Riyada: Business, Tech, and Innovation in MENA

Host Alex Farley sits down with Middle East Program Director Merissa Khurma on her reflections from hosting the first year of the Riyada Podcast. Year one featured over 40 interviews with various entrepreneurs, analysts, and officials.  In this episode, Khurma discusses her main observations on challenges facing entrepreneurs, including difficulty accessing capital, finding skillsets, and facing t...

In this 50 th episode of the Riyada podcast, host Merissa Khurma records from the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan with Deputy Chief of Mission Rohit Nepal and MEP Chair Ambassador Jim Jeffrey. They discuss the importance of supporting entrepreneurship in Jordan and the MENA region, in addition to how the U.S. government can work with the Jordanian government and region officials to propel the startu...

This month, the   Riyada podcast   featured the talented men and women advancing MENA's film scene to better understand how creators in the region fare against the global media industry. To conclude, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with film director, writer, and poet Hind Shoufani. Hind's life experiences in Damascus, Amman, Beirut, Dubai, and NYC have shaped her values, stories, and...

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Sherry Carlin, who serves as Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Jordan. MD Carlin discussed USAID's extensive programs targeting youth economic empowerment, breaking down barriers to women's employment, and addressing issues related to climate change and water scarcity, among other efforts. 

Ali Jaafar, head of the film division at MBC Studios, produced numerous films, including The Swimmers (2022), King of Thieves (2018), and The Idol (2015). Ali discussed his transition from journalism to production and desire to elevate diverse narratives from the Arab world to regional and global audiences.

في هذه الحلقة نواصل تركيزنا على صناعة الأفلام و الفنون في منطقة الشرق الأوسط مع مخرجة أفلام أردنية وداد شافقج. ركزت أعمالها على قضايا المرأة و حقوق الطفل و غيرها من القضايا الإجتماعية. تشمل اعتمدتها الإخراجية الفيلم  الوثائقي القصير هوية 000 و فيلم الراكب الأخير الذي كشف حقيقة اللاجئين السوريين الذين فروا من مخيم الزعتري في شمال الأردن. استمعوا لهذا النقاش الشيق مع وداد هنا.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Amin Matalqa, a pioneering filmmaker from Jordan. Amin's first film, Captain Abu Raed (2008), won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award and was the first Oscar submission from Jordan. He's gone on to direct other films and TV shows, including Disney's soccer drama The United (2012) and Jinn (2019), Netflix's first Arabic show.

Romouz Sadeq joined the Riyada podcast to discuss her transition from the corporate to startup world in Jordan. Romouz is the Founder & CEO of Mrayti – or 'My Mirror' – the Arab world's first specialized mobile beauty salon. Mrayti delivers beauty services and products to customers' homes, offices, and gatherings at any time and at any place.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa sat down with UNICEF's youth expert at Jordan's country office, Giorgia Varisco, to learn more about what she sees as the most pressing challenges and promising solutions facing youth. Giorgia detailed the organization's work to address Jordan's high youth unemployment - particularly among women - with an emphasis on preparing young people for the world of wo...

Dalia Said, Co-Founder and Learning Director at ElRehla, is a young social entrepreneur from Egypt. ElRehla - or 'The Journey' - hosts unconventional networking experiences outside of urban settings, bringing together founders, industry leaders, and corporate teams for a reflective and habit-changing retreat. The organization aims to create a more connected community of professionals in Egypt and...

Hamad Al Awari is a young stand-up comedian, entrepreneur, and marketing expert from Qatar. On this episode of the  Riyada  podcast, Hamad shared his decision to pursue an unconventional career route in the MENA region, later inspiring other young people to join the media and arts. He also discussed the importance of enhancing digital literacy so MENA's youth can take advantage of emerging opportu...

At the Doha Forum held in March, MEP Director Merissa Khurma sat down with His Excellency Mohammed al Mannai, Qatar's Minister of Communications and Information Technology. HE Minister al Mannai shared the importance of digital transformation in today's global economy and Qatar's strategy for expanding access. This episode of the Riyada podcast features their discussion.

في هذه الحلقة من بودكاست "ريادة" تحدثت مريسا خورما مع محمد عبيدات، المدير التنفيذي لمركز الملكة رانيا للريادة و  هو منظمة غير ربحية تأسست عام 2004 للمساعدة في تطوير ودعم ريادة الأعمال التقنية في الأردن. تحدث محمد عن خبرته الشخصية في عالم الريادة في الاردن و المنطقة العربية و عن البرامج و النشاطات المختلفة الذي ينظمها المركز التي استفادت منها آلاف من رواد الأعمال والمهنيين والطلاب في جميع انحاء الأ...

This episode of the Riyada podcast looks at one of the main features of the workforce development challenge in the MENA region: the skills mismatch. One organization dedicated to closing this gap is Edraak, a massive open online course (MOOC) platform and key initiative of the Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan. Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Shireen Yacoub, CEO of Edraak since 2017, who l...

MEP Director Merissa Khurma introduces her new co-host of the  Riyada  podcast, Imad Shawa. In this discussion, Merissa spoke with Imad about his journey as an entrepreneur in Amman, Jordan, and the decision to launch his own podcast, Howdy Arabia.  

Dr. Fadi Al Shalabi details the struggles he faced to launch Niuversity, an edtech platform, as a Syrian immigrant in Germany. He discussed the myriad bureaucratic and legal barriers that prevented him from starting a business independently, leading him to seek a German partner. Since its establishment in 2017, Niuversity has reached over 73,000 students and achieved a stunning 91 percent completi...

ضيف الحلقة  سليم نجار ، رجل أعمال سوري في عمان ،ومؤسس موقع «شرقي شوب»  ،المتجر الالكتروني،الذي  يساعد الحرفيين في الأردن للوصول إلى شريحة واسعة من الزبائن. إستمع إلى قصة سليم الملهمة في عالم الريادة و الإقتصاد الرقمي. إستمع هنا!

To commemorate World Refugee Day on June 20, this month the Riyada podcast features entrepreneurs from MENA's refugee community. Merissa Khurma speaks with a Syrian entrepreneur Lara Shahin, who founded Jasmine Foundation in Jordan. Over the last five years, Lara has doubled the number of women refugees working at Jasmine, as well as expanded her training programs across borders.   

Dr. Yazan Hijazi joined the Riyada podcast to share his insight as the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence at Al Hussein Technical University (HTU) in Amman, Jordan. He discussed HTU's efforts to reform, modernize, and upgrade technical and vocational education to be more in sync with labor market demands. 

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, host Merissa Khurma spoke with Tala Al Kurd, a psychotherapist in Jordan and host of the podcast 'Yalla Nehki', translating to "let's talk". This conversation delves into Tala's efforts to increase awareness and demystify concepts around mental health.

Merissa Khurma speaks with Jordan's former Minister of Youth, Dr. Fares Braizat. Dr. Braizat, now the Founder & Chairman of NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions, is a leading expert on MENA's socioeconomic and sociopolitical issues, with a particular focus on Jordan. He is the author of many articles, most recently a piece titled "Radical education reform" in  Jordan News .

On this episode of the Riyada podcast, host Merissa Khurma spoke with Amro Abu-Hmaidan about the vibrant sector of Ed-Tech – the use of technology for the purpose of teaching and learning – in the MENA region. Amro, an entrepreneur with over 13 years of experience in tech-based businesses, founded 3asafeer (meaning 'birds' in Arabic) in 2014, a platform where kids can read quality content in the f...

As the  Ready to Launch  series, a joint collaboration between Riyada and Amman-based podcast The Straight Up Start Up, comes to a close, Merissa Khurma interviews co-host Rajae Sahouri about his key takeaways. Over the last six months, Merissa and Rajae interviewed 19 entrepreneurs and stakeholders in MENA's entrepreneurship ecosystem to better understand its evolution and trajectory. Tune in to...

In May, the Riyada podcast will explore the future of education and Edtech in the MENA region. To kick it off, Arwa Shafi and Haitham Al Humsi from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) discuss the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, and the many opportunities available to young innovators. 

This episode features the work of Beirut-based Berytech,  an ecosystem for entrepreneurs that provides a dynamic environment for startups and SMEs, fostering innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship in Lebanon. Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Krystel Khalil, Berytech Programs Director, and Patrick El Zoghbi, an entrepreneur and beneficiary of two programs at Berytech.