LFP227 – Fintech in the Middle East and North Africa w/Said Murad Partner Global Ventures

The latest in the LFP’s coverage of Fintech in geographical regions and this fascinating balance between the bottom-up and the top-down, between localisation and globalisation of Fintech. As always when covering vast territories containing many nations,  “regions” contain widely differing conditions, not least of which background of FS  structure and infrastructure in the first place. […]

The latest in the LFP’s coverage of Fintech in geographical regions and this fascinating balance between the bottom-up and the top-down, between localisation and globalisation of Fintech.

As always when covering vast territories containing many nations,  “regions” contain widely differing conditions, not least of which background of FS  structure and infrastructure in the first place.

Said, a partner at Global Ventures, is well-placed to give us a tour d’horizon as not just is his day job being a VC specialising in the region but he was previously a CEO, COO and consultant so he is someone who really understands business in the round as well as being born in Jordan and living in Dubai.

Topics discussed include:

working on a bid for Liverpool Football Club
valuing football clubs
intangibles and goodwill
Said’s career journey
the Japanese spiral staircase model of career progression
where is the Middle East/MENA? Where does it end?
geography versus practicality from an investment perspective – the latter often including Turkey and Pakistan eg which is a long way away, whilst eg not including Iran
general background to the region/subregions
2022 Tech space VC funding was ~$3.2bn of which just under $1bn went into Fintech
historically roots in Levant and Egypt where the older tech companies were born
cross-border as an ancient background
400m population in MENA of which 100m in Egypt
early stage companies often focus on Egypt/Saudi/UAE as their heartland
Etihad and Emirates as GCC exemplars of quality
the relevance of geography and historical trading patterns
general needs across the region and how they vary
Fintech in the GCC
trends in the subtypes of Fintech
affinity to partner with Fintechs to lower cost to serve
GV’s Fintech in MENA 2020 Report (main bones of which still apply)
when did Fintech take off in the region?
a VC community per se in the region emerged roughly 2010 onwards
some key regional Fintechs
Fintech in the Levant and North America
what leads to differences
key exemplars
the development of Fintech in North Africa is further ahead the further east
Fintech and Islamic Banking – some Fintechs offer one or the other or both
going forwards unique opportuniti9es in the region and “leapfrogging”
shoutouts for Global Ventures
what GV are looking for in terms of founders

And much much more

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