Emerge

Nader Abdelrazik
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Emerge is a founder-focused podcast exploring how startups scale in emerging markets.Hosted by Nader Abdelrazik, it features in-depth conversations with founders, and startup leaders on entrepreneurship, business growth, scaling strategies, fundraising, and building resilient companies in high-growth markets.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Ismael Belkhayat - From BCG to Banking License: How Chari is Building Fintech for Morocco's Merchants

    What does it take to build a licensed fintech in one of Africa's most cash-dependent markets? Ismael Belkhayat, Founder & CEO of Chari, didn't start there. He started with BCG slides, a ride hailing app and a property portal before co-founding Chari in 2020 - a B2B e-commerce and fintech platform built specifically for merchants in Morocco. The path wasn't straight. Chari launched as an e-commerce business, lost money on purpose using it as a Trojan horse to earn merchant trust, then pivoted to financial services once that trust was there. Three years later, Chari holds a full banking license from the Central Bank of Morocco and is growing fast. But the license wasn't the finish line. It was the beginning of the problems. In this episode of Emerge, Ismael sits down with Nader, founder of MoneyHash, for an honest conversation about what building in Morocco actually looks like. From the BCG wake-up call to the YC cohort that only knew one KPI, from losing money on e-commerce to becoming a licensed financial institution, and from admiring the Egyptian startup mafia to calling for a Moroccan one.

    31 min

  2. Jun 3

    John Mady - The Vision Behind Qlub: Scaling a Restaurant Tech Startup Across Markets

    What does it take to become the #1 payment method in every restaurant? Qlub's Co-founder reveals the unconventional strategy that made them one of the fastest-growing fintech startups in the region. From spending a year working out of Dubai Mall restaurants to keeping the entire team on the ground with clients, this is what customer proximity actually looks like in action.

    35 min

  3. May 20

    Belal El-Megharbel - Building MaxAB Against All Odds and Scaling One of Egypt’s Biggest Startups

    Belal El-Megharbel, Co-founder and CEO of MaxAB, shares the unfiltered journey of building one of MENA's largest B2B e-commerce and fintech platforms—from spending nights at shisha cafes observing inefficiencies to navigating the brutal market shift after 2022.  "What works in other parts of the world will not work here. You cannot force technology everywhere." - Belal El-Megharbel, CEO of MaxAB This is the reality of building world-class companies in emerging markets—the problems, the pivots, and the playbook that doesn't exist yet.

    42 min

  4. May 6

    Dani El-Zein - Supy's Founder on Pivoting, Fundraising & Building

    What happens when your restaurant flops, your first software product misses the mark, and a competitor gets you banned from Google Ads? You pivot. You get creative. And apparently, you rank for 2,000+ keywords globally. Dani El-Zein, Co-founder of Supy, joins the CEO of MoneyHash, Nader on the Emerge Podcast for one of the most honest founder conversations we've had. From investment banking to running a restaurant that "never paid a dividend," to building one of the fastest-growing inventory management systems in the region - this is what graduating through the hard stages actually looks like.

    52 min

  5. Apr 23

    Introducing Emerge: Founder Stories from Emerging Markets

    Real conversations with founders building in emerging markets. The pivots, the fundraising truths and the ambitions.

    1 min
  • 5 Episodes

About

Emerge is a founder-focused podcast exploring how startups scale in emerging markets.Hosted by Nader Abdelrazik, it features in-depth conversations with founders, and startup leaders on entrepreneurship, business growth, scaling strategies, fundraising, and building resilient companies in high-growth markets.

Information

  • Creator
    Nader Abdelrazik
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Emerge
  • Show Website
    Emerge