logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2022
46m 6s

EP19 MENA Region – A heaven for angel in...

Arjun Singh
About this episode

In 2021, emerging venture markets in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Turkey saw record-breaking activity levels in the investment space. As 2022 forges ahead, we can expect to see another year of unprecedented investment activity in these regions despite turbulence in the global markets.

Gaurav Dhar is a CEO at Marshal & MENA FinTech Association Board Member and in this, the brand new episode of the Couchonomics with Arjun, he provided an insight into the MENA financial ecosystem, especially on the angel investments market.

Gaurav also spoke about the opportunities in Saudi Arabia and Egypt and plans for Marshal as an Electronic-Payment solutions provider in the Middle East.

Join us in this interesting conversation and find out more about:

-The impact that the global crisis is having on the MENA market

-The future of the crypto-currencies

-Why Egypt is a “sleeping giant”?


Timeline:

00:00 – Intro

01:19 – Introducing Gaurav Dhar

02:28 – Angel investors in MENA

10:46 – The cause for rapid growth of angel investments

19:25 – Let’s talk about Marshal

29:39 – Do we need VISA and MasterCard in MENA?


Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.

Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.com

HOST

Based in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.


FINTECH NEWS

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/


PARTNERS

Couchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:

Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/

LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/

M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/


Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

Up next
Aug 26
Africa’s Fintech Boom: From Mobile Money to Purpose-Driven Lending
💡 Africa’s fintech story is no longer a local experiment — it’s a global test case for the future of inclusion, innovation, and capital flows.In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we’re joined by Yustus Aribariho, Co-Founder of Furaha Financial (part of SC Ventures by Stan ... Show More
55m 48s
Aug 19
The New Rails of Money: Stablecoins, CBDCs & Tokenisation
Stablecoins are no longer on the sidelines — they’re stepping into the core of global finance.In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we're joined by Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy at Circle, for his second appearance on the show. Speaking from ... Show More
57m 11s
Aug 12
Fraud-as-a-Service, Stablecoins & the Future of Financial Crime
Fraud just had its AI upgrade.It’s faster than your payments and industrialised at a global scale. Welcome to the Scamdemic — a global wave of scams and financial crime growing faster than almost any asset class.We’re joined by Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy at Sardine and Co-Fou ... Show More
43m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
EUVC #205 Omar Hassan, MTF, on Raising Capital in MENA
Today we have Omar Hassan with us. Omar is a General Partner at MENA Tech Fund (MTF), a $25m, Pre-seed/Seed stage venture fund in Dubai to back Middle Eastern & North African AgriTech, FinTech & B2B SAAS businesses in Egypt, Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia or UK tech with market fit in ... Show More
46m 31s
Oct 2023
798. News: JP Morgan's former fintech lead launches TodayPay and Airwallex target LATAM
Our expert hosts, Benjamin Ensor and Kate Moody, are joined by some great guests to talk about the most notable fintech, financial services and banking news from the past week.This week's guests include: Pranav Sood, Executive GM, EMEA at Airwallex Jeremy Balkin, Founder of Today ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 2023
E60: GV Ravishankar on growth investing in MENA
I sat down with GV Ravishankar the Managing Director at Peak XV (previously Sequoia India) to discus the state of growth stage investing given the current macro environment. The team at Peak XV are managing US$10bn in assets. GV walks us through Peak XV's investment strategy with ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2023
Fintech Fuels Global Payments
Software crosses borders effortlessly. The globalization of money, however, is considerably more challenging. This is especially true for multinational businesses, which grapple with managing multiple accounts in diverse currencies, navigating costly foreign exchange rates, and u ... Show More
39m 39s
Jan 2024
E66: A deep dive into MENA venture capital trends with Philip Bahoshy
I chat with Philip Bahoshy, the CEO of Magnitt, about the dynamic tech startup scene in the MENA region after a turbulent 2023. We delve into how recent economic shifts affect venture capital and discuss the current trends and 2024 predictions for venture capital in MENA, includi ... Show More
1h 18m
Jun 2024
867. News: Mastercard makes typing your credit card info a thing of the past whilst Apple unveils new fintech features at WWDC
Join host Benjamin Ensor and some great guests as we discuss the biggest fintech and financial services news this week. Topics covered include: Apple launches 'Tap to Cash' and more at their annual Worldwide Developer Conference; Mastercard reimagines online checkout; the latest ... Show More
1h 4m
Apr 2023
728. News: FCA enlists Love Island star while Visa connects Venmo and PayPal users
Our expert hosts, Ross Gallagher and Benjamin Ensor, are joined by some great guests to talk about the most notable fintech, financial services and banking news from the past week. We cover the following stories from the fintech and financial services space: Love Island's Sharon ... Show More
1h 2m
Feb 2024
#981 - How High Can Tech Fly? with Dave Mazza
🔥 SuperAI Singapore: Get 20% OFF tickets realvision.com/superaiDave Mazza, chief strategy officer at Roundhill Investments, joins Ash Bennington to discuss the recent market action after a record-setting week, where he sees the tech sector headed from here, and the outlook for t ... Show More
38m 50s