Making It
Making It is a business podcast from EnterpriseAM, the Arab world's business daily. Six days a week it helps top executives understand the region's companies and economies, and every Thursday the editor-in-chief interviews the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers shaping the Arab world. The show focuses on practical insights and conversations with the people making big decisions across the region.
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The road to an IPO with BdC’s Hussein Abaza
Banque du Caire is going public in a landmark IPO. On this episode of Making It, Hussein Abaza, the CEO of Banque du Caire, joins Patrick to take us through the strategy behind the sale. Hussein is a legend in the banking community; he’s the former CEO of CIB and has long been a spokesperson for Egypt among international investors. In the first half of the episode, Hussein tells us abo
A different kind of stamina: AI and law with Lamyaa Gadelhak
Will AI eventually replace lawyers? On this episode of Making It — the third installment in our AI series — Lamyaa Gadelhak joins Patrick to refute that claim. It will transform the industry, she explains, but it will not replace it. Lamyaa is Partner at Baker McKenzie and Chair of its Global Project Finance Group, based in Cairo. As one of the country’s best known corporate lawy
On IPOs and the “Egypt discount”, with MNT-Halan’s Mounir Nakhla
MNT-Halan’s IPO has been the talk of the market for a few weeks. So on this episode of Making It, Mounir Nakhla, the founder and CEO of MNT-Halan, joins Patrick to talk about why his company is going public, and why now is the right time. Mounir built MNT-Halan in about 17 years, and soon 20% of the Egypt side of the business will be up for grabs. In the first part of the episode, Moun
The future of engineering in the age of AI with Youssef Rizk
What do you risk when you build your business on top of the world’s frontier AI models? Youssef Rizk says, “Look at Google’s graveyard.” Youssef is the CEO of Windfall and co-founder and CTO of Wondercraft, which is the company we rely on to produce our other show Morning Drive, using the AI voice of our very human executive editor. On this episode of Making It, we discuss
Inside the NBFI firestorm with Hazem Moussa
For a few months, alarms have sounded across the board cautioning of an impending credit bubble. Are they warranted? On this episode of Making It, Hazem Moussa joins Patrick to break down how a bubble in the credit industry actually forms, what regulators should watch out for, the risks on both sides, and the responsibility that lies on the client side — us, the consumers. &
Cairo Food Week’s Hoda El-Sherif on stories, flavors, and community
Is Egyptian food having a moment? And more importantly, is our cuisine finally claiming its seat at the global table? Hoda El-Sherif says, “It’s coming.” Hoda is the co-founder and CEO of Flavor Republic, and the force behind Cairo Food Week. On this episode of Making It, Hoda argues that Egyptian food belongs on the same table as the great cuisines of the world. That&rsquo
The mechanics of retail with Baraka’s Ahmed Ragab
After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story? On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him. Ragab is the CEO and Partner at Baraka Retail Group. This past May, Ragab sold control of Baraka Optics to Ma
Why Rep. Neveen El Tahri is optimistic
Foreign investors see a lot of potential in Egypt. Their optimism, however, is not necessarily shared by many inside Egypt. So where does the gap lie? On this episode of Making It, Neveen El Tahri joins Patrick to make the case for optimism. Neveen is a legend in banking and finance. She is a serial entrepreneur, the first woman to sit on the board of the Egyptian Stock Exchange and the Egyptian F
The Chinese takeover with Ankush Arora
When Chinese cars first appeared in Egypt around a decade ago, they were met with backlash. Now, they’re everywhere. Why? And how? On this episode of Making It, Ankush Arora joins Patrick to break down how this happened, and why the pace of adoption is accelerating. Ankush is the CEO of Al Mansour Automotive Group, a leading Egyptian and regional automotive distributor. With both global and
Decoding AI with Tarek Assaad
Past the doom and gloom, what the heck is actually going on with AI at the moment? On this episode of Making It, Tarek Assaad joins Patrick to decode the latest in AI. From one of the smartest people in business and tech, this is an episode for both the novice and the pro, about what we should make of the recent technological breakthroughs, and what we’re yet to find out. Tarek is Managing P
Making It: A preview
Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world’s companies and economies — and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them. Making It is an hour where the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers making the biggest decisions in our region show their work and talk about what’s next. From EnterpriseAM, t
A note from Patrick
In this special feed drop, Patrick shares an episode of EnterpriseAM’s new show, Morning Drive. It's a 10-minute rundown of the biggest business stories that will shape your day. To get new episodes straight in your feed every morning, follow EnterpriseAM | Egypt wherever you're listening right now. We’ll be back with a new season of Making It soon, so stay tuned.See omnystudio.com/lis
Special: Doing it differently | Marakez Exec Vice Chairman Dasha Badrawi
For the last few decades, Sahel has cemented its place as a go-to summer destination for many. Clear waters. Crisp weather. Buzzing nightlife. Last year, the Ras El-Hekma deal swung the spotlight on the potential of Sahel as a regional investment hub. But what exactly are we building up there? In this special episode of Making It, we speak to Marakez Executive Vice Chairman Dasha
Special: Building an innovative bank — and how to lead it — with Mashreq Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal
After more than five years at Mashreq’s helm, Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal is a well-known face in the regional banking industry and beyond. Ahmed has led the bank through an ambitious expansion strategy that has seen it recently open Mashreq Oman, in addition to Mashreq Neo in Egypt, as well as its digital banking platform for corporate clients in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. We recently s
How to fundraise with Actis Partner Hossam Abou Moussa
In 20 years of working in private equity, Hossam Abou Moussa has seen the makings of great businesses across industries in Egypt and other emerging markets. At Actis, he is a partner in the private equity business, as well as chief operating officer of the unit. Actis is one of the leading investors in emerging markets, and currently operates roughly USD 10 bn under management. In Egypt, they have
Growing a diagnostics powerhouse with Integrated Diagnostics Holding CEO Hend El Sherbini
Hend El Sherbini took over her mother’s testing facility MK Lab in Egypt and rebranded it to Al Mokhtabar in 2004, with the intention of providing affordable and quality testing beyond Cairo. 16 years later, El Sherbini sits atop Integrated Diagnostics Holding, a merger of Al Mokhtabar and Al Borg. IDH is the first Egyptian company to list on the London Stock Exchange, and has si
Playing moneyball with Arqam FC CEO Ali ElFakharany
Ali ElFakharany got hooked on sports data as a university student, and the blog he started to analyze the Egyptian Premier League blossomed into a company in 2017. But the local market was not ready for Arqam’s services, and so Ali turned to Europe. In 2019, Arqam was acquired by UK-based Statsbomb in a share swap agreement that retained Arqam’s team and Ali leading the data product.&n
Transforming security with MagicCube co-founders Hisham Shawki and Nancy Zayed
Hisham Shawki and Nancy Zayed launched MagicCube in 2014 with the intention of eliminating the redundancy of hardware-based security currently used in mobile and IoT devices. The primary target of their technology is the USD 48 bn POS hardware market, a strategy that attracted investments from Visa and CIB’s VC arm CVentures. Beyond financial services, the security platform has major applica
Debating bricks or clicks with Majid Al Futtaim Properties CEO Ahmed Galal Ismail
With brick and mortar retail seeing declining growth in developed markets fueled by competition from e-commerce, Majid Al Futtaim tells a story that might look a little different in emerging markets. Malls here still see growing popularity and Majid Al Futtaim’s retail brands are household names in Egypt and the region. Ahmed Galal Ismail led Majid Al Futtaim Ventures for 10 years prior to h
Building a “people” business with Dr. Bahaa Alieldean, of the Alieldean Weshahi & Partners law firm
If your business sells time — yours or your team’s or both — then this week’s episode is for you. Lawyering is perhaps the world’s second-oldest profession — and the source of endless jokes, the vast majority of them (pleasantly?) tasteless. Today’s episode features a lawyer — and an awfully nice one, at that — but th
Kickstarting an industry with Fawry CEO Ashraf Sabry
The majority of Egypt’s population are unbanked and have no access to financial services. Thanks to fintech players like Fawry, this is changing quickly — and for the better. When Ashraf Sabry founded Fawry in 2008, he knew he wanted to leverage his experience and technology in a business that had recurring revenue. Flash forward and, a decade later, Fawry is now a payments platform th
Breaking baladi bread with Zooba CEO Chris Khalifa
Zooba sells taamiya, not falafel. When Chris Khalifa launched Zooba in 2012, the goal was to elevate Egyptian street food from cheap, delicious, everyday sustenance to a global brand. By 2020, Zooba’s value proposition had already shaped a loyal following at home and abroad with branches in Egypt, a franchise agreement in the GCC, and a New York outpost — opened just before covid-19 hi
A peek behind the curtain: How Trella is bringing supply chains into the digital age
Omar Hagrass, CEO of Trella On this week’s episode of Making It, we remotely sit down with Omar Hagrass, the CEO and co-founder of Trella, a digital trucking marketplace. The company’s application acts as a hub for shippers and carriers, eliminating the time-consuming and inefficient manual process of using brokers. Trella is a relatively new company, raising an impressive USD 600k pre
Triple Digit Growth: How SAP created a digital safety net for businesses
Hoda Mansour, Managing Director of SAP Egypt and Frontier Markets Hoda Mansour was twice recognized by Forbes as one of the most influential businesswomen in the Middle East for her work in SAP in the UAE, Oman, and Egypt. SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is among the most widely used across the world, at a time when the livelihood of many businesses hinges on establishing a
Investing in digital disruption: How Algebra Ventures became synonymous with tech startups
Algebra Ventures Managing Partners Tarek Assaad and Karim Hussein From a background of senior positions at multinationals, Algebra Ventures Managing Partners Tarek Assaad and Karim Hussein are driven by a belief that tech and entrepreneurship can enable tangible change in a region where basic services can often be major inconveniences. Established in 2015, Algebra Ventures is a USD 54 mn venture c
Where preparation meets opportunity: How TPay Mobile put Egypt on the Fintech map
Sahar Salama, Founder and CEO of TPay Mobile In a country with low banking penetration and high mobile adoption, Sahar Salama saw a business opportunity in creating a payment solution through telecom operators. She used her experience at Link Development to create a direct operator billing model and launched TPay Mobile in 2014. Launched in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE simultaneously, the
Amro Abouesh, CEO and Managing Director of Tanmeyah
Having served as Executive Advisor for Microsofinance at Banque du Caire and then as head of the microfinance and SMEs division at the Bank of Alexandria, Amro Abouesh believed in private sector financing as a means to enable social mobility within the low income sector of society. By founding Tanmeyah in 2009, Amro effectively launched private microfinance in Egypt and helped bring in Egypt&rsquo
Surviving the end of a trend: going beyond cupcakes with NOLA
Laila Sedky and Adel Sedky, Founder and CEO of NOLA As Founder and CEO of one of the most recognizable brands in the confectionary business, Laila and Adel understand the business of selling happiness. Their tenure at Nola saw them grow the brand beyond the flagship store in Zamalek to a confectionary giant with 25 stores across 7 cities. From leading the local cupcake craze to making pivotal deci
We don't need no education...in the classroom
Mohamed El Kalla, CEO of Cairo for Investment and Real Estate (CIRA). As the head of one of the largest private sector education operators, El Kalla is someone who understands the business of education. He has seen the seismic shifts in the industry over the past few decades: from family-owned businesses to corporations, from Cairo and Alex to the other governorates, from the super wealthy t
Bringing art to the masses: How TAM is trying to democratize the art scene
TAM Gallery, formerly Arts Mart, started off as an online gallery that aimed to give new artists a chance to break into the Egyptian art world. Fast forward less than a decade later, TAM has three arms each aiming to give new artists and entry into the commercial world — and to bring new potential buyers into the market. The online gallery is still going strong, but is now complimented by a
Eat your heart out, Willy Wonka: How Edita beat out global household names to become the leading snack food producer in Egypt
If you’ve ever been starving in Egypt without a kitchen anywhere in sight, it’s likely that you’ve tried a snack by Edita. Since its founding in 1996, the maker of such brands as Todo, Molto, Bake Rolz and Twinkies, expanded its product offering, grown its manufacturing capacity, and has even launched a factory in Morocco. It did this during the economic storm that came with the
Meet Sarwa Capital: the 20-year-old startup quietly building the infrastructure of consumer finance
Hazem Moussa will forgive you if you’ve never heard of Sarwa Capital, because unless you’re a finance geek (like us), Sarwa is hardly a company whose name you’ll hear every day — even though there’s a reasonable chance Sarwa has been involved in your financial life one way or another. They own Contact Cars (the website and the car finance business). They sell in
One ring to rule them all: How the Azza Fahmy brand became a precious heirloom that was nourished into a global luxury powerhouse
After taking over the helm at Azza Fahmy back in 2006, Fatma Ghali, along with her sister Amina, built on the legacy of their mother, spearheading the expansion of the brand outside of Egypt and added a contemporary perspective to the company’s designs. They established a foothold in the European market through collaborations with leading fashion designers such as Julien MacDonald and Mathew
The team player: How Karim Awad has grown EFG Hermes from a regional giant into a global player
Karim Awad started at EFG Hermes as an analyst and rose to become the head of EFG’s high-profile investment banking unit — a job he held until he was tapped to run the firm as Group CEO in 2013. In an industry known for its outsized egos, Karim is Scottie Pippen, the consummate team player from the 1990s Chicago Bulls. In this week’s episode, Karim talks about the firm&rsqu
Mr and Mrs Claus: The couple behind the killer concierge app Elves
Seeing the rapid growth of digital assistants, Abeer El Sisi and Karim El Sahy co-founded Elves in 2016, along with Ahmed Kassem. They looked at the deficiencies in current digital assistants and realized the human element was still needed. By efficiently connecting people with human assistants, Elves’ AI platform learns from these interactions and in turn becomes more efficient and better a
Back from the brink: How Gourmet Egypt survived the float of the EGP
After a ten-year run leading a high-end retailer of imported food in Egypt, Jalal Abu Gazaleh nearly fell off a cliff when the devaluation of the EGP saw prices skyrocket, inflation go through the roof — and an effective ban on imports put in place. In today’s episode, Jalal talks with us about how he built the business from a one-desk meat importer into a retail powerhouse and a
