Ep025 - Issa Aghabi, VC Investment Officer at IFC

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, 2019Show Notes:01:15 - Issa’s backstory01:45 - From Jordan to Canada back to the Middle East2:45 - From dinner party to Venture Capital4:30 - Understanding how do they create startups when entrepreneurs themselves didn’t know what startups were5:00 - The catalyst for the growth of VC in the region5:45 - Looking up what Venture Capital means6:00 - The first investment portfolio Issa was involved with7:15 - TwoFour54 reaching out to Issa to grow their investment arm8:30 - What is media?9:00 - His short term consulting role at Yahoo! and developing their M&A strategy for the region10:15 - The Rocket Internet of the Middle East13:00 - Issa’s return to TwoFour5413:30 - Launching one of the first accelerators in the UAE14:00 - N2V’s model and entrepreneurs14:30 - His ad-hoc role of head of sourcing for a portfolio company15:00 - The Middle East’s own diversity of cultures and15:30 - Not knowing what IFC was16:00 - IFC - the private sector investment arm of the World Bank17:45 - Indirect founder funding through funds18:45 - 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 investment22:00 - Venture capital by its nature being impactful23:45 - The role of Public Private Partnerships26:30 - Case by case initiatives per country29:00 - Co-investing with funds in the ecosystem29:45 - How do you invest in funds?30:15 - Investing in people and what funds30:45 - A look at BECO and co-investing in one of their startups, Vezeeta31:30 - The evolving atmosphere of the investment ecosystem35:15 - Issa’s admiration towards hard working and successful individuals who contribute back to the ecosystem36:15 - His two work schedules (local and global)37:15 - Taking pride in Inbox Zero40:00 - Appreciation for various media from tv, podcasts and articles as well as the beach40:30 - One of the great things about Dubai is the ability to travel anywhere with a direct flight41:30 - On reading Startup Nation and the lessons learned43:00 - The importance of giving back while taking care of yourself44:15 - Putting entrepreneurship and venture related all in one place45:30 - On trusting your gut and working on self development Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.