AI is responsible for a great deal of startups' success nowadays, where the role of AI in setting stable grounds for any startup is important. To learn about where to integrate AI in your business, how to make the best use of the data generated, and the AI strategies that boost growth and scalability for startups, listen to the full episode featuring Ahmad Khwileh of Google, Ajith Nayar of CamCom Technologies, Nour Al Hasan of Tarjama and Susheel Sethumadhavan of Kearney Middle East. ___________...
Aug 15, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Podcasting isn't just a trend, it's about establishing relationships that matter with guests and listeners and building communities Our guests Mouin Jaber of Sarde (after dinner), Loulou Khazen of Conversations with Loulou, Stefano Fallaha of Podeo, Bella Ibrahim of Kerning Cultures, alongside Former Radio Host Olga Habre explain how to build the right community for your podcast and engage your audience. You will also learn how to overcome the challenges you might face and the different opportun...
Aug 11, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Impact startups are building solutions to the world's problems including climate change, pollution, and more. Tameka Vasquez of Sidewalk Labs (Alphabet), Alicia Sornson of Village Capital, Kevin Holliday of C3 alongside Khyara Ranaweera of The Conscious Consultancy highlight the importance of investing in impact-focused startups and how more and more VCs are interested in having social returns on their investments _____________________ HIGHLIGHTS Social entrepreneurship vs tech entrepreneurship ...
Aug 08, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In this episode, Marius Ciavola of Tradeling, David Feuillard of Eatapp , and Saif Ali of Dastgyr discuss how e-commerce affected the B2B arena and B2C consumer behavior, B2B vs. B2C impact on economic growth, and the upcoming global trends we should expect in the industry. _____________________ HIGHLIGHTS -Evolution of B2B trade -Consumer behavior & market trends -B2B &. B2C coexisting -Upcoming global trends Sign up for Step events https://stepconference.com/ Subscribe now to the Step ...
Aug 04, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 25
In this episode, Badr Ward of Lamsa, Aamer Sheikh of PepsiCo Middle East, Saeed Alnofel of in5 Dubai, Victor Kiriakos of MQB alongside Dana Abou Shakra of Park Innovation discuss all the verticals that go into making startup communities thrive. Sign up for Step Saudi 2022 https://saudi.stepconference.com/
Aug 01, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 24
From podcasting to YouTubing and running social channels, it's always a struggle bringing numbers up, what's the trick? Panelists Mamta Varerkar at Yellow, Panagiotis Tsaggas at Susurrus, Mashal Waqar at Milestone Ventures & MyLily and Casey Fitzgerald at Lovin Dubai reveal how podcasters can attract listeners, YouTubers can get more views and Social Influencers can get more following and engagement.
Jul 28, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Cashless economies are inevitable and new technologies are taking over. Fintech players Anuscha Iqbal at Spotii, Nada Hassan at YAP, Alaeddin Elmajed at Hyperpay and Riaz Naqvi at Hill+Knowlton tell you about the key elements you need to consider when building your brand, how to gain the trust of traditional businesses and the role regulations and collaborations in the industry. Sign up for Step Saudi 2022 happening in December 2022 https://saudi.stepconference.com/...
Jul 25, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 22
A successful brand is all about the consumer's experience. Vishal Badiani of Snapchat, Moe Minkara of Mink, Fouad Jeryes of Maqsam and Sarah Trad of Step Feed discuss creative consumer experience strategies brands have to follow to stand out and build a loyal community.
Jul 21, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 21
VCs refer to markets like MENA as ‘emerging’ but some experts project that it will become the dominant source of investment flows. On this episode, Amal Dokhan of 500 Global, GV Ravishankar of Sequoia Capital, Walid Faza of MSA Capital, Jehan Ara of Katalyst Lab and Vijay Tirathrai of Techstars tell you about what factors to consider when investing in startups in emerging markets. Sign up for Step Events https://stepconference.com/
Jul 18, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 20
With the gaming industry expanding in the region, e-sports athletes and organizers Saeed Sharaf of Esports Middle East, Madiha "Madi" Naz of Nigma Galaxy, Aref Aabed of MBC and Povilas Joniskis of Boston Consultancy Group talk about accepting e-sports as a sport, females in the e-sports space, and its development in MENA. Sign up for Step events https://stepconference.com/
Jul 14, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Web3 is a current buzzword, but is it the future? Riyad Abou Jaoudeh of MEVP, Vincent Ghossoub of Nifty Craft, Salwa Radwi of NuqtahNFT, Mo Yusuf of Checkout.com and Anas Bhurtun of Arts DAO are here to answer your questions on Web3 replacing the internet, the interesting features it brings and who's winning and who's losing in the Web3 world. Sign up for Step Saudi 2022 saudi.stepconference.com
Jul 07, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 18
With content consumption on the rise, our panelists are here to tell you how to crack monetization. With the current media consumer culture, Basim Dawood of Sowt, Joelle Yazbeck of Twitter, Lemya Soltani Next Broadcast Media and Basel Anabtawi Rising Giants Network reveal valuable monetization models and methods and discuss the attraction between brands and creators.
Jul 04, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Founders and Executives from the MENA region get into a conversation about mental well-being. Nadine Karadag of Valeo, Mariam Farag of Humanizing Brands, David Munir Nabti of Bloom and Ally Salama of EMPWR discuss how to deal with overwhelming pressure, build a supportive ecosystem and embed mental health and culture.
Jun 30, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 16
VC and successful startup founders from the region give you their perspective about what it takes for startups to expand & grow, and it goes way beyond funding. Listen to Omar Rifai of Grubtech, Elliott Denham of Dtec Ventures, Christos Mastoras of Iliad Partners, and Loulou to learn about assessing marketing and making the right decision Khazen of Kickstart Ventures in this episode.
Jun 27, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Many wonders if the creator economy and influencer marketing can ride the wave of automation. Ricky Ray Butler, CEO at BEN talk about the importance of influencer marketing in creator economies and how automation is an integral part in pushing this industry forward.
Jun 23, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 14
How can a customer get a seamless payment experience with the security concerns at hand? And how does this affect startups in the MENA region? Coming to you directly from the industry, Madiha Sattar of Careem Pay, Ahmed Alaradi of Tap Payments, Ali Al-Ebrahim of COFE App, Sara Ahmed of Mumzworld, and Tala Hammash share their expertise.
Jun 20, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The big question: Is Metaverse the future? One of our panelists thinks some people are living in the Metaverse right now. Kerrie Finch of futurefactor, Carolina Brandao of BUCK, Bei Wang of Straight Fire and Vincent Ghoussoub of Nifty Craft dive into how the Metaverse will create job opportunities, affect privacy and change the gaming industry.
Jun 16, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 12
From influencing the family spending to challenging brands on how they position themselves in the market, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are changing the shopping game. Kerrie Finch of futurefactor, Tanya Ponomareva of Boomerang, and Rebecca Stringer of KidsKnowBest share some great tips on how to keep up with the latest trends and get ahead of the game.
Jun 12, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Aya Sadder of Why Bolt, Aboudi Al-Qattan of Dash Ventures, Tina Daher of Shorooq Partners, and Hamza Khan of Letswork answer your questions on what startups look for in a VC and how investors value a startup and the process they go through.
Jun 09, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 10
How did the global Buy Now Pay Later phenomena evolve? How does it work? What's its impact on the industry and why is it so hyped up in the MENA region? Expert Tariq Sheikh, CEO of PostPay, answers all your questions in this episode and answers the big question: What's next?
Jun 06, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Sharif El-Badawi has been through it all, entrepreneur, VC, and now in the government. Sharif, CEO of Dubai Future District Fund. tells us about his failures and successes that led him to where he is today, including the time when he was the only person left in a company.
Jun 02, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Hear out from incredible women leaders! Sophie Smith of Nabta Health, Emaan Abbas of Ketish, Baha Hamadi of Deep Knowledge Group, Chanda Lokendra of Lizzom, and Triska Hamid of Wamda discuss the rising awareness of women's health in emerging markets, the sub-sectors, and the role that technology is playing in promoting women's wellbeing and breaking taboos across all areas.
May 30, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Tune in for an insightful discussion between Elie Habib of Anghami, Youssef Salem of Swvl, H.E. Dr. Nabeel Koshak of SVC and Shana Marashi of EY on the route to IPO in the MENA region, and how founders need to calculate their exits and pick their options. Panelists lay down the state of the IPO market in the region, and why SPACs could be an option to consider while listing the pros and cons of both options and challenges to expect in the process.
May 26, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Featured in Humans of New York, Sidra Qasim of Atoms tells us her inspiring story of how she moved from rural Pakistan and co-founded an internationally-known company. Listen to how Sidra started off by inviting people to her home one by one and ended up with thousands of customers and celebrities wearing their shoes.
May 23, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Everyone’s always talking about numbers when it comes to businesses, but what about Psychology? Regional Vice President at CleverTap Jay Dalvi introduces Digital Psychology and its importance in creating a great experience for users. Tune in to listen to Jay elaborate on how businesses should understand users’ emotions & behaviors to send them the right motivation at the right time and improve retention.
May 19, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Eugene Willemsen, CEO Africa, Middle East, South Asia at PepsiCo, explains the behaviors that ultimately underpin how they do business to remain one of the leading F&B company in the world. In this episode, Eugene also suggests important guiding principles for startups to be successful and gives examples of partnerships they have with startups across the globe.
May 17, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Paul Misener, VP of Global Innovation Policy at Amazon, shares his experience in working in SMEs and offers young entrepreneurs some valuable advice. Paul explains how Amazon maintains the startup mentality and their mechanism when making big decisions. Reasons behind Amazon’s success such as culture-driven innovation and behind-the-scenes failures are also revealed in this episode.
May 12, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Rayan Dawud from Outliers along with Omar Kassim of Nomod, Feras Jalbout of Baraka and Sonia Gokhale of VentureSouq discuss the effect that the Y Combinator model had on the MENA ecosystem, and compare it with existing regional programs, exposing pros and cons.
May 10, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Leading voices from the world of technology and innovation come together to passionately debate the industry's biggest questions at Step and now you can listen to it all on the Step Podcast.
May 10, 2022•32 sec•Season 1Ep. 1
