Oday Kamal: Bitcoin in the Middle East & North Africa and Building Around Legacy Central Banks

Jun 28, 2024

Oday Kamal, founder of Zawda, discusses Lebanon's currency crisis, moving to Egypt, bitcoin for the Middle East and North Africa, self-custody importance, and getting licenses from legacy central banks. He shares insights on the Lebanese banking crisis, challenges in Egypt, adopting bitcoin, startup pivots, regulatory landscape in the Middle East, and transforming a startup through networking and mentorship.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Navigating the Lebanese Banking Crisis and Capital Controls

03:06 • 2min

Journey to Cairo, Egypt and Economic Crisis Challenges

05:36 • 3min

Challenges and Opportunities in Adopting Bitcoin in Egypt and Lebanon

08:20 • 8min

Startup pivots, sponsor ads, and multi-sig adoption in the Middle East and North Africa

16:00 • 4min

Navigating the Regulatory Landscape for Cryptocurrencies in the Middle East

19:55 • 9min

Transforming a Startup Through Networking and Mentorship

29:07 • 3min

In this episode with Oday, we discuss:

Lebanon currency crisis
Moving to Egypt and building a Bitcoin company
Getting licenses from legacy central banks
Bitcoin for Middle East and North Africa
The importance of self-custody for individuals and businesses

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Bio: Oday is the founder of Zawda, a Bitcoin custody company helping businesses in the Middle East and North Africa preserve their bitcoin wealth using multisig wallets. Zawda was part of the first cohort at Wolf, a Bitcoin accelerator, in 2023 and has received backing from Axiom Ventures. It's currently seeking a custodial license from the Central Bank of Bahrain. Prior to Zawda, Oday worked at the United Nations, Careem (acquired by Uber), and Google. His Bitcoin journey started when he lived through the 2019 Lebanese banking crisis where the local currency lost 90% of its value and people got locked out of their savings account. Learn more about Zawda at https://zawda.me

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