Storm clouds may be ahead for Buy-Now Pay-later companies in the MENA region: These are the business drivers to watch in 2023-24: 1) Cost of Funds going higher: In 2022, lending rates pegged to the USD have increased. This applies to BNPLs that do...
A few weeks back, I wrote about creating an online resource (in a comment below) to connect startups to co-founders in the MENA region. The idea is to create an online resource. The feedback was mixed- some of you wanted an online resource like this....
I read the book Poor Charlie's Almanack in 2020/21. It cost me more than a few dollars to get it shipped from the US to the UAE, and I remember wiping it clean using Clorox when I got it (don't judge me, it was in the middle of the pandemic!). I need...
When incumbent banks start neo banks, it can be tricky to make it work. Now complicate it further by launching a Neo bank in a new geography- one that is away from your home base. However, the US-headquartered JP Morgan Chase (called Chase in the UK)...
In 2020, Apple made an estimated $8.8BN from Apple Care, Apple Pay, and Other services (no breakup given in Apple’s financials as to what: “Other services” are). Let us try and estimate the insurance premiums in the US market for the iPhone 13s si...
This is a common issue or problem that I hear during my conversations with would-be entrepreneurs. They have amazing ideas that could change the world, but they don't have the cash to engage a software house, or they do not have tech skills. Well, t...
It was quite clear that with my limited understanding of technology as it applied to my industry, my future career was going to be bleak if I did not take action. Of particular concern were the rise of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning. We...
Influencers have created a $15BN industry that a number of GenZ generation want to join. The market is big, estimated to be over 50Million+ people who are operating as independent workers from gamers to bloggers to TikTok stars like Charli D'amelio (...
When I was posted to Shanghai during the last financial crisis in 2008, most of the top financial institutions were traditional banks. A number of them were from China. Those were the unsteady days when the banks did not enjoy much reputation in cust...
#WorldMentalHealthDay 🧠 — How do you take care of your mental health as a Startup founder? It has become "cool" to show that we are always switched on, have 100+ emails every day, and respond to every Slack and WhatsApp message within seconds. Add...
