From MENA to the World
Over the past decade, the MENA region has been silently building an ecosystem while the world wasn't watching. The mission of this show is to share those stories from those that are contributing to this change, the investors, founders, and operators. We'll be interviewing guests to talk openly about their journeys, starting with their childhood and going all the way through to the Why? How? What? of their entrepreneurial journeys. Showcasing these stories is vital for people to connect, learn and get inspired. Join our host Amir Farha, Founder of COTU Ventures, as he explores the human side to entrepreneurship in the Middle East from the narratives of people who have the courage to drive change, overcome barriers, and build lasting companies despite all the difficulties along the way.
Episodes
7 episodes
Ola Doudin (BitOasis) - How her rebellious childhood caused her to get kicked out of school, why fringe online forums were her entry into the crypto world, and her journey to becoming the first regulated exchange in MENA
In this episode, we chat with Ola Doudin, Founder of BitOasis, the largest and most trusted cryptocurrency platform in the MENA region. Formed in 2015, BitOasis serves as the go-to platform for first-time cryptocurrency buyers and seasoned trad...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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1:05:48
Rami Salman (Wrappup, Cisco) - Why his Lebanese roots impact him to this day, how he is able to make something out of nothing, what prompted the Voicea acquisition, and how he overcame countless failures
In this episode, we talk with Rami Salman, the Co-Founder of Wrappup, a meeting-based productivity app with intelligent voice recording that helps inside sales managers make better decisions. Now, Rami is the Director of M&A, Strategy, &...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:07:34
Sonia Weymuller (VentureSouq) - How VentureSouq came to be, why she describes herself as an accidental outlier in everything, and what her own philosophy of impact investing is
In this episode, we're having a chat with Sonia Weymuller, Co-Founder and General Partner of VentureSouq (VSQ), a GCC-based Venture Capital firm. Launched in 2013, VSQ is active in the MENA region with a global portfolio of 200+ companies, as w...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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54:15
Kamal Reggad (RemotePass) - Why his father starting a company at 48 left a lasting impact, how different the initial MVP looked to RemotePass now, and why Kamal still runs onboarding for clients to this day
In this episode, we talk with Kamal Reggad, the CEO of RemotePass, a specialised remote work platform making it easy to hire, offer benefits, onboard, manage & pay your global team all at once.Kamal gives us an overview of his entrep...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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47:09
Ben Mouflard (Chatfood) - How his first business was selling golf balls at 7 years old, why he was working on idea #20 before reaching PMF, how he met his cofounder, and why they chose to bootstrap Chatfood
In this episode, we’ll have a chat with Benjamin Mouflard, Co-Founder and CEO of the Dubai startup ChatFood. In 2018, Ben and his co-founder Vinny launched ChatFood, a technology platform designed to help ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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48:08
Talal Bayaa (Bayzat) - Growing up in Dubai when it had dial-up internet, why he rejected Amir’s initial investment offer, what it’s like to expand across MENA, and how Bayzat went from 3 employees to now over 150+
In this episode, Talal Bayaa talked about his journey as a health-tech entrepreneur and founder of Bayzat, A company that provides a free platform for employee benefits, human resources, payroll and more. From finding the right investor ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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44:33
From MENA to the World: Elevating the voices of entrepreneurship in the Middle East
The Middle East has a new story to tell and this is, From MENA to the World.Over the past decade, the Middle East has been silently building an ecosystem while the world wasn't watching. We've had conflict, war and despair, and yet our ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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2:36