Dave and Dharm DeMystify

In this episode, Nadine Mezher, co-founder of Sarwa, opens up about her mission to transform investing in the Middle East, making it within reach for everyone. From humble beginnings in Dubai to a thriving community of more than 180,000 registered users across the region, Nadine shares Sarwa’s journey of growth, resilience, and relentless innovation. We explore the heart of Sarwa’s offerings—robo-...

In this episode of Demystify, hosts Dave and Dharmesh explore the future of finance with special guest Ronit Ghose, who leads Citi's Future of Finance think tank. Broadcasting from Dubai's vibrant tech hub, Ronit shares his perspectives on the city’s meteoric rise as a global financial and tech powerhouse and reflects on how it contrasts with traditional hubs like London and New York. Ronit discus...

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of customer-centric design with two influential leaders from Lloyds Banking Group. Joining Dave and Dharm are Gemma Daley, Consumer Experience Design Director, and Suresh Balaji, Chief Marketing Officer. Together, they explore Lloyds’ journey towards becoming an experience-led brand, sharing insights on the recent overhaul of their mobile app and brand...

In this episode, the 2 D's are joined by 2 special guests to discuss the evolution of open banking, specifically the role of data sharing in financial services. Charlotte Crosswell, chair of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), and Henk Van Hulle, CEO of Open Banking Limited, explain how open banking enables access to data from multiple banks, creating richer profiles for cons...

In this episode, Dave and Dharm sit down with Sergio Gago, MD of AI and Quantum Computing at Moody’s, to delve into AI's impact and inner workings in the financial industry. Sergio provides a fascinating look into how the company utilises extensive data for risk assessment and informed decision-making. Sergio discusses the evolution of data collection and the crucial role of curating and maintaini...

In this episode of the "Dave and Dharm Demystify Show," Dave and Dharm reconnect with Sergio Gago from Moody's to explore the fascinating world of quantum computing and its implications for the financial industry. Sergio, the MD of AI and Quantum Computing at Moody's, explains quantum computing's complexities and fundamental differences from classical computing. He delves into the concept of qubit...

In this episode of the Dave and Dharm Demystify show, the 2 D's are joined by Uday Akkaraju, founder and CEO of Bond.ai. Uday demystifies Bond.ai, an artificial intelligence firm dedicated to repairing the fractured relationship between consumers and financial institutions. He shares his unique background in human-centred design, cognitive psychology, and intelligent virtual agents, which eventual...

In this episode, Saeed Murad, Senior Partner at Global Ventures, joins Dave and Dharm to demystify the dynamic fintech ecosystem in the Middle East and Africa. With a current population of over 1.5 billion, expected to grow to 3-4 billion, and a significant youth demographic, the region is ripe for innovation and expansion. Saeed discusses how the UAE and Saudi Arabia are rapidly becoming global f...

In this episode, Dave interviews Ziad Nassar, the Chief of Staff of Huspy, a Dubai-based real estate everything app. Ziad shares his journey and Huspy's evolution from a digitised mortgage broker to a comprehensive platform for home buying in Europe and the Middle East. Huspy is looking to disrupt the home-buying process. The fact that 30% of all homes in Dubai touch the platform is a testament to...

In this episode, hosts Dave and Dharm are joined by John Bryant from Options Technology and Eleni Coldrey from Equinix to discuss the evolution of trading technology and data centres over the past 16 years. John Bryant is the Field CTO at Options Technology, bringing 16 years of experience in improving IT solutions and trading platforms for financial services. Eleni Coldrey a business development...

In this episode of 'The Dave and Darm demystify show,' special guest Abhishek Tripathi, Head of Product at Careem Pay, discusses his role and Careem's evolution from a ride-sharing app to an 'everything app' offering over 15 services, including payments, food delivery, and more across 10 countries and 80 cities. Abhishek explains Careem's efforts in solving payment challenges and its approach to b...

In this episode, Eddie Harrison, CPO of Navro, discusses how Navro solves payment challenges for e-commerce platforms and online businesses. Navro focuses on helping businesses collect money in countries where they lack banking relationships and simplifying global money transfers. They offer solutions for payment acceptance, international banking infrastructure, and payouts to suppliers. We delve...

This episode is recorded in a data centre in Slough with Bruce Owen, UK MD of Equinix. Bruce talks through his background and Equinix's role as a leading data centre provider. The discussion covers the essential function of data centres in housing critical IT infrastructure, their importance to national economies, and their connection to various digital services. The conversation also delves into...

In this podcast episode, hosts Dave and Dharmesh welcome authors Anette Brolos and Erin Taylor to discuss their new book "Customer-Centric Innovation in Finance". Erin, an anthropologist, and Anette, an economist, share their journey into studying financial behaviours and founding Finthropology, a company that combines finance and anthropology. In discussing their book, they emphasise the importan...

Roger Rouhana, founder and CEO of Alpheya, talked to Dave and Dharm at the Dubai Fintech Summit. Roger discusses Alpheya, a B2B wealth tech platform delivering AI-first solutions to institutional clients. Roger explains the need for digitalisation in the wealth management sector and the unique features of Alfea's cloud-native and AI-first platform. Roger also discusses the challenges and opportuni...

In the episode, Dave and Dharm speak with Mohamed Abdel Razek, Mashreq's Head of Technology, during the Dubai Fintech Summit. Mohamed shares his tech background, which spanned various industries like telco, oil and gas, and fast-moving consumer goods before joining the financial sector. He discusses bringing insights from other industries into banking technology, focusing on digital transformation...

The episode features a conversation with Mohammad Alblooshi, CEO of DIFC Innovation Hub and Fintech Hive, discussing the rapid growth of Dubai's FinTech ecosystem over the past seven years. The focus is on creating a supportive environment for FinTech startups with initiatives like regulatory sandboxes, access to capital, co-working spaces, and talent development. The hub aims to be a global leade...

In this episode, Jayesh Patel, the CEO of Wio Bank, shares insights on establishing a neobank in Dubai. He discusses the vision behind Wio Bank, focusing on serving tomorrow's businesses and customers through improved banking apps, embedded finance, and banking as a service. Wio's success lies in focusing on SMEs first, prioritising user experience over technology, and understanding the diverse ne...

Arcady is a veteran, serial fintech entrepreneur! Over twenty-four years ago, he was part of the founding and management of a challenger digital bank that grew to over $37bn in assets. The same group then launched the 1st generation of BaaS solutions, and with that, they grew to over $60bn in assets under custody. Now, he is the founder and CEO of Agora, a third-generation banking platform at the...

Riaz Syed is an experienced professional who has worked in the banking technology industry for over 30 years. He has witnessed the market evolve and change during this time, and his incredible experience has led him to establish Infinant. By sitting on top of existing cores, Infinant's powerful Banking Technology + platform Interlace empowers banks to embrace the digital revolution in a way that w...

Nelson Wootton, Founder and CEO, and Matthew Breadon, CCO of SaaScada, join us to discuss how frustrations with broken promises and the speed and agility of the Core Banking providers were the driving forces behind setting up a company with a new product that offered a modern alternative. The product is cloud-based, plug-and-play, multi-tenanted, and named after Pirates!

In this latest episode of the Demystify Podcast, Sam Everington, CEO of Engine by Starling and Carlton Hopper, UK Managing Director of GFT, discuss their partnership. Sam outlines their strategy to scale by having partnerships like GFT implement their platform so that his team at Engine can focus on being the best banking platform company. He highlights that this not only accelerates their geograp...

Charlie Platt is the Managing Director of Banking at SAP Fioneer. He talks about the history of the business and the advantages of it becoming a standalone business separate from SAP. He explains how the decision was made and the significant investment the company received. Charlie also discusses the continued strong partnership between SAP and Fioneer, with Fioneer utilising SAP's infrastructure...

In this enlightening episode, we talk with Lukky Ahmed, the visionary co-founder and CEO of Climate X, a trailblazing firm at the vanguard of highlighting climate risk through technological innovation. With a rich background in international banking and expertise in risk management, regulatory change, and consultancy, Lukky shares how his experiences perfectly positioned him to address the critica...

In this episode, we are very honoured to have Vaida Česnulevičiūtė Markevičienė, the Vice Minister for Finance for Lithuania, as our guest. The Vice Minister tells about why Lithuania embraced the fintech opportunity and how it put a plan in place to ensure success. She discusses the importance of Government and Enterprise collaboration and how they have created a centre of excellence for fintech...