Step Podcast

Mental fitness and physical fitness are related without a doubt, but how? The interplay of thoughts, emotions, and actions has been studied, and there are common practices that proved to have a positive effect on mental well-being. Nadine Chammas of The Life Director, Suna Zoabi-Othman of Tawazon, Viktorija Aksionova of Mindtales and Rima Bazzi reveal healthy habits and exercises people should mai...

ESG is a 40 trillion industry worldwide. Many think executives should be looking into incorporating ESG principles in their organizations. Ahmed Al Naqbi of Emirates Development Bank, Abdullah Mutawi of Al Tamimi, Jihad Sadiq of FortyGuard and Shaker Zainal of MBRIF talk through the process of adopting ESG, governments' and startups' roles, self-regulation, and incentivizing ESG practices. Sign up...

With the MENA region adopting BNPL faster than Europe and the US, new payment models are on the rise, affecting everything from retailers' strategies to consumers' behaviors. Paul Carey of Al Futtaim (IKEA), Hosam Arab of Tabby, Miljan Stamenkovic of Mambu, Remo Abbondandolo of Checkout.com, and Megha Merani discuss the steps it takes to move to a cashless society, how to incentivize customers, th...

Streaming in the MENA region is becoming more and more popular, especially with new content paving the way. With our panelists heading leading media companies in MENA, Richard Fitzgerald of Augustus Media, Alaa Fadan of Telfaz11, and Butheina Kazim of Cinema Akil, the future of the industry is revealed, including digital content, production, technology, subscription, and streaming platforms. Sign...

How can startups and corporates work together and create more profit? Many processes differ between startups and corporates, decision-making and risk-taking to name a few. Shafika Houcine of Etisalat, Caroline-Carmen Neubauer of Fero. AI, Elodie Robin of Hub71, and Roberto Croci of Microsoft for Startups discuss the opportunities each has to gain from this relationship and important factors that c...

The first artists in the MENA region to jump on the NFT train are here to talk about the new era for creatives: the mash of concrete art with NFTs. Rami Kadi of Rami Kadi Maison de Couture, NFT Artist Amrita Sethi, Kristel Bechara, the first woman in the MENA region to launch an NF T collection, and Sarah Trad of Step Feed talk about the process of introducing NFTs to concrete art, maintaining the...

EV adoption is rapidly increasing, more than 50%, year by year. With this huge trend, cities need to prepare the right electricity grid and infrastructure to support this demand. Cezanne Maherali of Uber, Haider Al-Zaabi of Mays EV, and Samar Ibrahim of EY talk policymaking and charging infrastructure and look into EV's integration with new technologies and its eco-friendly aspect. _______________...

With the integration of technology, access to mental health care becomes easier, affordable, more effective and provides more solutions, but some believe that social media and increased use of technology is to blamed for the increase in mental health issues. Inas Shashieh of Takalam, Ivan Palomino of Bessern and Daniela Rossi of Unlimited share their opinions and the challenges in onboarding consu...

The pandemic forced people to shop online, but many loved it and continued to do so even after it was over, and apparently, MENA is outperforming Europe in adopting emerging technologies. Mo Yusuf of Checkout.com explains the factors involved in transitioning to digital payments, the challenges they face, their impact on startups and crypto's future in this digital economy. .______________________...

The evolution of the P2P solution has changed the financial system, influencing the underbanked and encouraging financial inclusion. Sujoy Ghosh of Datacultr, Faisal Toukan of Ziina, Padmini Gupta of Xare, Faisal Al Haroun of Tap Payments, and Mohamed Khairy of Strategy& look at the current state of the space with the rise of crypto and the challenges that are yet to be solved. _______________...

AI is responsible for a great deal of startups' success nowadays, where the role of AI in setting stable grounds for any startup is important. To learn about where to integrate AI in your business, how to make the best use of the data generated, and the AI strategies that boost growth and scalability for startups, listen to the full episode featuring Ahmad Khwileh of Google, Ajith Nayar of CamCom...

Podcasting isn't just a trend, it's about establishing relationships that matter with guests and listeners and building communities Our guests Mouin Jaber of Sarde (after dinner), Loulou Khazen of Conversations with Loulou, Stefano Fallaha of Podeo, Bella Ibrahim of Kerning Cultures, alongside Former Radio Host Olga Habre explain how to build the right community for your podcast and engage your au...

Impact startups are building solutions to the world's problems including climate change, pollution, and more. Tameka Vasquez of Sidewalk Labs (Alphabet), Alicia Sornson of Village Capital, Kevin Holliday of C3 alongside Khyara Ranaweera of The Conscious Consultancy highlight the importance of investing in impact-focused startups and how more and more VCs are interested in having social returns on...

In this episode, Marius Ciavola of Tradeling, David Feuillard of Eatapp , and Saif Ali of Dastgyr discuss how e-commerce affected the B2B arena and B2C consumer behavior, B2B vs. B2C impact on economic growth, and the upcoming global trends we should expect in the industry. _____________________ HIGHLIGHTS -Evolution of B2B trade -Consumer behavior & market trends -B2B &. B2C coexisting -U...

In this episode, Badr Ward of Lamsa, Aamer Sheikh of PepsiCo Middle East, Saeed Alnofel of in5 Dubai, Victor Kiriakos of MQB alongside Dana Abou Shakra of Park Innovation discuss all the verticals that go into making startup communities thrive. Sign up for Step Saudi 2022 https://saudi.stepconference.com/

From podcasting to YouTubing and running social channels, it's always a struggle bringing numbers up, what's the trick? Panelists Mamta Varerkar at Yellow, Panagiotis Tsaggas at Susurrus, Mashal Waqar at Milestone Ventures & MyLily and Casey Fitzgerald at Lovin Dubai reveal how podcasters can attract listeners, YouTubers can get more views and Social Influencers can get more following and enga...

Cashless economies are inevitable and new technologies are taking over. Fintech players Anuscha Iqbal at Spotii, Nada Hassan at YAP, Alaeddin Elmajed at Hyperpay and Riaz Naqvi at Hill+Knowlton tell you about the key elements you need to consider when building your brand, how to gain the trust of traditional businesses and the role regulations and collaborations in the industry. Sign up for Step S...

A successful brand is all about the consumer's experience. Vishal Badiani of Snapchat, Moe Minkara of Mink, Fouad Jeryes of Maqsam and Sarah Trad of Step Feed discuss creative consumer experience strategies brands have to follow to stand out and build a loyal community.

VCs refer to markets like MENA as ‘emerging’ but some experts project that it will become the dominant source of investment flows. On this episode, Amal Dokhan of 500 Global, GV Ravishankar of Sequoia Capital, Walid Faza of MSA Capital, Jehan Ara of Katalyst Lab and Vijay Tirathrai of Techstars tell you about what factors to consider when investing in startups in emerging markets. Sign up for Step...

With the gaming industry expanding in the region, e-sports athletes and organizers Saeed Sharaf of Esports Middle East, Madiha "Madi" Naz of Nigma Galaxy, Aref Aabed of MBC and Povilas Joniskis of Boston Consultancy Group talk about accepting e-sports as a sport, females in the e-sports space, and its development in MENA. Sign up for Step events https://stepconference.com/

Web3 is a current buzzword, but is it the future? Riyad Abou Jaoudeh of MEVP, Vincent Ghossoub of Nifty Craft, Salwa Radwi of NuqtahNFT, Mo Yusuf of Checkout.com and Anas Bhurtun of Arts DAO are here to answer your questions on Web3 replacing the internet, the interesting features it brings and who's winning and who's losing in the Web3 world. Sign up for Step Saudi 2022 saudi.stepconference.com

With content consumption on the rise, our panelists are here to tell you how to crack monetization. With the current media consumer culture, Basim Dawood of Sowt, Joelle Yazbeck of Twitter, Lemya Soltani Next Broadcast Media and Basel Anabtawi Rising Giants Network reveal valuable monetization models and methods and discuss the attraction between brands and creators.

Founders and Executives from the MENA region get into a conversation about mental well-being. Nadine Karadag of Valeo, Mariam Farag of Humanizing Brands, David Munir Nabti of Bloom and Ally Salama of EMPWR discuss how to deal with overwhelming pressure, build a supportive ecosystem and embed mental health and culture.

VC and successful startup founders from the region give you their perspective about what it takes for startups to expand & grow, and it goes way beyond funding. Listen to Omar Rifai of Grubtech, Elliott Denham of Dtec Ventures, Christos Mastoras of Iliad Partners, and Loulou to learn about assessing marketing and making the right decision Khazen of Kickstart Ventures in this episode.

Many wonders if the creator economy and influencer marketing can ride the wave of automation. Ricky Ray Butler, CEO at BEN talk about the importance of influencer marketing in creator economies and how automation is an integral part in pushing this industry forward.