to the table with their investment
• 22:00 - Venture capital by its nature being impactful
• 23:45 - The role of Public Private Partnerships
• 26:30 - Case by case initiatives per country
• 29:00 - Co-investing with funds in the ecosystem
• 29:45 - How do you invest in funds?
• 30:15 - Investing in people and what funds
• 30:45 - A look at BECO and co-investing in one of their startups, Vezeeta
• 31:30 - The evolving atmosphere of the investment ecosystem
• 35:15 - Issa’s admiration towards hard working and successful individuals who contribute back to the ecosystem
• 36:15 - His two work schedules (local and global)
• 37:15 - Taking pride in Inbox Zero
• 40:00 - Appreciation for various media from tv, podcasts and articles as well as the beach
• 40:30 - One of the great things about Dubai is the ability to travel anywhere with a direct flight
• 41:30 - On reading Startup Nation and the lessons learned
• 43:00 - The importance of giving back while taking care of yourself
• 44:15 - Putting entrepreneurship and venture related all in one place
• 45:30 - On trusting your gut and working on self development

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mohammed Bin Kuwair is the Senior Manager for Energy Projects at Bee’ah. He has a reputation for ground-breaking work in the process and operation of the energy industry.

He is responsible for leading Project Management processes from their inception to completion, evaluating technical and commercial proposals while providing recommendations for the same.

As a Senior Manager, he works in collaboration with all of Bee’ah’s operations, supporting Integrated Waste Management, process improvement, and cost reduction initiatives to drive rapid results delivering the highest levels of performance, while following and supporting the organizations’ quality management system. Formerly, he served at the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation as a Project Management Specialist.

While working at their Project Management Office, he supervised all strategic projects, identified program risks, managed internal and the external stakeholders and controlled the corporate project management methodology framework. Mohammed held several instrumental roles in Strategy and Business Development and has managed businesses, programs and projects consisting of cross-functional teams focused on sustainable business models and cultural transformation towards entrepreneurship and innovation.

Mohammed is currently pursuing his Master of Business Administration from Strathclyde University, Glasgow (Scotland). He is a graduate of the Abdulaziz Bin Humaid Leadership Program and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.

He shared insights into Bee’ah’s various sustainability initiatives and how Bee’ah’s vision propels the UAE and the region to a sustainable future. 

Enjoy the show!

• 3:30 – The waste to energy
• 6:00 – The beginning of Bee’ah
• 10:45 – The various divisions in Bee’ah
• 12:45 – a holistic overview of Ion, sustainable transport and Careem Electric
• 13:30 – From Washmen to Nespresso, empowering recycling in other startups
• 14:45 – How the partnerships come about
• 15:30 – Bee’ah’s guiding purpose
• 16:00 – Bee’ah’s environmental consultancy to support other corporate’s sustainability efforts
• 17:15 – Range of environmental consultancy services
• 17:45 – Waste to Energy project
• 21:15 – Educating the community and consumer mindset
• 22:15 – Reversed vending machine to incentivize the community to recycle
• 23:45 – Global gate fee practices
• 25:45 – Looking to Sheikh Zayed and the collaborative spirit of the Emirates
• 27:30 – Personal routine of walking
• 30:00 – on the curiosity of people when they see traffic accidents on the road
• 30:15 – People need to be mindful about others and Dubai as an example of a true multinational globalized city.
• 32:15 – Opportunity in sustainability startups

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nada Taryam joined Bee’ah as Director of Civil and Architectural Projects in 2013. The responsibilities of this position require planning, execution and closing of large-scale environmental projects with the company’s biggest clients. Nada is accountable for creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements and managing the constraints of the project management and ultimately accomplishing the stated project objectives to the highest quality.

Nada utilises her leadership capabilities to liaise with clients of Bee’ah, in order to determine and implement the exact needs of the project, drawing on her knowledge of the company and the experience she has accomplishing detailed and specific environmental targets. Leading some of the biggest projects at Bee’ah, Nada has consistently used her expertise to meet targets and satisfy the needs of the clients, acting as a driving force for transforming Sharjah into the environmental capital of the Middle East.

Prior to joining Bee’ah, Nada Taryam gained extensive experience both through her employment history and through a variety of internships and study visits.

Nada graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, United Kingdom, in 2012, with a Master’s in Architecture and Urbanism, and from the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in 2008, with a Bachelor of Architecture (with a Minor in Urban Design).

Nada sat down with us to discuss the upcoming Bee’ah HQ and the sustainability minded approach taken into consideration from concept to construction.

Enjoy the show!

• 01:15 – Studying Architecture in the UAE and London
• 02:00 – Her research-based studies around materials, innovation and technology in architecture
• 02:45 – The school of thought of around material research and inheriting from nature for architectural design
• 03:45 – Architecture & Other Things architectural practice
• 04:30 – Bee’ah’s HQ concept and meaning
• 06:15 – Locally sourced materials for the HQ
• 07:00 – Having a portion of the Bee’ah HQ open for the public to visit, from research lab to an auditorium
• 08:00 – Working with Zaha Hadid Architects
• 10:00 – Aiming to achieve LEED Platinum certification for the Bee’ah HQ
• 11:30 – Bee’ah’s waste management, recycling facilities and upcoming Solar PV project
• 12:45 – Looking to Zaha Hadid as a role model
• 15:00 – The environment as inspiration
• 16:45 – Coffee as the only daily standard ritual
• 17:15 – Recommending biographies to friends
• 18:45 – The importance of letting people know about the Bee’ah HQ
• 19:45 – Inspiration from Singapore’s landscape; building around the environment
• 21:00 – Thoughts on commercially driven projects
• 22:15 – Demand more from your built environments

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A seasoned entrepreneur and business leader, Muhammad Chbib has been integral in the inception, strategic development and operation of several organizations in Europe and the MENA region since the late 1990s.

After graduating in 1998 Muhammad started up his first Internet startup in Munich/Germany. From 2004 to early 2011, Muhammad led McKinsey & Company’s client service teams, where he served various Fortune 500 companies in the online, financial and telecommunications sectors, both in the Middle East and Europe.

In 2011, Muhammad moved to Dubai to take the entrepreneurial plunge with Sukar.com, an online fashion platform, which was acquired by MENA’s biggest online marketplace Souq.com in 2012.

From April 2015 until August 2018, Muhammad led the Online Unit of Saudi travel giant Al Tayyar Group, developing the company’s technology arm in the online travel space. This business unit generated close to USD 1 billion total sales within three years only, catapulting its two online travel agency brands, tajawal and Almosafer, to become regional leaders.

After exiting Al Tayyar’s Online Unit Muhammad is working on launching a platform targeting Muslim Consumers worldwide, to offer an exciting user experience in booking Hajj & Umrah travels.

Fluent in Arabic, German, English and French, Muhammad is German of Syrian descent. His upbringing and professional experience in multinational organizations has seen him successfully develop brands to large cross-nation audiences.

On this episode, he shares his entrepreneurial journey with us and shares his insights into difficulties he faced along the way.

Enjoy the show!

Recording Note: Since the original recording Manal.com has pivoted to offer bespoke travel opportunities targeting Muslim travelers globally.

• 01:30 – On being born and raised in Germany
• 02:30 – Accepting his first job offer straight after University
• 03:00 – Joining his true job after university 8 weeks later…
• 04:00 – His first startup – an exploration into the copycat startup model of Rocket Internet
• 05:00 – Attending an industry conference as a speaker with just 2 slides prepared
• 06:00 – On defining success for his first startup and the journey
• 07:45 – His souvenir from his first startup (which he maintains to this day)
• 09:00 – How his consulting for startups and corporates lead him to Dubai in 2003
• 10:30 – The six years with McKinsey
• 11:15 – His takeaways from working at McKinsey
• 12:45 – How health issues lead him back to the startup life
• 14:30 – On maintaining relationships when talents join and exit
• 15:45 – LinkedIn’s role in matchmaking the investor to the entrepreneur
• 16:30 – His time at Sukar.com
• 18:30 – Exiting to Souq.com then launching Desado
• 19:30 – The difficulty of marketing local designer brand vs. well-known brands in the region and the pivot
• 21:30 – Difficulty finding investors in the region at the time
• 23:00 – Having foreign investors leading the investment round
• 25:15 – Difficulties faced when originally setting up a startup legal structure at that time
• 28:30 – The corporate-backed venture approach to startups at Tajawal
• 33:30 – Bringing his tech co-founder with him for the next startup
• 35:00 – The startup experience and environment even with corporate backing
• 37:15 – AlMosafer, Tajawal and the strategic business unit
• 40:00 – On funding factors and access to funding
• 43:30 – Muhammad outlines his next upcoming venture
• 45:30 – “When you have four children, there is no switching off”
• 48:00 – Power naps and brain waves
• 48:30 – On role models and setting entrepreneurial examples
• 51:30 – The importance of routines with children and coffee
• 53:45 – His daily work routines
• 55:15 – The only book he’s ever gifted
• 56:00 – Being self-reflective
• 56:30 – Understanding we have limited time
• 57:00 – Arabs are not victims and it’s important not to think in those terms
• 57:30 – Importance of teaching children to code

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde is a creative thinker and maker of social designs which explore the relation between people, technology and space and best known for creating landscapes of the future. He founded Studio Roosegaarde in 2007, where he works with his team of designers and engineers towards a better future.

Daan is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum and featured by Forbes and Good 100 as a creative change maker. Roosegaarde was also 2018’s keynote speaker at Dubai Design Week.

In this episode, he discusses his innovative practice which merges people, technology and space to create a better world. He is the creator of smart highways, virtual floods and smog sucking towers. He examines and activates solutions to improve daily life in urban environments.

Listen to learn more about his innovative works and his grand ambitions for a project for the Dubai Expo 2020.

Enjoy the show!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karim Helal is the Founder & CEO of ProTenders, an award-winning platform for the construction industry that enables over 30,000 developers, consultants, contractors and suppliers to connect with new partners, source accurate project intelligence and streamline their bidding process. Karim has an MBA from HEC Montreal and is an angel investor and extreme sports enthusiast.

Listen to learn more about his journey and his insights into starting up in the UAE.

Enjoy the show!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fares Ghandour, Partner at Wamda Capital & Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner at Wamda Capital sat down with us to discuss their investment ethos and the various initiatives Wamda is undertaking.

Khaled comes from a career in private equity and venture capital professional with significant experience in value creation and realization. He has built unique experience in the MENA region originating, appraising, structuring, negotiating and executing private equity investments and venture capital transactions in the TMT space. He has a particular focus on digital, gaming, e-commerce, publishing, animation, TV production and social media. He has developed a strong skill base in strategy, business plan development, financial modeling, deal structuring, KPI development, governance and reporting mechanisms.

Fares also serves as Portfolio Manager at MENA Venture Investments (MVI), the region’s largest seed-stage fund. Previously he ran the region’s flagship mentorship event, Mix N’ Mentor. He has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Southern California.

They shared their views on the MENA startup ecosystem, their group’s active initiatives and investment philosophy and a whole lot more, so we hope you enjoy this episode of Streams of Progress.

Enjoy the show!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rania & Zaina Kana'an are the dynamic founders of Charicycles. They are colouring the streets of the UAE through up-cycling and customizing forgotten bicycle frames to save the environment while encouraging a healthier lifestyle. Each sale also contributes to funding a bicycle for a child in a refugee camp to ensure that each purchase spreads the bicycle love worldwide.

Our bicycles descend from a historic lineage of the Japanese bicycle. At Chari Cycles, we up-cycle bicycle frames to promote sustainability and a clean environment while encouraging a healthier lifestyle.

WE UP-CYCLE

At Charicycles we find bicycle frames that have been forgotten and restore them into the beautiful bikes they once were, giving them a re-newed heartbeat and home, while promoting a cleaner environment.

WE CUSTOMIZE

Our bikes are fully customizable so that you can get the dream ride you always wanted. Feel free to browse our ready collection or design your own.

WE GIVE BACK

Every child feels freedom when riding a bicycle. At Chari Cycles, we want to make sure every underprivileged child has the right to their childhood and the freedom that comes along with it. We provide bicycles to children in refugee camps around the Middle East bringing some light to their days.

Hippie tales & happy trails, contact us on [email protected] or visit us on www.charicycles.com!

Enjoy the show!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ibrahim Colak, CEO & Founder of MrUsta, had a promising long career at Nokia prior to founding MrUsta.  

The inspiration for his startup came to him in the form of a pain point he was experiencing that was all too common for residents of Dubai.  

He validated his idea further and eventually launched MrUsta with the support of his, then girlfriend, now wife, Dunia Othman. 

Listen to learn more about his experiences and how MrUsta has pivoted and become evermore customer driven over the years.

Enjoy the show!

• 01:30 - Turkish beginnings from Istanbul.
• 02:15 - Microsoft years and Nokia cultures.
• 02:30 - Nokia Networks in Dubai.
• 03:10 - Where the name MrUsta comes from.
• 04:00 - MrUsta brand company.
• 04:15 - MrUsta’s service offering.
• 04:45 - Husband-Wife Founding Duo.
• 07:00 - The idea coming from real world problems they experienced.
• 08:45 - Doing a study to validate your own hypothesis.
• 09:45 - MrUsta’s evolving service offerings and their initial pivots.
• 11:00 - Feedback and customer service oriented in the offering.
• 12:30 - MrUsta’s incubation at In5 Dubai.
• 13:30 - The perks of being an in5 Alumni that MrUsta has experienced.
• 14:00 - Usta Academy and it’s offering to service providers.
• 16:15 - MrUsta from bootstrapping to Seed Funding round.
• 17:45 - Their $2.75 Million Pre-Series A raise.
• 19:45 - MrUsta’s average deal flow time per round.
• 21:00 - Convincing angel investors early on by being very clear and concise in your messaging.
• 22:15 - His three pieces of advice for raising funds in this region.
• 24:30 - His passion for scuba diving and how it acts as an escape from the ‘startup noise’.
• 27:00 - Looking to Elon Musk as an inspirational example on how to disrupt existing industries.
• 28:30 - The typical day of MrUsta’s CEO.
• 31:15 - How they conduct meetings.
• 31:45 - Ibrahim’s daily email habits.
• 32:45 - Adjusting and making priorities to have a work/life balance.
• 33:30 - His interests in history and mythology.
• 34:30 - Looking upto Ataturk.
• 35:15 - “Don’t give up and dream on”
• 36:00 - The unhealthy lifestyle of a dedicated entrepreneur and working to improve that.
• 37:00 - Dubai as a prime example of a city that exposes citizens and tourists to multiple cultures and diverse backgrounds.
• 38:45 - Accepting more feedback at an earlier age.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talal Bayaa and Tarek Bayaa, the CEO and CCO of Bayzat. Bayzat is a technology company that empowers businesses with smart and effective insurance & HR solutions.

As CEO, Talal is responsible for providing the vision, overall leadership and strategic management for the company as well as ensuring the highest quality of the services provided. Prior to setting up his own company, Talal worked for a private equity & corporate finance firm, followed by two years at an investment bank.  

Talal started Bayzat with his school friend and now co-founder Brian Habibi.

As CCO, Tarek Bayaa (Talal's brother), is responsible for establishing a world-class sales team and in delivering exceptional customer service. He has been involved in the company on an advisory basis since 2013 and joined the company full-time as the Chief Commercial Officer in April 2015.

Listen to learn more about their experiences and how Bayzat has scaled over the years.

Enjoy the show!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.