What I Did Next

I'm joined today by entrepreneur Mounir Nakhla. Mounir is the co-founder & CEO of MNT-Halan, Egypt's fintech unicorn that has now served more than 8 million customers and recently expanded into the UAE, Turkey & Pakistan.

Mounir launched his first company in 2010, which showed him the true potential of micro-financing to unlock economic potential. This led him to co-found MNT-Halan in 2021 with Ahmed Mohsen.

Mounir is an old friend and I've always known him to be incredible disciplined and routine-based. So I wasn't surprised to see this translate into his role as a founder and CEO. He tells me how he pivoted to technology and fintech, and how he's grown as a leader as well.

Chapters
0:00 Coming up...

1:59 Early Influences and Education

9:46 Mentorship and Guidance

17:00 Embracing Technology

20:12 From micromanager to delegator

29:03 Personal Goals and Values

30:50 Well-being and Self-Care

32:52 The Lightning Round

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I'm re-connecting today with Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram. Dr. Nadine is the founder & CEO of Proximie  ⁨and a practicing NHS surgeon with a specialty in plastic surgery. I first spoke to Dr. Nadine three years ago, when she told me how she wanted to help operating rooms function more effectively with Proximie. 

This episode is part of Encore, where I check-in with some of your favourite WIDN alumni. We’ll continue this segment with more of the show’s alumni, including Chef Bobby Chinn, film producer Mo Hefzy, and more. 

Chapters

0:00 Coming up...

7:24 Driving Transformation in Healthcare

15:26 Expanding into the U.S. Market

17:12 Innovations in the Middle East

19:58 Personal Achievements and Reflections

27:13 Lightning Round!

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. 

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

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 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.

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!

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

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! I’m joined on this special episode by Hanaa Helmy, Chief Corporate Sustainability and Impact Officer at EFG Holding and CEO of the EFG Foundation. Hanaa has been with the company 19 years, and has been involved with the Foundatoin right from its launch in 2006. She has also been recognised by Forbes Middle East as one the region’s Top Sustainability Leaders in both 2024 and 2025.

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 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. 

Chapters 
0:00 Episode 100! 
1:11 Evolution of Podcasting 
3:11 Reflections 
13:53 Destiny vs Agency 
24:08 The Impact of Our Work 
24:28 A big thanks to EFG Holding 
25:35 Malak takes on the Lightning Round

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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. 

Chapters 
0:00 Introduction 
4:03 Meeting Dr. Galal Amin @AUC 
9:23 The Family Business Unfolds 
14:32 Fakhreddin Restaurant Legacy 
19:26 Football!

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 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.

Chapters

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

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

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

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.

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

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