with Loulou

Is the Middle East entering a new golden age? Loulou sits down with one of the most well-connected geopolitical economists working today for a structural read on the region recorded as the US-Iran 60-day MOU process opened, Strait of Hormuz traffic restarted, the IMEC corridor returned to the working-group table and Saudi Arabia pivoted NEOM capital into AI infrastructure. The episode is built to...

What happens to your job when the most powerful companies in the world are laying off thousands of people not because they are failing, but because they are betting on AI instead, and your region is also in a war that is reshaping who can hire and who has to cut? In this episode of With Loulou, Loulou Khazen Baz sits down with Justin McGuire, Founder and CEO of MCG Talent, the Middle East's leadin...

Where do you put your money in the Gulf right now? Loulou sits down with one of the UAE's most experienced investors to read the region as it actually is in June 2026: the regional war still the dominant story, the World Cup just under way and more. HE Faisal Belhoul is a veteran Emirati investor and entrepreneur, former Vice Chair of Dubai Chambers, and chairman of UAE second-division football cl...

Abdullah Mutawi, Partner & Head of Corporate MENA at Taylor Wessing, and Kushal Shah, Private Markets Investor, join Loulou for a conversation (episode 103) on where opportunity really sits in the GCC today. They unpack angel investing, founder red flags, why many startups fail despite strong products, and the lessons that come from writing early-stage checks. The discussion also explores cash-gen...

Gaurav Biswas, Founder & CEO of Trukker, joins Loulou for a timely conversation on what happens to GCC supply chains when the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. They unpack how cargo was rerouted through alternate ports, land bridges, and trucking networks while food security, industrial supply, and construction materials came under pressure. Gaurav also breaks down Trukker’s 75,000+ driver network, t...

Philip Bahoshy, Founder & CEO of Magnitt, and Ziad Awad, Founder & CEO of Awad Capital, join Loulou for episode 100 of With Loulou. Recorded during a period of regional uncertainty, this conversation looks at what is really happening across MENA private markets, venture capital, M&A, IPOs, and the future of exits in the region. Chapters 00:00 Episode 100 and the first two-guest format 03:00 Public...

Day 56 of the Iran war. Most international press wrote Dubai's obituary in March. Predictions of a mass exodus, the end of the UAE story, a 15 year setback. None of it happened. 2,800 strikes were fired at this region. Almost nobody left. Trevor McFarlane, Founder and CEO of EMIR, advisor to GCC CEOs and government leaders, explains why. Recorded in Dubai, April 22, 2026. Day 56 of the Iran war. C...

A Saudi quick-commerce startup raised $212 million and just collapsed. MENA VC funding fell 37% year-over-year. Late-stage debt is frozen. Khaled Talhouni — Managing Partner of Nuwa Capital, one of the most active GCC funds with 53 portfolio companies across Saudi, the UAE, and Egypt joins With Loulou to break down what's actually happening in the regional venture market right now.  Recorded in Du...

In this special episode, Loulou Khazen speaks with Mo Gawdat about fear, uncertainty, and the psychological impact of war. في هذه الحلقة الخاصة، تتحاور لولو خازن مع مو جودة حول الخوف وعدم اليقين والتأثير النفسي للحروب.  As the Gulf faces a moment that can no longer be ignored, this conversation explores what happens inside people when threat stops feeling abstract. ومع لحظة حساسة تعيشها منطقة الخل...

Discover how Anam Khalid, co-founder and COO of Squatwolf, went from a small-town girl in Pakistan to building a global fitness brand from Dubai. In this inspiring conversation, Anam reveals the sacrifices, challenges, and truths of entrepreneurship, breaking gender barriers, and building a business with her husband. If you dream of creating your own success story, this episode will light the fire...

لماذا علينا أن نتحدث عن المال؟ ولماذا تكون النساء أكثر عرضة للموت مفلسات؟ في هذه الحلقة، نستضيف الإعلامية العالمية، خبيرة التواصل، ومؤلفة كتاب "The Brilliant Communicator"، نعمة أبو وردة، وهي أيضاً صحفية سابقة في هيئة الإذاعة البريطانية (BBC)، لنغوص في قضايا المال، واتخاذ القرار، وأهمية الحضور والتعبير عن الذات. نعمة، بخبرتها في آلاف المقابلات وتدريب مئات الأشخاص، تشرح لنا لماذا لا تقل طريقة عرض ا...

What does progress mean when you start life as a refugee? In this heartfelt episode, Snapchat's MENA VP Hussein Freijeh opens up about building what his father and grandfather never had. We talk about fatherhood, the pressure to succeed, why he nearly lost his job in Big Tech, and how he's now mentoring others to find the path he once had to figure out alone. He also shares his vision for Snap as...

ماذا لو كان ما نؤمن به عن النجاح والمشاعر والعمل... مجرد وهم مغلف بإتقان؟ في هذه الحلقة المؤثرة، نستضيف محمد جودت — الرئيس التنفيذي السابق للأعمال في غوغل إكس، مؤلف عالمي الأكثر مبيعًا، وصوت رائد في السعادة وتطوير الذات 🌐 هذه الحلقة برعاية Bioniq Go: https://bioniq.com/loulou 🎁 استعملوا الرمز CWL40, للحصول على خصم 40% على أول طلب       Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.co...

شاهد الملايين برنامج “دبي بلينغ” على نتفليكس، حيث نتابع حياة الأثرياء الباذخة في الجانب الصاخب من دبي. لكن ما لا يعرفه كثيرون هو من هم هؤلاء الأشخاص خلف الكواليس، بعيدًا عن الأضواء والثراء. في هذه الحلقة، أتحاور مع زينة خوري ، نجمة “دبي بلينغ”، حول الشهرة، والثروة، وما وراءهما هذه الحلقة برعاية Bioniq Go 🌐 https://bioniq.com/loulou 🎁 إستعمل الرمز CWL40 للحصول على خصم Millions have watched Dubai...

Paddy Cosgrave, founder and CEO of Web Summit, joins me for a fast-paced conversation recorded live at Web Summit Qatar. We talk about how he scaled a 150-person event into one of the world’s largest tech conferences, and why the same principles—imagination, naivety, and engineering serendipity—can be applied to anything you want to build. Paddy shares his thoughts on avoiding fear-driven decision...

في الحلقة الأولى من البودكاست بالعربي، حبيت اني أتكلم مع صديقي رائد الأعمال محمد أبو النجا المعروف في مصر ب"نجاتي". محمد عندو رؤية في مجال العمل. عندما كان موظف في فوري، قرر إنو يشتري أسهم بالشركة وأدرجت فوري على البورصة المصرية في عام ٢٠١٩. ومن بعد فوري، كان نجاتي المدير الإقليمي لشركة "كريم" في مصر. وبعدها، كان الشريك المؤسس لشركة "حالاً" وهي اليوم شركة مليارية. ولقد أدى نجاح نجاتي في العمل إلى...

 We kick off by exploring the broader implications of President Trump’s ‘drill baby drill’ policy and how it could shape GCC economies, from oil markets to capital flows. We then deep dive into the art of deal-making, from knowing when to sell, to navigating high-stakes negotiations, to creating a win-win scenario to uncovering the one thing that kills a deal. Ziad gives us a behind the scenes loo...

I sat down with Philip Bahoshy, founder of MAGNiTT, for a no-holds-barred conversation on the realities of the startup world. We unpack the "Startup Valley of Death," exploring why founders fail, when to quit, and how to navigate burnout. Philip dives into M&A challenges, scarce exits, and the rising role of secondary transactions and IPO readiness. He also highlights scaling hurdles in fragmented...

In this episode, we dive into the hard truth about why exits in MENA are so challenging, the role of tariffs in protecting domestic production, and how bad actors have tarnished the reputation of an entire industry. Sky also gives us a masterclass on navigating capital markets, working with your board (hint: don’t deprive them of their learning moments), and what to do when you’re stuck with an in...

Chris Rogers is a global entrepreneur who co-founded Nextel Communications, a wireless connectivity company, in 1987 and sold it for $35B in 2005. In the early 2000s, Chris came to Saudi Arabia to launch Nextel as a joint venture with Saudi Telecom. His deep connection to the region brought him back as an investor in Careem, Kitopi, and several other startups. In this episode, Chris shares what it...

I sat down with Maha Abouelenein, powerhouse communicator, entrepreneur, and best-selling author of  Seven Rules of Self-Reliance . Maha shares her incredible journey—from starting as a secretary for Naguib Sawiris to building a PR empire, working with global icons like Gary Vee, and becoming a bestselling author. We dive into the lessons from her book, the importance of betting on yourself, unlea...

I sat down with Talal Tabbaa, co-founder of CoinMENA, to unpack the latest in the crypto world. We dive into Bitcoin’s recent bull run and why ETFs are a game-changer for institutional adoption. Talal shares his take on altcoins, meme coins, and whether they’re worth the hype—or just a gamble. We also tackle the big question: is it too late to get into Bitcoin? Plus, we discuss how governments, pa...

I sat down with H.E. Sheikh Fahim a member of the Executive Council of Sharjah and the Executive Chairman of the Department of Government Relations to talk about his marine conservation work. Sheikh Fahim a.k.a. ‘the Turtle Sheikh’ whose love for the ocean - sparked by saving ‘Farah’ a turtle stuck in a fishing net - led him to launch SeafoodSouq, a technology business that tracks the global seafo...

I sat down with Abdullah Mutawi, Partner and Head of Corporate at law firm Taylor Wessing and prolific angel investor as the Co-founder and Chairman of Dubai Angel Investors and Saudi Angel Investors and we unpack some of the challenges that startups founders and venture capital investors are facing as they learn how to deal with a major downturn echoing the global venture capital downturn post 20...

I sat down with Charlie Wright, Founder & CEO of Humantra, the fastest-growing electrolytes brand in the UAE, now eyeing global expansion after a successful UK launch. Charlie’s journey to Dubai began straight out of college, where a sales job quickly showed him that he craved more than the corporate grind. After two failed ventures, he learned valuable lessons that paved the way for something big...