In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we speak with Madiha Sattar, VP of Careem Pay, the fintech arm of Careem, the Middle East's first unicorn. Madiha has had a versatile and ambitious career across finance, tech, and media. Prior to joining Careem, she worked in management consulting at McKinsey and in corporate strategy at JPMorgan. She also has exp ... Show More
Aug 18
Why Islamic Fintech Is Still Being Underestimated
Islamic finance is growing globally, but the companies pushing it forward are not always the ones talking about it the loudest.In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Abdullo Kurbanov, CEO and Co-founder of Ayan Capital, shares how he helped build Alif from a $200,000 start i ... Show More
52m 55s
Aug 11
The $80 Billion SME Lending Opportunity Banks Keep Missing
SMEs are central to the UAE economy, yet access to credit remains one of their biggest challenges.In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Hassan Reda, Co-Founder & CPO of CredibleX, and Anand Nagaraj, Co-Founder & CEO of CredibleX, unpack why SME lending has remained difficul ... Show More
51m 44s
Jul 28
Why Most Digital Banks Will Never Make Money
Digital banks have spent years chasing customer growth. But scale alone does not create profitability.In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Simon Loong, Founder and Group CEO of WeLab, explains what it takes to build a successful digital bank across Asia.He shares why lendi ... Show More
55m 50s
Aug 2021
The future of digital payments and moving money in MENA
Today’s episode is with Asim Janjua, Co-Founder of MamoPay. As CXO he drives and leads organizational-design, operations, growth, and expansion with a human-first approach. Before MamoPay, Asim spent over six years working as a Technical Design Lead for Google Switzerland. We tal ... Show More
1s
Jun 2023
E55: Mudassir Sheikha on scaling and reinventing Careem
Mudassir Sheikha is the Co-founder & CEO of Careem, the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan's (MENAP) biggest startup success story to date with a $3.1Bn exit to Uber in 2020. After the ride hailing success, In April 2023 Mudassir announced a new entity 'Careem Technologies' t ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2025
Ep 39. with Noor Sweid Conviction Capital: Lessons in grit, growth and globalisation
Send us Fan MailIn this scintillating episode of Money Majlis, host Suvo Sarkar sits down with Noor Sweid, the trailblazing founder and Managing Partner of Global Ventures. Known as one of the most influential voices in Middle Eastern venture capital, Noor brings a wealth of expe ... Show More
48m 28s
Jun 2024
Ep 4. Growth on steroid – a discussion on the payments industry in the Middle East with Saeeda Jaffar.
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Money Majlis, Suvo Sarkar is in conversation with Saeeda Jaffar, Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager – GCC for Visa, talking about the supercharged growth of the payments industry in the region. They explore what competition, if any, t ... Show More
57m 49s
Nov 2024
918. Insights: How to launch in the Middle East
On this episode of Fintech Insider Insights, host Benjamin Ensor is joined by some great guests to discuss expansion into the Middle East.
Imagine, and if you’re listening to this podcast you might not need to imagine, that you’re the founder of a successful fintech. You’re doing ... Show More
51m 51s
Nov 2024
The Evolving Payments Landscape in NALP with Leila Serhan
In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Leila Serhan, SVP & Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan (NALP), at Visa. Together, they explore the latest payment trends in the NALP regio ... Show More
22 m
May 2025
From Heritage to High-Tech: Dr. Najwa Aaraj on the Middle East’s Innovation Transformation
The Middle East is investing in more than just the technologies of tomorrow, it’s investing in the people, ideas, and institutions that will shape them. In this episode of Flavors of Ambition, we speak with Dr. Najwa Aaraj, CEO of the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi, ... Show More
35m 51s