We’re continuing my conversation with Karima Hakim on this episode, talking about the evolution of the private sector in Egypt and Africa, and her work specifically with Plug & Play.

You can also catch the first part my conversation with Karima in your podcast app or on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwjEtGnYxRs&feature=youtu.be

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

0:45 The Private Sector Evolution

11:39 Women Supporting Women

16:23 Leadership in a Changing World

19:55 Karima’s work with Plug and Play

26:48 Addressing the Forum for President Macron

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I’m joined today by Karima El Hakim, Country Director at Plug & Play Egypt, and co-director for the company’s operations in the rest of Africa. Just as importantly, for me she’s one of the show’s biggest fans!

On Part 1 of my conversation with Karima, we’re criss-crossing through both her personal and professional journey, from growing up in Egypt in a Francophone home to her pivot to technology and the investment world.

Coming up next week on part 2, Karima tells me about her work with the private sector in Egypt and across Africa, as well as her role serving on the Economic Committee of Egypt’s National Council for women.

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets worldwide. Start Investing Today!

Chapters

0:00 Coming up…

2:00 Early years in Cairo

9:24 Getting into market research

16:09 Return to Egypt

19:06 Personal loss & navigating grief

23:38 The impact of B_URN

29:17 The transition to tech

33:25 Life outside of work

40:42 Lightning Round!

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Today’s episode is a deep-dive with our sponsor, EFG Holding. As a long-time sponsor of the show, EFG have been with us from our single digit episode count all the way through to 100!

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We’re celebrating 100 episodes! So this week I’m sitting down with our producer Chirag Desai to celebrate this milestone and unpack some of the learnings.

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We’re continuing my conversation with Azzam Fakhreddin this week, where he tells me about his decision to shift focus to economics under the mentorship of Dr. Galal Amin and getting starting in the family hospitality business. Azzam also tells me about his involvement with the Jordan football team, which just qualified for its first FIFA World Cup in 2026.

I’m also excited to share that What I Did Next just completed 100 episodes! Next week, I’m sitting down with our producer Chirag Desai to celebrate this milestone and unpack some of the learnings.

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets worldwide. Start Investing Today: https://app.efghermesone.com

Chapters

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I’m joined today by Azzam Fakhreddin, a name familiar to many across the Middle East as a notable figure in the hospitality industry. On Part 1 of our conversation, Azzam tells me about his involvement in two significant projects, the book ‘Palestine, Memories of 1948’ and the feature film ‘Palestine36’, which is Palestine’s official entry to the 2026 Oscars. It stars iconic actors Jeremy Irons and Liam Cunningham and will be premiering in London later this month.

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets worldwide. Start Investing Today!

0:00 Introduction

5:41 Family Legacy and Early Life

14:10 Palestine, Memories of 1948

21:24 Life After 50

22:25 The making of Palestine 36

33:11 Lightning Round

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AI is a topic that has come up many times over the years on the show, so today I’m sharing a special episode of Double-Take where I’m connecting the dots from some of our previous episodes on the philosophical, ethical and practical implications of our future AI world.

You’ll hear from author & AI expert Mo Gawdat on how we all need to be better role models for this nascent technology, actor Ramy Youssef on some of the implications for creators and filmmakers, Amazon’s Omar El Sahy talks about some of its practical applications and ad legend Tarek Nour asks some philosophical questions about our AI future.

Chapters

0:00 Coming up

1:10 Tarek Nour: The age of acceleration

7:18 Mo Gawdat: The scary-smart world of AI

20:45 Mona Hamdy: What do we want AI to do?

21:27 Ramy Youssef: The manipulation of soundbites

23:59 Omar Elsahy: The future of the workforce

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Continuing my conversation with Dr. Mona Hamdy to unpack the role of AI, and how the emerging world should prioritise its adoption. We talk about the ethical implications of technological advancements, and the need to close the gap between profit-driven AI development and our needs as a society. She also tells me about her work with Anomaly, the ‘Bitcoins and Birkins’ club, and upcoming launch of iConnections Middle East.

This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing in more than 35 stock markets worldwide. Start investing today: https://app.efghermesone.com/

Chapters

0:00 Where tech and humanity intersect

5:51 Navigating AI's Future Responsibly

9:23 Defining the Ethical Framework for Technology

15:15 The Global Race for AI Resources

20:07 The Bitcoins and Birkins Club

27:25 Launching Middle East Operations

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The word AI gets bandied about by everyone in everything today, and I’ve been wanting to unpack the opportunities and challenges our future world holds for us. So I’m delighted to welcome technology ethicist Dr. Mona Hamdy to the show this week.

On Part 1 of our conversation this week, we talk about her pivots, and how she found herself at this unique intersection of technology and human dignity.

Coming up next week on Part 2, I pick Mona’s brain on some of my questions on the future world of AI: have we unleashed something we don’t really understand? How does the emerging world prioritise its technology adoption?

Links:

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Chapters

0:00 Introduction

4:37 Childhood Experiences in Egypt

11:07 Philosophical Foundations of Technology

17:26 Early Career and Social Development

24:33 Balancing Family and Education

29:00 Her mother’s impact

37:56 The Future of AI and Its Implications

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One of the themes that often comes up on the show is giving back to the community. Today I wanted to highlight two guests who instantly come to mind when talking about giving back—the incredible heart surgeon, Sir Magdi Yacoub and META’s Regional Director, Fares Akkad. 

This episode is part of our new segment, Double-Take, where I take a deep-dive into a single topic and connect the dots between some of our best conversations.

When I spoke to Fares in late 2023, he had just come back from visiting the Za’atari Refugee Camp, where Meta has established a digital literacy program.

And while Professor Yacoub already had a distinguished career as a cardiothoracic surgeon, he’s leaving behind an even bigger legacy through his charity, Chain of Hope, building long-term impact on the lives of the children in developing communities.

Chapters

0:00 The theme of ‘Giving Back’ to the Community

0:50 Fares Akkad’s work with Za’atari Refugee Camp

5:03 Sir Magdi Yacoub’s legacy with Chain of Hope

8:24 Establishing Sustainable Hospitals

12:54 Community-Centric Healthcare

13:46 Rwanda: A New Hope

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