Couchonomics with Arjun

Arjun Singh
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Aug 26, 2022 • 35min

EP23 Unlocking New Revenue Streams with NFTs | Kristel Bechara, NFT Artist

NFTs are a hot topic very few people really understand. For many of us, our first time hearing of NFTs was in 2021 when they suddenly seemed to be a digital gold mine. However, for the patient community that diligently crafts the famed images, NFTs represent an opportunity for profound and fundamental transformation.Kristel Bechara joins us on Couchonmics to share her view as the rising star of the Middle Easter art world. Just a few short years ago, Kristel was a budding artist selling her physical works through digital channels. One day, a friend approached her and introduced her to the concept of NFTs. After doing some initial research, Kristel quickly decided to invest her own talents into the NFT space, and she hasn’t looked back since.In our conversation, Kristel takes us through:Key criteria for evaluating long-term NFT valueThe benefit of 1-of-1s compared to collectionsHow NFTs can transform ownership, protect artist rights and open up new revenue streamsTime Stamp00:00— Introduction02:38— How Kristel Discovered NFTs10:00— How to evaluate NFT value long-term18:46— How NFTs can benefit artists around the world27:00— NFTs from an investor’s perspective31:00— ConclusionFollow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates:www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start - up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly e volving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond:http s://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by ourpartners from:Adyen, a reliable end - to - end payments solution that enables businesses to turnpayments into a strategic growth driver:https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabiand operating in 11 countries:https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of anyscale to embed financial products:https://m2pfintech.com/Connect with Couchonomics:Websitehttps://www.couchonomics.com/TikTokhttps://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLQYGHoa/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/couchonOur website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Aug 23, 2022 • 32min

EP22 The Future of Corporate Spending | with Mohammed Aziz, Pluto

Around the world, open banking adoption is rising steadily, embraced by a growing number of banks and fintech companies providing innovative financial products and tapping into new market segments. As of the end of Q2 2022, global research identified 1,578 banking platforms that are making APIs available, representing an annual growth of 8%.To identify all the advantages and the challenges this growing industry faces, we have Mo Aziz on the couch, Co-Founder and CEO of Pluto. Pluto is open banking service that is offering a unique Pluto Corporate Card, that is revolutionizing corporate spending.Mo highlighted importance of not being too disruptive when offering a new technology to SME’s and respecting their ways of doing business.Join us in this interesting conversation about open banking and learn more about:Benefits of Pluto card for SMEPluto’s planned expansion in the MENA regionAn overview of the open banking sector in MENAImportance of chemistry between the co-founders when starting the new businessCheck out Pluto: https://www.plutocard.io/Timeline:00:00 – Intro01:13 – Introducing Mo Aziz02:01 – Beginning and ending of DAPI04:21 – Overview of open banking in the MENA region08:52 – Pluto Corporate Spend14:07 – Co-founders & Ramp investment18:32 – Strategy targeting SME’s24:51 – Dealing with competitionFollow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Aug 11, 2022 • 28min

EP21 Fintech in MENA: A macro perspective | with Nameer Khan, MENA Fintech Association

Fintech is an ecosystem in a state of ordered chaos. The rules change just as frequently as the consumers do, and businesses must adapt to both or be squeezed out of profits. In this competitive, fast-paced environment, each player focuses on securing their own interest. While this leads to phenomenal individual success stories, some leading figures believe it is important to keep an eye on the big picture.Enter our guest today, Nameer Khan, Chairman and Founding Board Member of the MENA Fintech Association. Drawing on the support of an impressive panel of local and global partners, the Association has quickly proven itself as an integral force in the vitalization of the fintech world.Tune into this episode where we discuss topics such as: Digital penetration in the MENA regionFinding and recruiting top-level talent The Association’s role in the financial ecosystemTimeline00:00 - Introduction02:30 - The History of the Mena Fintech Association09:02 - Bridging the Talent Gap15:05 - Challenging the incumbents’ mindset 21:21 - Breaking down Gen-Z and Gen-Y consumers: The Generation of Purpose26:52 - Conclusion Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Connect with Couchonomics:Website https://www.couchonomics.com/TikTok https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLQYGHoa/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Aug 4, 2022 • 31min

EP20 How to teach teenagers about money? | with Smeetha Ghosh-Jorgensen, Cashee

Many of us never consider money as a serious concept until later on in our lives. By then, the damage has been done: unnecessary purchases and loans have wormed their way into the wallet.Smeetha Ghosh-Jorgensen, CEO and co-founder of Cashee, knows these dangers all too well. In this episode, she takes us through how Cashee will encourage teenagers to be mindful of the ways they use money. In today’s modern world where physical currency is slowly being phased out by online purchases and even cryptocurrencies, how do you communicate the value of money to a teenager?Tune into this exciting episode to find this out and a whole lot more, such as:- Getting parents to buy in on FinTech over banks- Retaining teenager brand loyalty- Identifying potential expansion regionsCheck out Cashee: https://www.cashee.com/Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Connect with Couchonomics:Website https://www.couchonomics.com/TikTok https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLQYGHoa/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Jul 29, 2022 • 46min

EP19 MENA Region – A heaven for angel investors? | with Gaurav Dhar, Marshal

In 2021, emerging venture markets in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Turkey saw record-breaking activity levels in the investment space. As 2022 forges ahead, we can expect to see another year of unprecedented investment activity in these regions despite turbulence in the global markets.Gaurav Dhar is a CEO at Marshal & MENA FinTech Association Board Member and in this, the brand new episode of the Couchonomics with Arjun, he provided an insight into the MENA financial ecosystem, especially on the angel investments market.Gaurav also spoke about the opportunities in Saudi Arabia and Egypt and plans for Marshal as an Electronic-Payment solutions provider in the Middle East.Join us in this interesting conversation and find out more about:-The impact that the global crisis is having on the MENA market-The future of the crypto-currencies-Why Egypt is a “sleeping giant”?Timeline:00:00 – Intro01:19 – Introducing Gaurav Dhar02:28 – Angel investors in MENA10:46 – The cause for rapid growth of angel investments19:25 – Let’s talk about Marshal29:39 – Do we need VISA and MasterCard in MENA?Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Jul 21, 2022 • 44min

EP18 Invest in The Future | with Tammer Qaddumi, VentureSouq

The 2020s have not been an easy time for investors. Although investing seemed to be showing signs of recovery, recent trends have seen investment into some sectors take a nose-dive. Businesses struggle to keep pace with rising interest rates, record levels of inflation, and many other seemingly overwhelming economic macro-forces. A stinging question lurks silently in the background; Will investment companies respond with a bullish approach or a bearish one?Our guest today is Tammer Qaddumi, founding partner of VentureSouq, and he offers an answer to that question. As an equity investment platform with assets valued at $3 billion, VentureSouq has braved many hard times. Even with the war raging on and inflation at an all-time high, Tammer believes that the strongest companies can not only survive, but they can thrive. In this conversation he shares how some of the key aspects to achieve this are to: Maintain a stable mindset and sooth investor anxietiesPrioritize stability over growth and profitabilityAnd pick companies that can “punch a hole in the market”Enjoy!Timeline00:00 – Introduction 03:00 – What's changed in venture capital?10:50 – Investment strategies for 2021 and beyond20:15 – Keys for venture capital success in all market conditions27:55 – The story of VentureSouq32:13 – Standout companies in the VentureSouq portfolio38:00 – Web 3.0 and the Blockchain: What’s next for venture capital? 42:00 – Conclusion Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Connect with Couchonomics:  Website httpOur website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Jul 15, 2022 • 36min

EP17 Disruption in the insurance industry | with Ambareen Musa, Souqalmal.com

MENA has made considerable economic progress over the last decade. Still, a couple of formidable challenges remain, including transforming local economies and inclusive job creation. Insurance has the potential to address these challenges and help countries in the region achieve their growth targets.Despite these potential benefits, the insurance sector is underdeveloped in the MENA region and its growth-enhancing potential has not been sufficiently realized.To discuss the need for disruption in the insurance sector, we have invited Ambareen Musa, Souqalmal.com Founder and CEO. She underlined the disruption that is about to happen in insurance and InsureTech and the need for government regulations that must be implemented for these changes to happen.Join us as we discuss:- Investment opportunities in crisis- Equality of opportunity for women in business- The genesis of SouqalmalTimeline:00:00 – Intro01:13 – Introducing Ambareen Musa02:13 – Are funds drying up?09:52 – InsureTech space and it’s challenges12:29 – The birth of Souqalmal19:17 – Equality of opportunity for women31:44 – Highs and lowsCheck out Souqalmal: https://www.souqalmal.com/ae-en/Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Jul 7, 2022 • 29min

EP16 Introducing Innovation to InsurTech | with Tanja Magas, Democrance

The FinTech industry is rapidly expanding and evolving. New innovations and inventions spring up every day at every point in the financial world. In all this excitement, some segments become overlooked. Insurance, bogged down by hundreds of years of tradition and legacy, is one of those neglected and forgotten segments. But Tanja Magas, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Democrance, believes otherwise.Democrance, a company initially founded to capitalize on the microinsurance market, has recently seen rapid expansion. Riding the wave of digitization brought on by the pandemic, the company has managed to double its size in the past two years. For Tanja, the secret to this success can be found in the numbers. Other topics for this episode include:- How digitization will transform insurance- “The digital attacker”: a new business model for a new world- Unlocking the hidden power of data for your businessTimeline:00:00 — Introduction01:38 — Creating space for innovation07:01 — Origin and development of Democrance13:17 — New engagement and distribution channels23:10 — Metaverse and insurance26:40 — Women in InsureTechFollow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/...PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LOur website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Jul 1, 2022 • 36min

EP15 The Future of digital payments | with Kartik Taneja, Mashreq Bank

Over the past couple of years, digital transformation has continued to accelerate across all sectors, and commerce has been no exception. Even as society is getting back to normal, with restrictions lifting and offices reopening, habits adopted during the pandemic are sustained.Online and offline, spending has been transformed. While uncertainty and unpredictability are now expected, one thing that is clear is that the future of money is digital.Kartik Taneja is the Executive Vice President and Head of Payments at Mashreq Bank and together we went through different digital payment solutions and tried to figure out what the future holds for each one of them.As the Chairman of the board at Neopay, Mashreq Merchant Payment Solutions, Kartik has a unique insight into both global and local markets and he kindly shared his opinion on what we’ll experience going forward.Join us in this interesting conversation and find out:-          Is BNPL dead or is it just going through a transformation?-          Why without regulations Crypto is doomed to stay on the fringes?-          Should we forget about the paper money?Timeline:00:00 – Intro01:13 – Introducing Kartik Taneja01:54 – Key trends in payment solutions space14:44 – The disruption of APR19:40 – World of B2B payments23:09 – Blockchain and Crypto are here to stay31:53 – Is cash no longer a king?Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comHOSTBased in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond - as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.FINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: https://www.adyen.com/LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operating in 11 countries: https://www.lulufin.com/M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any scale to embed financial products: https://m2pfintech.com/Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E
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Jun 28, 2022 • 35min

EP14 Work now, get paid now | with Omair Ansari, ABHI

 It’s an open secret that credit, when leveraged intelligently, has the power to unlock incredible potential in your business. This is the major reason why credit is so easily accessible in many parts of the world. But, Pakistan, a nation with over 50 million active bank accounts, has been relatively slow to conform to the trend, with only 500 thousand credit cards nationwide.Omair Ansari, the founder of ABHI, takes this surprising statistic as a sign of great opportunity in the region. Without access to credit facilities, many employees across the nation have had limited options when it comes to stretching their paycheck. Omair’s solution to this is a remarkable easy wage access system that has drawn the attention of not just employees, but even the SMMEs which hire them.Beyond that, we also discuss other fintech topics such as:- SME financing in general- The Pakistani banking system and how it could better help SMEs- Gender equality in access to funding00:00 — Introduction02:40 — Identifying the target market07:30 — Developing a unique credit solution14:45 — Navigating risk and ethical concerns21:22 — Overcoming structural challenges25:27 — Benefits of digitisation32:55 — ConclusionFollow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.comFINTECH NEWSSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/...PARTNERSCouchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver: httpOur website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

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