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FWDstart

Jamie Lane
Saudi Arabia
Investment
Real Estate
Venture Capital
Artificial Intelligence
Dubai
Fractional Ownership
Tokenization
Careem
BRKZ
Entrepreneurship
Productivity
Arabic AI
MENA Edtech
AI Tutors
Arabic Literacy Crisis
Impact Investing
Educational Technology
Transhumanism
Tarjama

The FWDstart Podcast is a weekly show at the intersection of venture capital, startups, and strategic industries shaping the MENA region. Each episode features candid conversations with founders, investors, and operators behind the region’s most ambitious companies, from frontier AI and fintech infrastructure to climate tech, construction, energy, and space.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes15Founded6 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BusinessEntrepreneurshipInvesting

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Artwork for FWDstart

Latest Episodes

In this episode, we sit down with Deepali Nangia and Rana Abdel Latif, the partners leading Speedinvest's first dedicated Middle East and Africa fund, a flagship vehicle for the Vienna-based firm that's been quietly investing across emerging markets ... more

In this episode, we sit down with Mahdi Yahya, the founder of Ori, which has just been acquired by Brookfield Asset Management and merged into Radiant, a vertically integrated AI infrastructure company combining power, capital, compute, and software ... more

In this episode, we sit down with Alex Epure, co-founder and CEO of Qureos, an AI-powered hiring platform that's just raised a $5M seed round led by Prosus. Alex spent nine years at Cisco, moved to Dubai, and then went from managing global enterprise... more

In this episode, we sit down with Glenn Harwood, co-founder of AlgoDriven, who has just completed an all-cash exit to Emergence Software, a San Francisco-based hold-forever software company. Glenn started selling cars at Mercedes-Benz in Australia at... more

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Recent Guests

Alina Truhina
Managing partner at Atypical Ventures, a VC firm focused on emerging markets
Atypical Ventures
Episode: Alina Truhina (Utopia) on Why Copy-Pasting Western VC Fails, The Myth of 2-and-20 Fees in Emerging Markets, & Establishing a Fund in Qatar
Nafez Dakkak
Managing partner of Anara Capital and former leader of Edraak, an Arabic online learning platform.
Anara Capital
Episode: Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Arya Bolurfrushan
Founder and CEO of Applied AI, which is the company behind Opus.
Applied AI
Episode: Arya Bolurfrushan (AppliedAI) on Raising $42M for AI Before ChatGPT, The Future of Work & Why AI Needs Human Supervisors
Ibrahim Manna
Founder and CEO of BRKZ, previously a core architect of Careem's expansion.
BRKZ
Episode: Ibrahim Manna (BRKZ) on Lessons from Careem, Founder Grit & Disrupting Saudi Construction

Host

Jamie
Host of FWDstart

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Alina Truhina (Utopia) on Why Copy-Pasting Western VC Fails, The Myth of 2-and-20 Fees in Emerging Markets, & Establishing a Fund in Qatar
Q: What makes a good investor?
A good investor has on-the-ground experience, humility, and a recognition of the responsibility to support entrepreneurs.
Alina Truhina (Utopia) on Why Copy-Pasting Western VC Fails, The Myth of 2-and-20 Fees in Emerging Markets, & Establishing a Fund in Qatar
Q: What makes a good founder?
A good founder exhibits grit, resilience, humbleness, and curiosity.
Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Q: Can you talk to me about the Game Boy principle? Would you mind expanding on this?
Nafez explains that the concept behind the Game Boy principle is to use existing technology creatively rather than just adopting the newest trends blindly.
Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Q: Is there always going to be a place for human supervision?
Yes, human relationships in education are undervalued and critical for motivating and engaging students effectively.
Nafez Dakkak (Anara Capital) on Why AI Tutors Will Fail, Is MENA EdTech's "Sleeping Giant" & Solving the Arabic Literacy Crisis
Q: What do you think the impediment to progress has been?
It's been a global trend, but there's also been a backlash against online learning post-pandemic, which has affected the EdTech growth expected in the years following 2021.

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Frequently Asked Questions About FWDstart

What is FWDstart about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show focuses on venture capital, startups, and strategic industries driving the MENA region, with candid conversations from founders, investors, and operators behind ambitious companies across climate tech, AI, fintech infrastructure, real estate, and construction. Recent episodes highlight how regional ecosystems adapt Western models to local markets, the politics and opportunity of tech-enabled sectors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and beyond, and the tension between rapid innovation and cultural context. A recurring thread is the push to democratize investment and supervision in high-growth areas, from tokenized real estate to AI-enabled learning, while emphasizing humility, community ties, and practical execution over hype. The format co... more

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These podcasts share a similar audience with FWDstart:

1. The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

How many episodes of FWDstart are there?

FWDstart launched 6 months ago and published 15 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on FWDstart?

Recent guests on FWDstart include:

1. Alina Truhina
2. Nafez Dakkak
3. Arya Bolurfrushan
4. Ibrahim Manna

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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