Spark! with Shereen
The Spark! with Shereen podcast show amplifies the voices of the Middle East startup ecosystem. Join Shereen Abdulla as she interviews government officials, entrepreneurs, and investors and about technology and innovation trends. This show was recorded in 2020 and 2021. The information provided is current as of the time of recording each episode. Shereen Abdulla produces business and finance content out of Spark! Studios in Dubai.
Episodes
30 episodes
How to structure and market B2C marketplace apps
In our latest episode, we sit down with Kerem Kuyucu who's the co-founder of JustMop, a platform that connects home dwellers...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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20:40
Building HealthTech startups in Egypt
In our latest episode, we sit down with Rasha Rady who's the co-founder and COO of Chefaa, a pharmacy platform that help...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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19:54
Finding new markets for existing products
In our latest episode, we sit down with Lamya Al Shammary who's the founder and CEO of MWJ, the first marketplace to buy ne...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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16:42
Digitizing and collecting retail data
In our latest episode, we sit down with Myriam Awad who's the founder and CEO of PotPay (formerly Bakala), a startup...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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12:53
A more diligent approach to tackling bugs
In our latest episode, we sit down with Toghrul Samad who's the founder and CEO of Buglance, a crowdsourced testing platform that utilize...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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12:11
Building platforms based on data
In our latest episode, we sit down with Philip Bahoshy whose the founder and CEO of MAGNiTT, the first venture data platform servin...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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18:44
A decade of evolution in MENA's startup ecosystem
In our latest episode, we sit down with Bedy Yang, Managing Partner at 500 Startups. Bedy oversees 500’s ecosystem development programs including investor educati...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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24:17
Build winning ventures with corporate partners
In our latest episode, we sit down with Leen Nabulsi who is a Venture Lead at Rainmaking Innovation. Leen focuses on corp...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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24:17
Win professionally and personally through support systems as a working mom
In our latest episode, we sit down with Julie Nguyen who is the founder of Crunchmoms. Crunchmoms is a community and networking platform for working m...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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19:48
Employee satisfaction equals customer satisfaction - how not to overlook wellness
In our latest episode, we sit down with Ben Safra and Mila Nehme who are co-founders of
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Episode 21
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17:35
Grow your ventures with a global mindset
In our latest episode, we sit down with Basil Moftah to discuss the global mindset amongst entrepreneurs. Basil is an experienced venture builder and partner at
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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32:11
Do business mindfully to receive more wins
In our latest episode, we sit down with Sagi Melamed to discuss mindful investing. Sagi is the author of
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Episode 19
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19:40
How to set up a startup of startups and tackle several opportunities at once
In our latest episode, we sit down with Faris Mesmar to discuss venture building. Faris is a serial entrepreneur as well as the founder and managing partner o...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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24:25
Maximize your performance, fitness and sleep quality using wearables
In our latest episode, we dig deep with Marcus Smith on the topic of wearables. Marcus is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, fitness coach, and extreme athlete. H...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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35:59
Navigating Saudi's business culture
In our latest episode, we had an engaging conversation with Nouf Alharthi. Nouf works for Monsha'at, which the General Authorit...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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20:37
Applying 3D printing, VR, and gamification in healthcare
In our latest episode, we sit with Mohamed Dhaouafi to discuss how he is bringing 3D printing, VR, and gamification technologies to healthcare. More specifically, through his company
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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26:12
Building mental resilience through community
In this episode, we’ll be talking about how to keep your mental health intact as an entrepreneur. We had a meaningful discussion with Areije Al-Shakar, who has guided startu...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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23:34
Exploring new models of the publishing industry, with John Lillywhite
In this episode, we’ll be talking about the digitization of media in the Middle East. We sit down with John Lillywhite, who has a wealth of experience in this industry having undertaken ...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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20:07
Win at hosting virtual experiences, with Ali Rifai
In this episode, we’ll be talking about events and how the event management industry has changed over 2020. We sit down with is Ali Rifai, who has spent over 10 years organizing events of all ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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16:03
How to sustainably run a farm in the desert, with Dr. Majid Al Qassimi
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Majid Al Qassimi, who is a founding partner for the Middle East's only food & agricultural sustainability consulting company, <...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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34:13
Monetize your media and grow your audience, with Richard Fitzgerald
In this episode, we sit down with Richard Fitzgerald, who is the CEO and Co-founder of Augustus Media, which owns the
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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30:25
How to produce and consume within the booming podcast industry, with Leila Hamadeh
Want to read the episode instead? Access the show notes here.Feel like socializing? Conn...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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27:24
Consider apprenticeships for experiential learning this fall, with Mehrad Yaghmai
In this episode, we sit down with Mehrad Yaghmai, who is an active entrepreneur and investor in the EdTech industry in the Middle East. We discuss:Education models to learn through practice (internsh...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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24:10
