From Fashion to Fintech
In Season 1, Episode 4 of empowerME Conversations podcast, host Amjad Ahmad interviews Tabby Co-Founder and CEO Hosam Arab about why he became an entrepreneur and what it takes to succeed, the customer needs his companies have met, how he scaled his businesses across regional borders, the changes in e-commerce and payment options in recent years in the Middle East, and changes to laws and regulations that would boost business.
Overall, I think it’s been a great time for entrepreneurship. It’s been a great time for VC funding in the region… if we can keep things going, then I think the opportunity is massive for all of us.”
Key Takeaways
0:00 Intro
0:41 Hosam shares a little background of what made him to become an entrepreneur he is now
2:29 Hosam talks about the history of his company and why he decided to venture into fashion industry
4:23 Hosam talks about e-commerce and what led them to take their fashion business online and how convenient it is to both the businessman and the customers
6:37 Hosam talks about how it was becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business in times when entrepreneurship was not so common
8:06 Hosam also talks about their growth process and the positive and the negative things that he and the company encountered
11:07 Hosam shares his experience with e-commerce and the challenges that he faced while scaling specifically with e-commerce
13:00 Hosam talks about cross-border scaling challenge that they faced as a business and how they dealt with it
15:16 Hosam shares an advice to entrepreneurs who are planning to be in the e-commerce, what to do and what not to do
16:50 Hosam also shares his thoughts on vertical e-commerce and horizontal e-commerce and which is more convenient especially in these times
19:02 Hosam talks about Omni-channel retail and shares his thoughts around it if it’s important
20:49 Hosam talks about what prompted him to move from the fashion world to FinTech and how that has been for him
24:25 Hosam explains different reasons as to why FinTech is doing well in some regions than others
25:26 Hosam also explains why FinTech is growing quicker nowadays as opposed to earlier days
27:27Hosam compares his early stage back then in his first company and early stage now in his new venture Tabby
28:50 Hosam talks about the challenges that he and the company are facing today as a startup and if they are different from ones from initial company
30:36 Hosam talks about the advice he would give to someone in power with the ability to change entrepreneurship if he was given the chance
31:23 Hosam also shares advice to the young that are planning on starting their entrepreneurial journey
32:44 Hosam talks about the impacts that the pandemic has caused especially in the e-commerce
34:40 Hosam shares the vision of Tabby in the near future
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The empowerME conversations podcast features conversations with business and government leaders shaping the Middle East. The podcast sheds light on key opportunities and challenges for companies and governments, and Season 1 will focus on top regional entrepreneurs and their path to success as well as struggles they faced along the way.
empowerME at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East is shaping solutions to empower entrepreneurs, women, and youth and building coalitions of public and private partnerships to drive regional economic integration, prosperity, and job creation.