Builders of the Broken Bazaar

Dr. Tabish Zaman
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Redefining entrepreneurship through the realities of the informal, the resettled, and the overlooked. When systems collapse, people still build.Hosted by Dr. Tabish Zaman, Builders of the Broken Bazaar explores refugee entrepreneurship, necessity entrepreneurship, and migrant entrepreneurship in the face of displacement, inequality, and digital disruption. From refugee camps and conflict zones to neglected high streets, hear stories of grassroots innovators, social entrepreneurs, and informal economy builders creating for survival, dignity, and community resilience. We uncover the human cost of AI on marginalised communities, the realities of crisis-driven enterprise, and the power of dignity-based economies that exist far from Silicon Valley myths. 🎙 “This podcast isn’t for unicorn founders. It’s for those who build quietly, in the margins—because they have no other choice.” Subscribe and join us in rewriting the story of entrepreneurship for those who build under pressure.

Episodes

  1. Ep 7: Crisis Creates Entrepreneurs

    SEP 10

    Ep 7: Crisis Creates Entrepreneurs

    When war collapses every system, who keeps communities alive? In this episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, Dr. Tabish Zaman speaks with Alaa Albakour, director of Localized Action, about how Syrians rebuilt from nothing but trust and necessity. From food committees and youth volunteer networks to women-led initiatives that turned leftover aid into dignity, Alaa shows how resilience emerges not from capital, but from care. 🎙 “Real enterprise doesn’t begin with money — it begins with community.” 👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    53 min
  2. Ep 6: Humanitarianism uncovered: How Every Refugee Camp is a story of broken Promises!!

    SEP 3

    Ep 6: Humanitarianism uncovered: How Every Refugee Camp is a story of broken Promises!!

    Displacement is too often called a crisis. But what if it’s actually a system — one built to manage people, not empower them? In this episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, Dr. Tabish Zaman speaks with Dr. Philip Proudfoot, political anthropologist and author of Rebel Populism, about how exile has become permanent, how aid budgets follow politics more than need, and why dignity in displacement is fought for in everyday acts of resistance. From Lebanon’s construction sites to Gaza’s blockade, Proudfoot shows how survival itself becomes deeply political — and why accountability in humanitarianism must mean more than feedback forms. 🎙 “Displacement is not about movement — it’s about rights.” 👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    1h 17m
  3. Ep 5: The Hidden Heart of Innovation: Resilience

    AUG 27

    Ep 5: The Hidden Heart of Innovation: Resilience

    We love the myths: Silicon Valley geniuses, billion-dollar unicorns, “lightbulb moments.” But the truth is far messier. Real innovation is born of necessity — in the relentless grind of failure. In this episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, Dr. Tabish Zaman speaks with Professor John Bessant — one of the world’s leading voices on innovation and inclusive entrepreneurship. From Edison’s 10,000 failed filaments to Dyson’s 5,000 prototypes, from $30 eye surgeries that restored sight to millions to Syrian rescue tools made from pool mattresses, John reveals why resilience, not disruption, is the real currency of innovation. 🎙 “Innovation isn’t about Silicon Valley hype — it’s about resilience.” 👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    56 min
  4. Ep 4: The Business of Survival: What We Never Ask About Boxes of Aid?

    AUG 20

    Ep 4: The Business of Survival: What We Never Ask About Boxes of Aid?

    Aid is meant to save lives. But no one wants to depend on it. Families don’t wait in hope for cardboard boxes — they organize, barter, build, and survive. Yet the humanitarian system continues to treat them as passive recipients, delivering assumptions instead of answers. In this episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, Dr. Tabish Zaman speaks with Marina Kobzeva, a former aid recipient turned humanitarian leader, about what’s broken in the global aid system — and what real accountability should look like. From post-Soviet Azerbaijan to two decades inside the sector, Marina shares why 90% of aid money never reaches communities, how colonial mindsets still shape aid delivery, and why true innovation lives in mutual aid, remittances, and grassroots resilience. 🎙 “People don’t want charity — they want agency.” 👉 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    58 min
  5. Ep 3: How One Entrepreneur is Building Human Capital with Technology, AI, and Displaced Communities

    AUG 14

    Ep 3: How One Entrepreneur is Building Human Capital with Technology, AI, and Displaced Communities

    Every “smart” AI system — from ChatGPT to self-driving cars — runs on unseen human labor. Behind the algorithms are people in refugee camps, conflict zones, and struggling economies, quietly training the machines that shape our world. In this episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, Dr. Tabish Zaman speaks with Iva Gumnishka — founder of Humans in the Loop and Cartier Women’s Initiative Award winner — about harnessing technology to create dignified livelihoods for displaced people from Syria, Ukraine, Palestine, and beyond. We explore the hidden workforce behind AI, the ethics of the digital economy, the environmental cost of technology, and what it takes to build sustainable businesses rooted in dignity, not disruption. 🎙 “AI doesn’t just run on data — it runs on human lives.” https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    58 min
  6. Ep 2: When Survival Gets Marketed as Entrepreneurship

    AUG 14

    Ep 2: When Survival Gets Marketed as Entrepreneurship

    Every 30 hours, a new billionaire is created.Every 33 hours, a million people fall into extreme poverty. Over 120 million people are now forcibly displaced — not by accident, but by political choices, economic extraction, and systemic neglect. In this episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, Dr. Tabish Zaman examines why refugee and migrant entrepreneurship is so often survival-driven rather than opportunity-driven. From Gaza to Kakuma Refugee Camp, discover how displacement shapes enterprise, why markets fail the most vulnerable, and how grassroots economies emerge when every other door is closed. We explore refugee entrepreneurship, crisis-driven enterprise, and dignity-based economies that challenge profit-first models — and ask what it really means to build in a broken system. 🎙 “Sometimes, entrepreneurship isn’t innovation — it’s endurance.” https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    32 min
  7. Ep 1: Entrepreneurship Beyond Profit: Stories of Resilience and Hope

    AUG 14

    Ep 1: Entrepreneurship Beyond Profit: Stories of Resilience and Hope

    Inequality. Displacement. Digital disruption. What happens when global systems collapse—and people are left to survive without support? In this first episode of Builders of the Broken Bazaar, host Dr. Tabish Zaman dismantles the myths of modern entrepreneurship and spotlights necessity entrepreneurs who build not for profit, but for survival, dignity, and community resilience. From refugee camps and conflict zones to neglected high streets, discover how informal economies and grassroots innovation keep communities alive when institutions fail. We explore refugee entrepreneurship, the human cost of AI on marginalised communities, and social value creation beyond Silicon Valley myths. https://www.youtube.com/@buildersofthebrokenbazaar

    24 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

Redefining entrepreneurship through the realities of the informal, the resettled, and the overlooked. When systems collapse, people still build.Hosted by Dr. Tabish Zaman, Builders of the Broken Bazaar explores refugee entrepreneurship, necessity entrepreneurship, and migrant entrepreneurship in the face of displacement, inequality, and digital disruption. From refugee camps and conflict zones to neglected high streets, hear stories of grassroots innovators, social entrepreneurs, and informal economy builders creating for survival, dignity, and community resilience. We uncover the human cost of AI on marginalised communities, the realities of crisis-driven enterprise, and the power of dignity-based economies that exist far from Silicon Valley myths. 🎙 “This podcast isn’t for unicorn founders. It’s for those who build quietly, in the margins—because they have no other choice.” Subscribe and join us in rewriting the story of entrepreneurship for those who build under pressure.

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