Wael Amin, Partner with Sawari Ventures

Wael Amin became an entrepreneur at an early age founding his first company while still in college. After graduating at the age of 18, Wael Co-Founded ITWorx, and led its growth over a period of 20 years from start-up to one of the largest and most influential IT companies in the Middle East. Through its history, ITWorx has created more than 5000 jobs, expanded to 12 countries across 4 continents and won countless industry accolades. During his tenure at ITWorx, the company acquired Egyptian startup Otlob.com incubating it to become the largest e-commerce property in the Middle East before eventually selling it, it has also successfully incubated and spun off a number of successful startups, in Laserstorm, NetCelera, and ITWorx Education. Having produced more than 200 entrepreneurs responsible for 100+ Egyptian technology start-ups, ITWorx is generally considered the most impactful company in the Egypt IT ecosystem.

Wael holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science (1993) and an MBA (2004) from the American University in Cairo (“AUC”). He is a frequent lecturer on the transformational impact of technology and a guest lecturer at the AUC MBA program. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

In this episode, you'll discover:

-Wael's entrepreneurial journey...00:45

-Lessons to share with anyone wanting to invest in Africa...02:20

-Wael's highest and lowest ticket items...05:15

-The impact of technology on commerce observed during Wael's travels...06:10

-What we've forgotten when it comes to fundraising...13:00

-What Wael likes and doesn't like when it comes to investing in Africa...14:15

-Books and podcasts Wael recommends....16:30

-And much more...