The Global Startup Movement - Startup Ecosystem Leaders, Global Entrepreneurship, and Emerging Market Innovation

Ecosystem Arabia - Episode 6 of 6 - In the sixth and final episode of our 6 week community activation, host Andrew Berkowitz dives into how ecosystem builders in the region can better engage their diaspora and incentivize talented expats to move to the region to start and invest in startups. This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th. Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit (https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit) Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv/ (https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv) A special thanks to our presenting partner https://www.exim.gov/mena (The Export-Import Bank of the United States). As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

Ecosystem Arabia - Episode 5 of 6 - In the fifth episode of our 6 week community activation, host Andrew Berkowitz dives into the different types of capital available to entrepreneurs in the MENA region. This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th. Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit (https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit) Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv/ (https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv) A special thanks to our presenting partner https://www.exim.gov/mena (The Export-Import Bank of the United States). As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

Ecosystem Arabia - Episode 4 of 6 - In the fourth episode of our 6 week community activation, host Andrew Berkowitz dives into the Israel and UAE economic normalization, what it means for the country's startup ecosystems, and how tech can be a force for connection between Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews. This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th. Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit (https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit) Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv (https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv) A special thanks to our presenting partner https://www.exim.gov/mena (The Export-Import Bank of the United States). As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

Ecosystem Arabia - Episode 3 of 6 - In the third episode of our 6 week community activation, host Andrew Berkowitz hands the mic over to Joy Ajlouny, the Cofounder of Fetchr in Dubai and Viola Llewelyn, the Cofounder of Ovamba Solutions in Cameroon for a candid discussion on what it's like being a woman leader building a tech scaleup in the Gulf region and in Africa. This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th. Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit (https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit) Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv (https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv) A special thanks to our presenting partner https://www.exim.gov/mena (The Export-Import Bank of the United States). As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

Ecosystem Arabia - Episode 2 of 6 - In the second episode of our 6 week community activation, we tell the inside stories of the entrepreneurs laying down the foundation for the payments, logistics, and artificial intelligence industries in the region. This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th. Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit (https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit) Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv (https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv) A special thanks to our presenting partner https://www.exim.gov/mena (The Export-Import Bank of the United States). As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

Ecosystem Arabia - Episode 1 of 6 - In the first episode of our 6 week community activation, we tell the inside stories of Yahoo's acquisition of Maktoob.com, Amazon's acquisition of Souq, and dive into how technology inspired the Arab Spring uprising. This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th. Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit (https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit) Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv (https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv) A special thanks to our presenting partner https://www.exim.gov/mena (The Export-Import Bank of the United States). As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

The Global Startup Movement is launching the Ecosystem Arabia mini-series on January 5th, 2021. With this mini-series, we will dive into key themes and topics relevant in the Middle East and North Africa startup ecosystems through key industry stakeholders in an engaging, narrative-driven format. In addition to a weekly podcast, we will broadcast Pitch MENA Live! on The Global Startup Movement's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn channels. This will be a live pitch competition featuring 16 MENA startups competing to win the opportunity to pitch a panel of MENA sharks. We will end the 6 week series with a gathering of the audience for an interactive virtual summit to engage in breakout sessions, attend engaging panel discussions, and watch the 2 finalists of Pitch MENA Live! pitch to a panel of sharks for an investment in their startup. Register your email at https://ecosystemarabia.tv to reserve your spot at the virtual summit!

David Casey catalyzes ecosystems to engineer systemic change and has co-founded four companies and helped scale another to 8 digits revenue. His work has centered around movement-building, and leveraging blockchain technology for socioeconomic transformation. His current focus is redirecting flows of capital towards the regenerative economy of 2100, and addressing the tragedy of the commons inherent in the 21st century transnational economy. He has spoken publicly in over 20 countries on the future of work & living, sustainable development, decentralization and blockchain technology. He is the co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer of NuMundo, a platform that connects people and impact centers (land-based projects for regenerative living), encouraging resource sharing on the web and on the ground to catalyze planetary regeneration and individual transformation. Among other things, David is also the founder and co-producer of Cosmic Convergence, an annual gathering of art, music, tribal technology, education for conscious living, and Maya culture on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. David successfully bridges the worlds of technology startups, permaculture, international development, and retreat and festival production. On this episode you'll learn: What is mutual credit? [12:15] How does the concept of decentralized mutual credit differ at a local, national, and international level? [14:08] How does mutual credit fit into the boarder decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem? [17:30]

Kago Kagichiri is the Global Head of Innovation for Sokowatch a tech company that revolutionizes access to essential goods and services by connecting small shops to the digital economy. It enables informal retailers to order products at any time via SMS ormobile app, and receive free same-day delivery to their store. This makes it easier for shopkeepers to source goods and helps manufacturers ensure that their products are consistently available to consumers. He was previously the cofounder of Eneza Education, a learning platform supporting millions of 10-25 year olds, because I believe that young people are denied opportunities to leverage their technical skills, hunger to learn, their lack of bias and natural desire to change the world.  Kago has dedicated his life to implementing solutions that automate solutions to people's problems at scale, especially for those will little or no prior technical skill. I've focused on plug-and-play solutions around "legacy" but extremely familiar technologies like SMS/USSD and Voice. On this episode you'll learn: The story of Kago's departure from Eneza and his journey to connecting with Daniel Yu from Sokowatch. [2:50] What are the key problems Africa's SMEs face that the Sokowatch platform solves? [9:05] A dive into market sizes in East and West Africa. [16:01]

Aviv Shalgi is the CEO of energy tech startup, Solar Simplified, a platform that matches renters and homeowners who care about the environment and want to save money on the electricity bill with local solar farms. For 6+ years he's been a Board Member, Mentor and Advisor for multiple startups and not-for-profit organizations. He previously led Dormigo's business and corporate development efforts (until its acquisition), driving organic and inorganic growth, and was responsible for partnerships, alliances and bringing innovation to the real estate and hospitality industries. He served for 4 years as in IDF's Visual Intelligence Corps (9900, Israel's “Eyes in the sky”) as a Captain, where he founded a unique cross-branches innovation team, earning the Major-General of Intelligence Corps award for Creative Thinking, and trained 100+ trainees in satellite operations. On this episode you'll learn: 1. What technologies and public policies have advanced over the past decade that has allowed for the introduction of new business models in solar? [3:35] 2. What is Community Solar? [8:22] 3. What can we realistically expect from solar power generation in the 2020's [16:12]

Nicolas Brien is the CEO of France Digitale, the largest startup lobbying organization in Europe, with 1,500 startups and 100 VCs as its members, as well as the newly appointed President of the European Startup Network, a common voice for European startups composed of 24 national startup associations from across Europe. He previously was the Director of Studies of Kantar-TNS Sofres (WPP) and a senior advisor to Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the Spokeswoman of the French Government. On this episode you'll learn: Why the European Startup Network released an official call for a Buy European Tech act, to allow federal governments to favor domestic startups in their public procurement process. When did global tech companies like Google and Facebook start to be associated with negative geopolitical consequences amongst European countries? How does the lack of M&A culture amongst European corporations get changed to provide more exit options within the local startup ecosystems across the continent?

Inbal Arieli is a founder of Synthesis, a global leadership assessment rm, and author of Chutzpah: Why Israel Is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Born in Israel and raised on hummus and chutzpah, Arieli fostered her entrepreneurial skills during her mandatory military service, serving as lieutenant in unit 8200, the Israel Defense Forces' elite intelligence corps. After completing her military duties, and for the past twenty years, she embraced leading executive roles in the flourishing Israeli tech sector and has founded a series of programs for innovators, where she currently holds board seats. Arieli holds an LL.B. Law, B.A in Economics and an MBA, all from Tel Aviv University. A force to be reckoned with, she was featured as one of the 100 most influential people in Israeli tech and as one of the top 100 tech business women speakers in the world. She lives in Tel Aviv with her spouse and their three sons.

Host Andrew Berkowitz highlights the 5 digital nomad visas that are available from Caribbean countries as we head into Winter.

Justin Bannon, CEO and Co-founder of Boson Protocol, a decentralized infrastructure connecting smart contracts to real world commerce and its data. Boson Protocol aims to change the world of commerce by enabling enterprises, organizations, and customers to bridge the divide between digital decentralized technologies and the transfer and trade of physical goods. Creating the de facto infrastructure to achieve this with minimized arbitration, cost, and trust, Boson Protocol is taking eCommerce to the next level with use cases including; loyalty and rewards, crypto exchanges, games, and tokenized networks amongst others.  Leading the charge at Boson Protocol is serial entrepreneur Justin Banon. Justin previously spearheaded the Travel Experiences Division of Collinson, where he managed a group of global loyalty rewards platforms including LoungeKey, Mastercard Airport Experiences, and Priority Pass — the latter of which he scaled twenty-fold from $50m to $1bn per annum revenue during his tenure.  On this episode you'll learn: 1. How does arbitration work on a decentralized protocol? [5:23] 2. How can small crypto and blockchain to take on giant corporations? [13:31] 3. Which is currently the bigger challenge for DeFi startups, the technical challenge or the user adoption challenge? [18:33]

In 2021, The GSM will transition away from our weekly flagship episode to a recurring mini-series format. Our first mini-series, Ecosystem Arabia, will launch in January 2021 and feature stories, candid insights, and conversation with some of the MENA region's leading startup ecosystem stakeholders. On this episode we go back 3 years to revisit one of our first podcast mini-series, breaking down the pillars that make up a thriving startup ecosystem.

Tsolmondorj Natsagdorj is the Cofounder and CEO of YungBet is a blockchain decentralized social gaming platform that provides a secure, reliable, borderless ecosystem. He was born in Mongolian. and grew up in the US, while a student at George Mason he started Tokenplay, a blockchain gaming distribution platform in 2017 that was acquired within a year for $2.4M. He then traveled back to Ulaandbaatar, Mongolia where he helped to build up the nascent blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem there and now advises multiple Mongolian startups and ecosystem stakeholders. On this episode you'll learn: Does the Mongolian consist of mostly expats and foreign tech companies or are there more local entrepreneurs getting traction? What traditional sectors are the biggest in Mongolia that should be the target of innovators and disruptors?[6:30] Does Mongolia present a fertile landscape for cryptocurrency and blockchain entrepreneurs?[12:00]

Jeroen Corthout is the co-founder and CEO of Salesflare, a simply powerful CRM that automates data to build better relationships and make more sales. It's a fast, visual and easy-to-use sales machine. Salesflare is the most popular CRM ever on both Product Hunt and AppSumo. It also got featured on TechCrunch and Entrepreneur.com. Prior to Salesflare, Jeroen was helping companies to implement their new CRM, marketing and sales. Jeroen is also a founder of Doctura that works with tech startups and healthcare companies and fuses modern technology with new ways of doing business. On this episode you'll learn: 1. In what ways has the Belgium startup ecosystem evolved over the past couple years? [5:35] 2. What policies implemented by the European Commission have been truly helpful in creating a unified European market for startups to expand across? [14:50] 3. In it's current form, what is the biggest weakness in the Belgium ecosystem? [19:01]

Host Andrew Berkowitz covers 4 key macro trends that have been greatly accelerated by COVID-19 in 2020 and are opening up new and exciting opportunities in the global startup ecosystem.

Douglas Ogeto is the coFounder and CEO at LudiqueWorks and has built the largest community of game developers on the continent. He is an entrepreneur with 8+ years of experience in Technology, Branding & Community Building. He has co-founded 4 startups in Game development, Education, Advisory & Branding and has played a key role in designing, planning and execution of entrepreneurship & impact related projects in Sub-Saharan & West Africa, having worked both in the private and NGO sector. On this episode you'll learn: 1. What is the biggest hindrance to African Esports taking a broader spot in the global industry? [6:32] 2. What companies and games are investing in Africa to support a league? [7:40] 3. What are the most played consoles across Africa? [12:15]

Part 2 of a 2 part miniseries on the topic of innovation in infrastructure in emerging economies. As a result of the twin crises in public health and the global economy, inequities in the current economic paradigm have been laid bare, as have debilitating weaknesses in global supply chains delivering critical goods. Decisions made today shape the built environment of tomorrow. The continent with the fastest growing economy today is Africa, and this will continue to increase. This week's speakers will shine a light on the African continent, share a diversity of perspectives and challenges from the private and public sector, and offer solutions for sustainable, equitable infrastructure development in the 21st century. On this episode you'll learn: 1. What does the current road infrastructure in Africa look like? [4:53] 2. What does the current state of ICT infrastructure across Africa look like? [11:50]  3. What are some alternatives for investing in early stage in Africa? [21:15]

Part 1 of a 2 part miniseries on the topic of innovation in infrastructure in emerging economies. As a result of the twin crises in public health and the global economy, inequities in the current economic paradigm have been laid bare, as have debilitating weaknesses in global supply chains delivering critical goods. Decisions made today shape the built environment of tomorrow. The continent with the fastest growing economy today is Africa, and this will continue to increase. This week's speakers will shine a light on the African continent, share a diversity of perspectives and challenges from the private and public sector, and offer solutions for sustainable, equitable infrastructure development in the 21st century. On this episode you'll learn: 1. How can hemp serve as a key input into Africa's growing construction and textile industries? [7:30] 2. How can Africa accelerate the velocity of capital accessible to local entrepreneurs? [11:50]  3. What incentives do African banks have that disincentives them from giving SMEs and entrepreneurs loans [21:15]

Franco Goytia is a serial entrepreneur; currently the CEO of Caspr Biotech, a startup he co-founded at the age of 23. Caspr is using Crispr technology to make better and more accessible molecular diagnostics solutions. Prior to this, at the age of 21, he founded Ando a B2B last-mile logistics solution in LATAM. He did this while studying Economics at Universidad de San Andres in Argentina. Ando was acquired by Moova in 2018. Some of his notable achievements include being selected for the US Dept. State Young Leaders Initiative (YLAI), being an alumni from the Westerwelle Foundation as a Young Founders and having participated of the Indie Bio acceleration program for biotech entrepreneurs in SF. On this episode you'll learn: What is CRISPR and what can it do? [2:20] How has the COVID-19 fallout affected the Buenos Aires startup ecosystem? [14:00] How was CASPR originally using CRISPR to combate the Zika Virus?[18:15]

Akin Sawyerr is the Strategy lead for Decred, where he leads strategy and governance functions, and supports the proliferation of Decred across Africa. Decred is an open and progressive cryptocurrency with an system of community-based governance integrated into its blockchain. He's also an early investor and director of Splash Mobile Money, the largest mobile payments company in Sierra Leone. Akin is a long time executive and entrepreneur operating in mobile money, remittances, and payments in sub Saharan Africa. On this episode you'll learn: What use cases within Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is Akin most excited for and why? [3:20] What aspect of DeFi does Akin think will have the biggest impact across Africa? [10:48] What are the best assets to peg a stablecoin's value to?[14:05]

Ian Hathaway is co-author of the new book The Startup Community Way, on entrepreneurial ecosystems published in July 2020 and has published for prominent research institutions, universities, businesses, and periodicals. He is a frequent contributor for outlets such as the Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal. Currently, he leads product development for ecosystem advisory at Techstars, where he works with entrepreneurs and community leaders around the world to support their path towards building better ecosystems. Ian is a startup advisor, mentor, and investor, including at The Fund. He is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, co-founder and board member at the Center for American Entrepreneurship, and a research fellow at Boston University. On this episode you'll learn: How do think tanks affect policy on entrepreneurship and venture capital [5:39] How did Ian end up co-authoring The Startup Community Way with Brad Feld? [14:35] Has COVID-19 accelerated Ian's thesis on startup ecosystem development or has it altered his framework? [21:12]

Bill Ottman is an American Internet entrepreneur and freedom of information activist based in New York City best known as the CEO and co-founder of Minds. Minds is a free and open source distributed social networking service that uses the blockchain to reward the community with ERC20 tokens. On this episode you'll learn: A comparison between the geopolitical implications of Google investing large amounts in a country versus Huawei investing [7:01] How did India's banning of Chinese apps affect consumer behavior of the average Indian? [15:20] Why data privacy issues can have serious geopolitical consequences[21:12]

Host Andrew Berkowitz breaks down the recent drama surrounding the rapid rise and fall of Chinese coffee startup Luckin Coffee from it's founding 3.5 years ago through it's widely successful IPO and eventual collapse on April 2, 2020 when Luckin disclosed that an internal probe found that its chief operating officer had fabricated 2019 sales by about 2.2 billion yuan ($310 million). Additionally, Andrew discusses the next in line to become Asia's coffee unicorn and most serious competitor to Starbucks in the region, Indonesia's Kopi Kenangan. On this episode you'll learn: Luckin Coffee's initial rapid growth and expansion throughout Middle East and Asia [2:00] What were the fraud allegations made by Muddy Waters Research again Luckin?[3:59] Who is Asia's next coffee startup most likely to become a regional powerhouse and compete with Starbucks?[9:55]

Ashish Singal is the Founder and CEO at CoinSwitch.co and Sequoia-backed CRUXPay, an open protocol simplifying the way people use crypto. It enables users to create a human readable CRUX ID which can be used to send and receive payment request, connect to dApps with a single click while ensuring an experience matching that of online fiat payments platforms like Paypal/Venmo or ApplePay. Ashish is a former Amazon developer and a leader of the team that built Amazon Prime's 1-hour delivery model. Ashish is a well-known figure in India's cryptocurrency space and an expert on the issue of the cryptocurrency ban in India. On this episode you'll learn: 1. What was the effect of India's Supreme Court reserving their ban on crypto trading in March of this year? [4:22] 2. What's been the relationship dynamic between India's cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and regulators? [9:00]  3. Where are the different cryptocurrency startup hubs emerging in India? [14:10]

In part 2 of our podcast mini-series we look at the investor perspective of the current state of the global seed and growth stage investing environment. Our 2 guests today include Sean O'Sullivan the Managing General Partner at SOSV, a global venture capital firm providing multi-stage investment and investing in 150 companies, and Tien Wong CEO at Opus 8, where he provides strategy and fundraising advice to technology companies and investors. Opus8 organizes tech networking events as well as fundraising missions for private equity and VC firms to meet overseas LPs. On this episode you'll learn: How Sean has adapted his global vc and accelerator programs and how to think about approaching the post COVID-19 era - [6:01] The difference between navigating market down turns as an entrepreneurs with a company of 15 vs as an executive with a company of 2300 employees - [13:26] How this is affecting startup valuations and deal flow in the United States - [16:05]

In part 1 of our 2 part mini-series we dive into 3 different sectors ranging from delivery startups to CRISPR-based diagnostics as well as 3 geographies including Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Argentina. Our 3 guests today include Syed Sair Ali, Cofounder and CEO at Lahore, Pakistan based Eat Mubarak, Jurgen Descamps, the General Manager for Securiport based in Sierra Leone, as well as Franco Goytia, cofounder at CASPR Biotech based in Buenos Aires, Argentia and Silicon Valley. On this episode you'll learn: How delivery startups in emerging economies are being affected by COVID-19 - [6:38] How Sierra Leone's experience with Ebola helped shape it's response to COVID-19 - [8:45] How has COVID-19 affected the Buenos Aires Startup Ecosystem - [20:05]

Abdulaziz B. Al Loughani is co-founder & Managing Partner at Faith Capital, a venture capital practice that is focused on the GCC. He is also co-founder & CEO of Floward, a full-fledged flowers & gifts e-commerce platform. Previously, Abdulaziz was the founding Executive Vice Chairman of the Kuwait National Fund for SMEs Development, a USD 7bn independent public institution responsible for developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kuwait (2013-2017). Prior to this role, he was a co-founder and Managing Partner of Talabat.com until 2010, and has since then been investing in technology startups and has been involved in a number of local and regional entrepreneurial initiatives. Abdulaziz has also previously served as Director at Global Capital Management, the alternative investments arm of Global Investment House “Global”, where he has played a major role in managing key investments within the Private Equity Group of Global. Listen in to learn the following: How does the Kuwait government conduct investment promotion for their startup and business environment? [4:30] What's the state of venture capital as an asset class in the Gulf region? [9:55] What's the state of Commerce across the Gulf region? [13:00]

Omar Christidis is the founder of CEO of ArabNet, a digital media venture with the goal of spearheading the Arab Web and Mobile movement, and encouraging its expansion worldwide, was founded by Omar Christidis in 2010. Born in Lebanon, Omar holds a BA in Ethic, Politics, and Economics from Yale, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. After his studies, Omar worked as a consultant where he was exposed to exciting and innovative digital developments. After spending a year working for Sheffield Investment Co., Omar decided to return to Lebanon and join his family business, International Business Alliance Group, a corporate event-planning firm that he sought to revitalize. Under the IBAG umbrella, Omar launched the Web and Mobile Business Summit in 2010. It was the first of its kind in the region to focus on entrepreneurs and the digital economy. Its success drove Omar to develop ArabNet, which organized a regioin Road Show, boosting its brand. ArabNet is the first platform of its region that targets the startup scene by bringing together private corporations, government entities, investors and non-profit organizations, among others. Having played an essential role in driving the growth of multiple young companies, ArabNet enjoys a loyal network of fans. Its impact extends beyond the revenue and jobs it creates – ArabNet catalyzes the local entrepreneurial ecosystem through the thousands of entrepreneurs and hundres of companies that attend its event and read its articles.

Joy Ajlouny co-founded Fetchr in 2015 , a Silicon Valley-backed tech company that was created to tackle the Middle East's “no address” issue, which has been long been a hindrance to growth in emerging markets. She facilitated $52 million in initial investments in Fetchr, as well as $41 million in a series B round in 2017. The company now successfully operates in five countries with a 3500-person staff, and was dubbed the number one startup in the Middle East by Forbes. Ahead of founding Fetchr, Ajlouny was the driving force and sole entity behind the e-commerce luxury fashion platform Bonfaire. Acquired by Moda Operandi––a fashion e-commerce giant owned by LVMH and Condé Nast––in 2013, just two years after its launch, this was only the start of what would develop into a long-lasting relationship between Ajlouny and the fashion industry. Ajlouny works as a consultant for fashion startups, and Venture Capitalists.

Christopher M. Schroeder is a Washington D.C. and New York City based entrepreneur and venture investor. He co-founded HealthCentral.com, one of the nation's largest social and content platforms in health and wellness, backed by Sequoia Capital, Polaris Ventures, The Carlyle Group, Allen & Company and IAC Corporation. The company was sold to the health media publisher, Remedy Health, in January 2012 where Schroeder remained a board advisor.  Schroeder was invited to speak and mentor at the Celebration of Entrepreneurship in Dubai in 2010, one of the first major gathering of tech startups in the Middle East, and it began his journey that became Startup Rising. In thirteen subsequent trips to the region, interviewing over 150 entrepreneurs, investors and global tech leaders, he has written extensively about startups and technology in emerging growth markets for The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, Pando Daily, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider among other publications. He speaks regularly around the globe, and sits on the board of advisors of The American University of Cairo School of Business, the Jordanian incubator Oasis500, the Middle East online entrepreneur information platform and network wamda.com. He was named one of LinkedIn top 50 Influencers.

Mr. Ahmed El Alfi is the Founder and Chairman of Sawari Ventures a Cairo-based venture capital firm. Established in 2010, the goal of Sawari is to help transform Egyptian and MENA region economies through the creation of high impact businesses. In 2011, Sawari created Flat6Labs, its own startup accelerator. Flat6Labs immerses startup entrepreneurs into real-world challenges of creating and managing sustainable enterprises. Before Sawari Ahmed was a veteran investor and venture capitalist from California with over 25 years of experience in top executive and management positions. Investment track record over the last 17 years includes the execution of numerous successful transactions in technology, Internet, healthcare and financial services at various stages of development. Has executed many rewarding exits, including several IPOs on the NASDAQ. 2006, CEO, EFG-Hermes Private Equity; then founded Sawari Ventures.

Erick Pinos is Americas Ecosystem Lead at Ontology, a high-performance public blockchain and distributed collaboration platform. In addition to his role at Ontology, Erick is President of the Blockchain Education Network (BEN) and a graduate of MIT, where he was President of the MIT Bitcoin Club and a researcher at the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. Ranked 30th on CoinMarketCap and listed amongst the top blockchain projects in China, Ontology's unique infrastructure supports robust cross-chain collaboration and Layer 2 scalability, offering businesses the flexibility to design a blockchain that suits their needs.

Amir Hegazi is a lifelong entrepreneur, with over 20 years of startup, tech, e-commerce, and digital media experience. He is the Managing Partner of intoMENA Group, a consulting firm that helps international companies do business into the MENA region. Amir was previously the Director of Marketplace at Souq.com, the region's largest e-commerce platform (recently acquired by Amazon.com). He helped build Souq. com's marketplace from the ground up to account for a sizable portion of overall sales volume. He is also one of the early pioneers of digital media in the region, having launched the largest online TV network in the Arab world at such companies as JumpTV and Talfazat. He is the Author of Amazon.com bestseller Startup Arabia, which was recognized as one of the top global startup books of 2019. Amir is Egyptian-American. He grew up in California and has been living and working in MENA since 2005.  

Host Andrew Berkowitz shares his thoughts that changes need to be made in how we approach building startup and innovation industries in frontier markets. Some ideas to move us forward include Focus capacity building efforts on selling in-demand skills on global freelancing sites Invest in programs to empower Diasporans in US, UK, and Europe to build companies Provide a sandbox framework for digital currency startups to set up shop in your country For full blog post visit - https://thegsm.co/?p=1953

Koichi Saito is the Founder and General Partner of KK Fund, leveraging his experience in the internet sector, finance expertise and investment experience at PE and VC fund. He previously worked at IMJ Investment Partners as Director and responsible for IMJ's startup investments across Southeast Asia such as iMoney, Bukalapak and Zipmatch. Prior to IMJ, Koichi worked at Private Equity Fund founded by George Soros, and was engaged in several corporate and hotel acquisitions. Koichi holds a MBA degree from IE business school in Spain.

Marek Zmysłowski is a Polish-born entrepreneur and executive, focused on online businesses in Frontier and Emerging Markets. He co-founded Jumia Travel - Africa's Biggest Hotel Booking Portal listed on NYSE as part of Jumia Group and HotelOnline.co - a Travel Technology Company. In 2014, he was chosen as one of the Ten Most Important People in Tech by IT News Africa Magazine. He is a Lead Mentor at Google's Launchpad and World Bank's XL Africa Program. Check out his new book, Chasing Black Unicorns: How building the Amazon of Africa put me on Interpol's Most Wanted list, on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Black-Unicorns-building-Interpols/dp/0578562472 ( https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Black-Unicorns-building-Interpols/dp/0578562472)

CK Japheth is building The Innovation Village; Uganda's launchpad for leading Innovators and entrepreneurs co-creating the future through the smart application of technology to unravel challenges and create unique solutions. He works with mission-oriented entrepreneurs to capture new value from digital—creating products, experiences, and businesses. Formerly he was Head of Talent at Uganda's largest utility, his mandate was to put the best Talent behind the company's Corporate strategy.  Kai Isand is an advisory board member at Garage48 one of the longest running startup organisations in Estonia as well as a Program Lead at Accelerate Estonia, a startup minded agile innovation project initiated by Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and powered by Tehnopol Startup Incubator and Startup Estonia. Jussi Tapio is the main organizer of Hack the Crisis Finland. He's a super business-minded executive with a lot of international experience. However he is not the traditional salary man but a pain-in-the-ass straight shooter. Extensive 360° corporate background has not made him a cynic but an expert in the harsh realities of change management.

Alexandre (Alex) Lazarow has spent his career working at the intersection of investing, innovation, and economic development in the private, public, and social sectors. He is a venture capitalist with Cathay Innovation, a global firm that invests across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Previously, Alex worked with Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm that has invested over a billion dollars in hundreds of startups around the world. He has served as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company, a financial regulator with the Bank of Canada, and an M&A investment banker with the Royal Bank of Canada.   Alex is an adjunct professor specializing in impact investment and entrepreneurship at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is a Kauffman Fellow, CFA Charterholder, and a Stephen M. Kellen Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm from the University of Manitoba. Preorder his new book: Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs--from Delhi to Detroit--Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley here -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1633697584/

Chris Maurice is the CEO and co-founder of Yellow Card Financial. Chris started his freelance writing and SEO consulting career in high school, writing for more than 200 publications (including the former EOG.com and MovieTVTechGeeks.com) and optimizing over 140 websites on Google (including Prezi.com). In college, Chris began sourcing shoes and clothing from Pakistan, giving him his first experience with international markets, partnerships, and currency exchange. He then started consulting for others looking for manufacturing connections in the Middle East, helping over 470 companies and brands start their own clothing line. While studying finance at Auburn University, Chris and his co-founder Justin Poiroux started selling Bitcoin for cash with the mission of giving people access to financial resources in a scalable, efficient manner. They made many mistakes and founded Yellow Card on the back of everything they learned.

Andile Masuku is a Zimbabwean broadcaster and entrepreneur based in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the executive producer of African Tech Roundup, much of his time is spent covering Africa's emerging tech and innovation ecosystem. Andile speaks widely and advises high net worth individuals and leading brands and businesses around the world on media strategy, market-entry plays and investment pipeline development focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. He has a finger on the pulse of the ecosystem's most pertinent issues and aspirations and has a penchant for extracting and delivering candid insight and analysis. Thanks to his active media role, Andile enjoys unprecedented live global network access to leading Africa-focused ecosystem players (founders, investors, policy-makers, C-suite executive and innovation hub runners) and he is well-positioned to assist industry stakeholders to gauge the nature and strength of the often indistinct interpersonal and inter-organisational relationships at play within the ecosystem. He's a sought-after producer, media consultant, speaker, event director and voice-over artist— servicing dozens of Africa's biggest brands and agencies on a freelance basis every year. I also advise high net worth individuals and leading brands and businesses around the world on media strategy, market-entry plays and investment pipeline development focused on Sub-Saharan Africa.

Andile Masuku is a Zimbabwean broadcaster and entrepreneur based in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the executive producer of African Tech Roundup, much of his time is spent covering Africa's emerging tech and innovation ecosystem. Andile speaks widely and advises high net worth individuals and leading brands and businesses around the world on media strategy, market-entry plays and investment pipeline development focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. He has a finger on the pulse of the ecosystem's most pertinent issues and aspirations and has a penchant for extracting and delivering candid insight and analysis. Thanks to his active media role, Andile enjoys unprecedented live global network access to leading Africa-focused ecosystem players (founders, investors, policy-makers, C-suite executive and innovation hub runners) and he is well-positioned to assist industry stakeholders to gauge the nature and strength of the often indistinct interpersonal and inter-organisational relationships at play within the ecosystem. He's a sought-after producer, media consultant, speaker, event director and voice-over artist— servicing dozens of Africa's biggest brands and agencies on a freelance basis every year. I also advise high net worth individuals and leading brands and businesses around the world on media strategy, market-entry plays and investment pipeline development focused on Sub-Saharan Africa.

On this episode we dive into our top 5 episode that we've ever done with leaders in the Asia-Pacific startup ecosystems. Featured guests include William Bao Bean, Sajith Pai, Justin Hall, Rivers Corbett, Alicia Garabedian and Simon Cant.  

Samia Melhem is a Lead Policy Officer in the World Bank's Transport and ICT Global Practice. She chairs the Digital Development Community of Practice and leads Global ICT's Transformation practice, as well as its Knowledge, Learning and Solutions functions. Her current operational responsibilities include lending and technical assistance for the ICT sector. In her 20 years of experience in development at the World Bank Group, Samia has worked on ICT4D in several sectors: telecommunications and broadband policy, ICT for public sector transformation, improving health and education services, and innovation and private sector development. Samia held several positions as regional coordinator in different regions such as Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Senior Operations Officer at InfoDev, and Strategy and Policy Officer in ECA, Africa and IMT.

Eric Olander is the co-founder of the China Africa Project (CAP), an independent, non-partisan media initiative dedicated to exploring every facet of China's engagement in Africa. Eric is also the co-host of the weekly China in Africa podcast that is now among the top-10% most downloaded shows worldwide. Eric is a fluent Mandarin-speaker and a longtime China-watcher with more than 25 years of journalism experience at many of the world's leading media companies including CNN, the BBC, and FRANCE24 among others. He received his undergraduate degree in East African History from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a master's degree in Chinese Public Affairs from the University of Hong Kong.

Odunayo Eweniyi is Cofounder and COO of PiggyVest. She previously cofounded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa with the largest database of prescreened candidates. In 2019 she was named one of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology as well as 30 Quartz Africa Innovators 2019. She sits on the advisory board of TrainFuture, an Education Technology company based in Switzerland, as well as the Gender Lens Acceleration Best Practices Initiative, a collaborative effort of Village Capital, US and the International Finance Corporation's Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative. She works to support the inclusion of women in technology by working with hubs and female-focused networks, including For Creative Girls, GreenHouse Labs, She Leads Africa, Itanna. She is also the cofounder of the women's community, Wine and Whine Nigeria.

Aubrey Hruby is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Africa Center. She is also co-founder of Insider and the Africa Expert Network (AXN), Co-host of the NewThink Podcast and an active investor in African start-ups. In her role at Insider, Hruby works with global entrepreneurs to generate positive public relations and to connect them with investors, while at AXN, she has helped build Africa's leading information brokerage and expert connection service. Hruby has consulted extensively in over twenty-five African markets and regularly advises senior policymakers and Fortune 500 companies on doing business in Africa. She is the former managing director of the Whitaker Group, an Africa-focused advisory firm that has helped facilitate well over $2 billion in capital flows to the continent. Prior to that, she was an International Trade Specialist at the Barnett Group LLC, where she worked with corporate clients to resolve trade problems in the Middle East and Africa. Aubrey sits on the board of Invest Africa USA, the private sector advisory board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the boards of two dynamic Nigerian companies. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is a professor at Georgetown University, and is a Young Leader at the Milken Institute.

On this episode we dive into our top 5 episode that we've ever done with leaders in the MENA startup ecosystems. Featured guests include Ali Abukumail, Idriss Al Rifai, Jacob Korenblum, Simon Galpin, and Yariv Lotan.

W. Gyude Moore is a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development. He previously served as Liberia's Minister of Public Works with oversight over the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure from December 2014 to January 2018. Prior to that role, Moore served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President's Delivery Unit (PDU). As Head of the PDU, his team monitored progress and drove delivery of the Public Sector Investment Program of Liberia—a program of over $1 billion in road, power, port infrastructure, and social programs in Liberia after the civil war. As one of the President's trusted advisors, he also played a crucial role in supporting President Sirleaf as Liberia responded to the West Africa Ebola outbreak and shaped its post-Ebola outlook At CGD, Moore's research focus is around financing infrastructure in Africa and the changing landscape of development finance on the continent.  His research tracks the channels of private sources of finance, the rise of China and its expanding role in Africa, and Africa's response to these changes. This episode was recorded at PeaceTech Lab PeaceTech Lab works to reduce violent conflict using technology, media, and data to accelerate and scale peacebuilding efforts. An independent nonprofit, the Lab brings together engineers and activists, MBAs and conflict experts, social scientists, data scientists, and other innovators to put the right tools in the right hands to build peace.