What I Did Next

We’re currently on a season break and will be back with new episodes in September. In the meantime, I wanted to share my conversation from last year with Amy Mowafi, a dynamo in the region’s media space, and an inspiring role model for the younger generation of empowered Egyptian and Arab women.

Amy and her team are the digital publishers of CairoScene, ElFasla, StartUpScene, NFTYScene, NFTY Arabia, SceneNoise, SceneTraveller, SceneEats, CairoZoom & the SceneNOW App. They also house a digital creative agency and are leading the way in the Web3 universe as well. 

Amy brings passion, authenticity and a sense that anything-is-possible to everything she does. She is a fierce proponent of what our generation used to call Girl Power, and is awed by how Gen Z women have given that voice full-throttle.

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

Thank you for joining me on an incredible season 5 of What I Did Next, and for your feedback and comments. This week, I’m joined by our producer Chirag Desai to talk about my own life’s pivots and a few highlights from our season.

We’ll be back with new episodes in early September. Until then, you can catch up on our previous episodes, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for updates.

Thanks to our partners EFG Hermes for their support of this season, and to Egypt Fashion Week for a lovely collaboration.

Links:

• Frontlines of Journalism by BBC Radio 4
• The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan

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We're continuing my conversation with Chef Hussein Hadid. On this members-only bonus episode Chef Hussein tells me why he chose to put down roots in Lebanon and how that changed his perceptions about dining. I also ask him a bit more about his aunt, the incredible, award-winning internationally renowned architect, Zaha Hadid.

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I’m joined on the show this week by the talented Lebanese/Iraqi chef, Hussein Hadid. 

If you’ve been lucky enough to attend his unique kitchen table experience in Beirut, you'll know that Chef Hussein conjures up magic not just for your taste buds, but also by giving a lot of thought to the atmosphere and decor. He actually started out working in finance, quickly discarding that career in favour of a chef's jacket and hat. 

Our conversation took many twists and turns, with amazing anecdotes from his time working for a top New York restaurant to his more difficult experiences in Lebanon over the last few years. Chef Hussein also told me how his business has weathered these storms, and what's to come. 

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

We're continuing our conversation with poet, author, and radio host Salma El-Wardany. On this bonus episode, Salma tells me about the impact of her work including her book, These Impossible Things, and how her mother continues to play a key role in her life.

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

I’m joined this week by poet, author and radio host, Salma El-Wardany. Salma is the author of These Impossible Things, a best-selling novel that that breaks down barriers by looking at how a group of muslim girlfriends navigate love, friendship & sex. She also currently hosts The Breakfast Show on BBC Radio London, which reaches over half a million listeners daily. 

Salma is of Irish and Egyptian descent, combined with influences from the Pakistani community of Northern England and her current home in multi-cultural London. Questions of identity are at the core of who Salma is, and this is at the heart of much of her writing, public speaking and poetry. Salma has given voice to what many modern young women from Jakarta to Jeddah talk about behind closed doors. I find Salma's story fascinating, uplifting and hopeful.

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!

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

We’re continuing my conversation with Fares Akkad, Regional Director at Meta. On this bonus episode, Fares and I dig further into some learnings from his time as an entrepreneur, and more about the Metaverse.

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

I'm joined on the show this week by Fares Akkad. Fares is currently Regional Director for Meta and has a long track record with the company formerly known as Facebook. Over the course of his career, Fares has had stints at KPMG, Booz Allen and media giant MBC, as well as going it alone as an entrepreneur. 

As a son of a Syrian diplomat, Fares grew up in South America and Europe, before moving to the US for university. We talk about how being exposed to so many different cultures has solidified his sense of self. 

We also dig into the future of technology, the metaverse, and where Meta sees itself in that equation.

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!

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

We're continuing my conversation with the sisters behind luxury fashion brand Okhtein, Mounaz & Aya Abdel Raouf. On this bonus episode for our members, Mounaz and Aya, tell me about their creative process, and how the pandemic impacted their business and the fashion industry.

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

Mounaz and Aya Abdel Raouf are the sisters behind the global luxury brand, Okhtein. They have always had a love for fashion and accessories, and day-dreamed about working in the industry from when they were children. 

In 2014, they turned their fantasy into a reality, launching Okhtein. Since then, they’ve had celebrities like Beyoncé, Emma Watson, Cardi B and Gigi Hadid photographed with their accessories. Their brother, Mohamed Abdel Raouf, joined the company as CEO in 2018.

Today, Okhtein continues to expand its retail footprint, widening their distribution network to new markets, and exploring new product ranges, including a collaboration with Balmain which was unveiled during Paris Fashion Week in October last year.

This episode is brought to you by Egypt Fashion Week, May 12-15, 2023: The past, present & future

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