Startups Without Borders Podcast

Today, we speak to Alaa Alnuaimi, an Iraqi entrepreneur who moved to Turkey following the war and managed to build a massive design studio that garnered international giants as clients, such as Nike, Pizza Hut, and KFC. In this episode, Alaa recalls his journey across Egypt, Syria and then Turkey, to find a place to call home, while striving to pursue his own passion for design. In this candid con...

If you’ve been on our site, you’ve probably seen this figure, but it’s worth repeating over and over again: the lack of diversity is costing the tech industry a missed opportunity worth almost $400 billion dollars. But what if we started looking at migration as an opportunity? What if we leveraged on this diversity to build more innovative startups, that can build different solutions to problems w...

You know I love storytelling. So when I heard about a project called ‘Telling the Real Story,’ I was immediately drawn. The project, which was facilitated by UNHCR, landed to the Startups Without Borders Summit last November 8 and 9, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be speaking to one of its members, Amal Jibril. A Passionate about humanitarian issues and technology, Amal has been tirelessly wor...

Have you ever heard of impact investment? Well, I think everyone should. That’s why we teamed up with UNDP’s Innovation Lab to bring to topic to the forefront of the agenda at the Startups Without Borders Summit. We gathered some of the most impactful investors and entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North America, to discuss impact investment and the new frontier in the investment landscape:...

Our incredible partners at Facebook joined the Startups Without Borders Summit to support the migrant and refugee entrepreneurs building vibrant communities in the Middle East. Now, gear up to meet an incredible bosslady and Syrian entrepreneur Reem Sabouni, whose startup Arab Mom’s Club, has build a massive community for mothers in Egypt, starting off with a Facebook page. In this episode, we div...

Today, we want to bring you another of the amazing panels that took place at the Startups Without Borders Summit. We decided to talk about an issue that seems obvious for many entrepreneurs who are familiar with the startup landscape, but poses a question for those who think of their companies as a lifelong endeavor. In this panel, the founder of Harmonica, the Egyptian match-making app which was...

Today, we speak to Chaker Khazaal, a Palestinian-Canadian author and entrepreneur who opened the Startups Without Borders Summit and left the entire audience shocked: he presented the world’s first interactive silent speech.

Born as a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, Chaker immigrated to Canada, being one of four recipients of the Global Leader of Tomorrow Award. Having graduated from York Univers...

In the rollercoaster that is starting a company, how do you confront fear? Is there such a thing as fearlessness? Today, we’re bringing you the most anticipated panel held at the Startups Without Borders summit. Listen to two audacious Egyptian entrepreneurs and adventurers, Omar Samra and Omar Nour, as they sit with media mogul Amy Mowafi to talk about taking risks, overcoming fears, and dreaming...

What is refugee-lens investment? Did you know refugee entrepreneurs have one of the highest repayment rates for loans? How can storytelling have a real impact on migrant and refugee entrepreneurship? In this first episode of the Startups Without Borders Summit series, our partners at Arcast Abdullah, Mariam, and Hazem take a tour across the halls networking hubs of the summit to interview the thou...

Growth hacking is crucial for startups, especially when seeking rapid growth in the early-stages. But how can entrepreneurs unlock the secret to exponential growth? Today, we speak to Nader Sabry, an Egyptian ‘space-preneur’ who used NASA technology to disrupt an industry that hadn’t had innovation in 1400 years: health and wellness Muslim lifestyle. A keynote speaker, strategist, and a leading vo...

Saddam grew up in the Jerash refugee camp, in Jordan. It was from that unlikely setting that he embarked on an incredible journey that took him to India and back to Jordan, to start a social enterprise that empowers youth. In this episode, we dig into the principle of ‘Value first, profit second’, discussing how to create a startup that is profitable, and has an impact mission, as Saddam helps sch...

This truly IS the number one question: you have a disruptive idea, but how do you fund your startup to kick-start? How do I choose an incubator? How do I approach an angel investor? Are banks an option? In this episode, we speak to Ana Álvarez Monge, an unstoppable force from Costa Rica that is changing the future prospects of migrants across Germany. A coach, university lecturer, consultant and m...

Big data is a 42-billion dollar industry today, and it’s projected to reach 103 billion by 2027. But the question on everyone’s mind is what is big data? Are there reasons to be worried about privacy? How hard is it to create a big data startup? Today, we sit down with Berat Kjamili, a Macedonian entrepreneur who founded Migport, a knowledge sharing platform that uses big data for good, giving ref...

You’ve heard it over and over again: sometimes, the right partnerships can make the difference between making it or breaking it. But how can you identify the best partners, and secure them? How do you ensure it is a win-win partnership you can leverage on? In this episode, we speak to Aline Sara, the founder of Natakallam, a social startup that has provided over half a million dollars in cash to d...

What does it take to go through the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship? How to embrace failure as part of the game? In the first episode of the Startups Without Borders podcast, we sit down with Syrian entrepreneur, author, and tech leader Ahmad Sufian Bayram to uncover the 5 keys that make up a winning mindset. Ahmad is the Regional Manager at Techstars, Program Director at Jusoor, and has been su...