About the Podcast
The potential of Arab startups is extremely under-estimated. In a region of 423 million with a young population, the growth of startups has been explosive in recent years. Startups Arabia is the voice of this ecosystem, accelerating the ecosystem’s development. Startups Arabia:
- Communicates the potential of the ecosystem through the players’ eyes.
- Supports the growth of the ecosystem and its stakeholders by amplifying their voice on both the regional and global level.
- Speeds up the collaboration of regional and global stakeholders by emphasizing common goals and initiatives.
Of course, if you’re part of the Arab startups ecosystem, Startups Arabia is for you. This applies whether you’re a founder, a VC, a journalist or an ecosystem supporter. You will know what’s happening, be inspired and take part in the community. Even if you’re a global ecosystem stakeholder, if you want with to know more. Startups Arabia will give you deep insight into the Arab ecosystem, giving you the confidence to engage with it.
The podcast is in the form of interviews with key stakeholders, primarily founders and VCs. Through the interview questions, we bring out the characteristics of the ecosystem. By asking the right guests the right questions, we indirectly answer the following questions for our listeners: What are the opportunities in the region? What are the challenges? What can be improved? What areas of growth can be tapped? What are roadblocks that need to be maneuvered around? What are the hot opportunities?
About the Host
Ali has served in executive positions at multinational (Unilever, Intel) and local (Raya, Soficom) corporations. He has also been a startup founder for the past 10 years. He’s currently an EIR at Endure Capital. Moreover, he is a Fulbright Scholar and a MBA with a 780 GMAT. He’s directed multi-million dollar software projects as a general manager. He also transformed the process of the first Egyptian company to transition from waterfall to the now common agile model, while maintaining CMMi certification. While working at Intel, he developed new platforms within a global cutting-edge team. He's spoken in the signature Agile conference twice, Agile 2011 (Salt Lake City) and Agile 2018 (San Diego). He’s also spoken and presented in several regional startup events, in addition to TEDx MSA.
Ali has consulted several startups, Ali has also mentored startup founders in the EU for Big Booster Lyon (2017, 2020). He’s mentored startups at Startup Maroc. He's mentored regional startup founders in association with The Next Society. He’s also given lectures on entrepreneurship at Zewail City University and mentored local entrepreneurs in Egypt. He’s a key author of the Egyptian ecosystem’s Startup Manifesto, in cooperation with Rise Up. On the personal level, Ali has a passion for entrepreneurship, Arab youth empowerment and building great organizations.