Global Innovators in Business Christopher Rathbun

Daniel Yu is the Founder and CEO of Wasoko. Wasoko aims to unleash African commerce from various aspects. Using Wasoko’s services, shopkeepers and suppliers are more efficiently connected. By simply ordering products via the mobile app, shopkeepers can receive deliveries at their doorstep. Additionally, Wasoko has been able to support and finance small retailers. Daniel is also conversant in more than 8 languages and has taken the founder's pledge to transfer 70% of his proceeds to effective interventions in reducing suffering.



In this episode, you will hear about:

💡 Daniel’s inspiring story of how he explored the world at a young age and found his passion: applied to a music major but later changed minds, dropped out of college to start a business in Africa…

🌍 What pain points does Wasoko solve and how does Wasoko address it?

🚀 What is the biggest challenge of building Wasoko in Africa, a developing market, compared to if Wasoko was built in a more developed market?

💼 For-profit enterprises V.S. Nonprofit enterprises, which one is more needed in the developing market?

🎓 Daniel’s advice to the young generations?

Basil Moftah, the General Partner at Nclude, a venture capitalist fund and Fintech innovation engine with a core focus on the Middle East and North Africa. As an influential force in the venture capital space, Basil is at the forefront of the Fintech revolution in Egypt, a country experiencing a quantum leap forward in its Fintech ecosystem.



In this episode, you will learn:
📚From a student with an engineering degree in Cairo to a venture capitalist in San Fransisco, what led Basil to where he is today?
📈Differences in the business lifecycle of a startup in an emerging market V.S. a startup in a well-developed market.  
🤝Why financial inclusion is the key issue in the Middle East and Africa and what are possible ways that can improve the current financial inclusion situation?

🚀What development phase is the Middle East Fintech market, especially the Egyptian market, in right now?

🌟Why creating a “sandbox for growth” is important for business in the developing Fintech market? 🌾What is the most undervalued sector in the Egyptian economy?

❤️What about being a VC does Basil love the most?

🔍Basil’s advice to the young generation.

Vikas is the Founder & CEO of abillion. abillion is a social media platform focused on helping people create better daily habits and rituals, starting with what they eat and buy. abillion’s mission is to become the definitive global ecosystem for everything sustainable.


In this episode, you will hear about:

💼What’s the motivation for founding abillion?

💡 How did Vikas make plans for his early career path?

🥩 What’s the future of cultivated meat?

🌍 How to pick the right ecosystem for your business?

👨‍🏫 Advice for young entrepreneurs: Start with a big name V.S. Start your own business right away.

Jim Rogers, a well-known investor, author, and financial commentator. He is the co-founder of the Quantum Fund, a hedge fund that achieved an impressive record of returns, and the author of “The Investment Biker”.

In this episode, you will learn:

🎓 Jim’s early life journey from Yale to Oxford

💼 The Quantum Fund – how it beat the S&P by nearly 4200% in 1970s?

📈 Jim’s way of thinking about investments in today’s volatile market

🏍️ What has Jim learned from his travel around the world on his motorcycle?

🌍 How does Jim see the US-China relationship?

💡 One investment advice - How catastrophes can lead to huge opportunities

👨‍🏫 If Jim could only choose one advisor, who would it be?

💰 Jim’s take on the future of cryptocurrency?

📚 Advice for students and the young generations


This interview is dedicated to Helen Keller International, an organization that provides critical nutrition to children around the world at risk for vitamin A deficiency - a condition that can lead to blindness and death (https://www.hki.org/).

Pierre Paslier is the co-founder and co-CEO of Notpla, a leader in the sustainable packaging and container manufacturing industry.
Notpla is replacing the use of plastic in packaging with seaweed and plants that biodegrade in weeks to make our world more sustainable.

In this episode, you will hear about:
🌱 How do biodegradable plants, especially seaweed, make food takeaway boxes more sustainable?
💼 How did Pierre find his way into the packaging industry and finally start his own business?
🚀 How did Notpla grow from scratch?
💡 Pierre’s advice on how to find innovative ideas and make it happen.
🏆 Pierre’s thoughts on how to think about the competition a start-up faces when entering the market as well as other insights on how to manage a start-up.


This interview is dedicated to 5 Gyres, a non-profit organization focusing on reducing plastic pollution by focusing on primary research (https://www.5gyres.org/).

Atish Davda is CEO and Co-Founder of EquityZen, a company working on bringing private markets to the public. Atish talks about his journey to starting EquityZen and what this company means to the future of investing in innovation.

The interview is dedicated to PennPAC. PennPAC works with nonprofit organizations to help solve their business challenges through the engagement of Penn alumni who serve as pro bono consultants for short-term projects. (https://pennpac.org/about/)