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We had a chance to sit with Issa Aghabi, VC Investment officer for IFC, heading the MENAP region.  He shared his insights into the Venture Capital space of the region as well as how he got started in this space over a decade ago. Enjoy the show! Posted on February 27, 2019 Show Notes: 01:15 - Issa’s backstory 01:45 - From Jordan to Canada back to the Middle East 2:45 - From dinner party to Venture Capital 4:30 - Understanding how do they create startups when entrepreneurs themselves didn’t know what startups were 5:00 - The catalyst for the growth of VC in the region 5:45 - Looking up what Venture Capital means 6:00 - The first investment portfolio Issa was involved with 7:15 - TwoFour54 reaching out to Issa to grow their investment arm 8:30 - What is media? 9:00 - His short term consulting role at Yahoo! and developing their MaA strategy for the region 10:15 - The Rocket Internet of the Middle East 13:00 - Issa’s return to TwoFour54 13:30 - Launching one of the first accelerators in the UAE 14:00 - N2V’s model and entrepreneurs 14:30 - His ad-hoc role of head of sourcing for a portfolio company 15:00 - The Middle East’s own diversity of cultures and 15:30 - Not knowing what IFC was 16:00 - IFC - the private sector investment arm of the World Bank 17:45 - Indirect founder funding through funds 18:45 - Direct funding at later growth stages (Series B onwards) 19:45 - Investment question to ask, “are we going to make money?” 20:30 - The importance of additionally - what are they bringing to the table with their investment 22:00 - Venture capital by its nature being impactful 23:45 - The role of Public Private Partnerships 26:30 - Case by case initiatives per country 29:00 - Co-investing with funds in the ecosystem 29:45 - How do you invest in funds? 30:15 - Investing in people and what funds 30:45 - A look at BECO and co-investing in one of their startups, Vezeeta 31:30 - The evolving atmosphere of the investment ecosystem 35:15 - Issa’s admiration towards hard working and successful individuals who contribute back to the ecosystem 36:15 - His two work schedules (local and global) 37:15 - Taking pride in Inbox Zero 40:00 - Appreciation for various media from tv, podcasts and articles as well as the beach 40:30 - One of the great things about Dubai is the ability to travel anywhere with a direct flight 41:30 - On reading Startup Nation and the lessons learned 43:00 - The importance of giving back while taking care of yourself 44:15 - Putting entrepreneurship and venture related all in one place 45:30 - On trusting your gut and working on self development See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.