What if the fastest way to succeed was to stop fearing failure?

In this episode, host Mayuri Reddy speaks with Maryam A. Hassani — Head of Trends & Innovation at the Abu Dhabi Childhood Authority, co-founder of Hydro Wind Energy, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. They explore how Abu Dhabi’s growing innovation scene is redefining what it means to build and learn in public.

Maryam shares lessons on AI as an equalizer, how to validate ideas before building, and why failure is just another word for data.

🎧 A must-listen for founders learning to grow through experimentation.

Get in touch with Maryam Hassani here.

Reach out to Mayuri here

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Accra, Ghana has a population of 5.5 million — and over 2 million small and medium-sized businesses. These SMEs employ most of the workforce and generate nearly 70% of the country’s GDP, but the majority can’t access credit or reliable tools to scale.

In this episode, host Mayuri Reddy speaks with Marie-Reine Seshie, founder & CEO of Kola Market, about how her platform is changing that. Marie-Reine shares her journey from banking and policy to building a tech company that de-risks lending for small businesses, supports women entrepreneurs, and empowers Ghana’s next generation of founders.

Expect insights on:

• The realities of entrepreneurship in Accra

• Building trust with small shop owners and traders

• Why SMEs are the real engine of Africa’s economies

• What global investors often miss when entering Ghana

• Her hopes for the future of women-led business in West Africa

To reach Marie-Reine, you can email her at [email protected], via ⁠linkedin⁠ and/or through ⁠Kola Market's website⁠.

🌍 The Founders Atlas brings you stories of entrepreneurs building in emerging ecosystems around the world. Follow along on instagram and substack.

Trift Africa’s Yemisi Isidi explains how community-based, collateral-free microfinance helps Nigeria’s nano and micro businesses grow—without predatory rates.

We cover Trift’s criteria (real cash flow over collateral, 3+ months in business), why compliance and digital skills training amplify funding impact, Yemisi's north star of job creation and practical tips for investors exploring Nigeria’s market.

You’ll hear about: community-based funding and accountability, single-digit monthly rates for founders, capping active loans to monitor quality, and the cultural realities entrepreneurs navigate—from childcare to infrastructure gaps

If you've been curious about the landscape of finance in Nigeria and want to learn about innovative ways to fuel collective economic growth, this is the episode for you.

.Connect with Trift & Yemisi:

🌐 Website: https://www.triift.africa/

🔗 Trift Africa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/triiftafrica

🔗 Yemisi Ajeojo (Isidi) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yemisiisidi/

Follow The Founders Atlas:

🌐 Website: https://www.thefoundersatlaspodcast.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoundersatlas.podcast

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-founders-atlas

In this episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy interviews Vivek Reddy, the founder of VIGA Entertainment, a Bangalore-based deep tech company revolutionizing how stories are told and produced.

They explore:

• How Vivek’s U.S. film industry experience shaped VIGA’s mission

• What it takes to build bootstrapped AI-powered products in India

• How Bangalore became a hub for creative software

• What Western founders need to know before expanding into the Indian market

• The balance between spirituality, tech, and personal growth as a founder

If you're curious about what it takes to build a great business in India and are excited to explore the opportunities the country has to to offer, you do not want to miss this episode!!

🎧 Follow The Founders Atlas to hear untold stories from emerging global startup ecosystems.
🔗 Learn more:
VIGA Website | Vivek’s LinkedInThe Founders Atlas Instagram | Website | Mayuri's Linkedin

How do you build a career platform that connects job seekers in Palestine to top remote roles around the world? Meet Jafar Shunnar, CTO and Co-founder of TAP Careers - recently named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for Social Good.

In this powerful episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy travels to Nablus in the West Bank to explore how TAP is changing lives by helping high-potential talent across Palestine, Jordan, and Syria launch remote careers in tech - without leaving home.

🎧 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• What inspired the creation of TAP, and how it evolved from a coding bootcamp into a full career platform

• How remote work is transforming access to economic opportunity in the Middle East

• Why mentorship, community, and global networks matter as much as technical skills

• What it takes to run a mission-driven business during extreme uncertainty

• What investors and hiring managers should know about talent in the MENA region

• How TAP uses AI and smart tools to help job seekers land meaningful work

• The vision for TAP 2.0, and how it's scaling impact beyond borders

🌍 Want to support TAP Careers?
Looking to hire world-class remote talent? Interested in mentoring emerging professionals from Palestine, Jordan, or Syria?
👉 Learn how you can contribute to TAP’s mission:🌐 https://tapcareers.io

📬 Reach out directly:✉️ [email protected]

🧑‍💻 About Our Guest:
Jafar Shunnar is the Co-founder & CTO of TAP Careers, a career acceleration platform helping young professionals in the Middle East find meaningful employment in global companies. With a background in software development and an MBA from INSEAD, Jafar brings a rare blend of technical expertise and social mission to the world of tech hiring.

🎙 About the Show:
The Founders Atlas is a podcast exploring global entrepreneurship through the lens of visionary founders building from underrepresented and overlooked regions. Hosted by Mayuri Reddy, each episode offers insights into the human stories behind startups—and the cultural, personal, and economic forces that shape them.

In this episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy travels to Budapest to speak with Roswitha Verwer, award-winning founder and CEO of YON E Global—a pioneering MedFemTech startup that's reshaping how women understand and track their vaginal and reproductive health.

Roswitha shares how her early experiences in women’s shelters shaped her mission to empower women through innovation, data, and education. We explore what it's like to raise capital in male-dominated spaces, how to build a startup with both purpose and scientific rigor, and why real-time vaginal health tracking could change everything from IVF outcomes to everyday wellbeing.

✨ Highlights:

• YON E Global’s journey toward regulatory approval and clinical testing

• Cultural taboos and the lack of education in women's health

• Building a femtech business in Central Europe

• Balancing masculine and feminine energy in leadership

• Redefining success as a founder

If you're curious about the future of FemTech, want to support underserved health spaces, or just love hearing honest founder stories—this episode is for you.

🔗 Learn more at: https://yone.global🤝 Get in touch with Roswitha

Brazilian fintech Oinc is helping millions rethink money. Co-founder Fernanda Guilhermino shares how she's making financial wellness more accessible.

In this episode of The Founders Atlas, we travel to Rio de Janeiro to meet Fernanda Guilhermino, co-founder of the Brazilian fintech app Oinc. With fewer than 4% of Brazilians investing and sky-high credit card interest rates, Fernanda shares how her personal journey inspired a product that meets people where they are.

💡 You'll hear about:

• The cultural roots of Brazil's financial anxiety

• How Oinc helps users save, invest, and manage money automatically

• Fernanda’s leap from law to launching a startup

• What it takes to build trust in a low-literacy, high-risk economy

• Why emotional intelligence, therapy, and co-founders matter

🌎 If you're interested in fintech, LATAM startups, or investing in emerging markets—this one's for you.

👉 Download Oinc (Brazil only), follow Fernanda on LinkedIn, or reach out if you're an angel or VC - reach out to her via email: [email protected]

🎙️ Hosted by Mayuri Reddy
#Fintech #Brazil #Startups #LatAm #Oinc #FoundersAtlas

In this episode of The Founders Atlas, Mayuri sits down with Nesma Amin, the Cairo-based founder of Aziza, a period tracking app built in Egyptian Arabic with one mission: making women’s health information accessible, inclusive, and culturally relevant.

Together, they unpack:

• Why Aziza speaks to Egyptian women in a way global apps don’t.

• The cultural myths Nesma is gently - but powerfully - unlearning through building Aziza.

• How Nesma builds trust and intimacy with users by meeting them where they are, linguistically, culturally, and emotionally.

• What it means to redefine success when building for impact in a fragmented healthcare system.

💡 Whether you're building a startup in an emerging market or navigating sensitive health topics, this conversation offers valuable insight on empathy-driven product design.

🎯 Want to support or connect with Nesma? Reach her at: [email protected] and learn more/download the app here.

✨ Follow and review The Founders Atlas to discover more global founders reimagining innovation on their terms. You can find us on instagram here.

In this solo episode, host Mayuri Reddy shares hard-won insights on one of the most tempting — and risky — moves a founder can make: international expansion. Drawing from nearly a decade of experience advising startups across four continents, Mayuri unpacks three truths every founder should reflect on before going global.

• Why are you expanding — and is it strategic or performative?
• Are you mistaking language or proximity for cultural fit
• And are you actually connected to the people who know the market on the ground?

With real-world stories from companies like Canva, Spotify, Airbnb, WeWork, and Tesco, this episode is your crash course in what to really consider before setting up shop in a new country. Whether you're already eyeing your next market or just want to avoid the costly mistakes others have made, this episode is for you.

Follow Us! Instagram | Linkedin

Want to reach out to Mayuri? ⁠Send her a message on Linkedin. ⁠

In this episode of The Founders Atlas, we’re heading to Swakopmund, Nambia —to explore what it means to build community-first entrepreneurship ecosystems across continents.

Our guest, Cerina Bezuidenhout, is the co-founder of Future Females, a global platform empowering women entrepreneurs with education, mentorship, and access to funding.

Launched in Cape Town and now active across the globe, Future Females is creating space for founders who are often overlooked—especially women outside of traditional tech hubs. Cerina shares her journey from food scientist to founder, and how her roots in Namibia, combined with global exposure through Techstars and Berlin, shaped her mission to support women on their own terms.

We dive into:

💼 Why traditional businesses matter just as much as tech startups
🌍 What global funders still get wrong about African entrepreneurs
💡 The difference between real impact and vanity metrics
💰 Why VC funding isn’t always the answer—and what founders need instead
🤝 The power of honesty, values, and co-founding with trust

Whether you’re an investor, founder, or someone curious about what it takes to truly empower women globally, Cerina’s story offers a grounded, honest look at building for real impact.

✨ Connect with Cerina & Future Females: Instagram | Website | [email protected]
🎧 Like, follow, subscribe, and share to keep The Founders Atlas community growing! 🌍