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Breaking Down Barriers

Breaking Down Barriers

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Welcome to "Breaking Down Barriers," a podcast dedicated to uncovering the untold stories and invaluable insights from the visionary minds shaping the Middle East's vibrant technology landscape where we sit down with the region's most innovative Chief Technology Officers and Chief Product Officers, and executives from thriving startups, game-changing unicorns, high-growth scale-ups, and groundbreaking IPO companies.

Each episode will take you on an immersive journey through the personal experiences and hard-won wisdom of these extraordinary leaders. Discover the secrets behind their success in building and scaling companies that not only disrupt industries but also redefine the boundaries of what's possible.

Join us as we break down barriers and delve into the minds of the Middle East's most influential tech, product and executives on "Breaking Down Barriers."

We've made Breaking Down Barriers with our Supporting Partner AWS, and our Investment Partner Shorooq.


© 2025 Breaking Down Barriers
Direction Economie Management et direction
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    Épisodes
    • AI, policy, and big cheques: Inside the mind of MENA's most influential VC
      Dec 18 2025

      Dr. Bilal Baloch - Previous co-founder of an AI startup and managing a half-billion-dollar fund - is sharing how he’s rewriting the rules of venture capital in MENA.

      Breaking Down Barriers - Hosted by Ricci Putnam, Chief Growth Officer
      Powered by Salt: ‪@saltdigital‬ | welovesalt.com

      In this conversation, Bilal breaks down:

      • How sovereign funds and government policy are rewriting the venture playbook
      • Why the next global AI companies won’t all come from Silicon Valley.
      • How capital, compute, talent, and geopolitics are now inseparable.
      • Why the UAE, KSA, and emerging markets are no longer “followers” but shapers.
      • What founders need to understand about institutions, not just models.
      • The first 90 days with a portfolio company and when to double down
      • Why storytelling beats data in pitches and the talent gaps slowing growth
      • Where real AI value will accrue: infrastructure, models, or vertical apps
      • Quick-fire insights on founders, buzzwords, and risk in today’s markets
      • His vision for MENA tech in 2030

      Founders, investors, and innovators - get an inside look at the strategies shaping the region’s next unicorns.

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      41 min
    • How Monzo Hit 10M Users & Just Eat Sold for $8B - Inside the Mind of CPO Fernando Fanton
      Nov 26 2025

      Fernando Fanton scaled Monzo to 10M users, helped Just Eat hit an $8B exit, grew Mendeley’s user base 4x, and is now shaping the future of Property Finder with AI-powered home search across the MENA region.

      Hear how he breaks barriers in product, scales teams fast, and shares bold predictions for AI and MENA’s tech future.

      Is trust more powerful than speed in a product? Can AI replace designers and PMs? Fernando Fanton answers these and more, sharing lessons from Monzo, Just Eat, and Property Finder to help you break barriers in product leadership.


      We cover:

      • How Monzo scaled to 10M users
      • Why Just Eat won (and why it wasn’t luck)
      • The truth about product culture, discovery & delivery
      • The biggest mistakes founders make hiring CPOs
      • AI’s future impact on product teams
      • Why most products fail and how to fix it
      • His bold predictions for MENA tech over the next 5 years


      Timestamps:

      00:00 - Trailer
      00:18 - Who is Fernando Fanton?
      02:41 - The biggest barrier he broke early in his career
      06:10 - Scaling Mendeley 4x and early ML lessons
      11:48 - Inside Just Eat’s $8B acquisition
      17:30 - 1M orders vs 1M customers — which is harder?
      21:55 - Building Monzo’s product engine to 10M users
      28:44 - Why most product teams lose focus
      33:12 - Discovery, experimentation & iteration: the Monzo way
      39:20 - The one mistake founders make hiring product leaders
      43:55 - AI’s real impact on product teams (not hype)
      51:30 - How to scale product orgs without breaking culture
      57:10 - The hardest decision he’s made as a leader
      1:02:22 - MENA tech predictions for the next 5 years
      1:07:40 - When should a founder hire their first CPO?
      1:12:00 - The un-Googleable moment in Fernando’s career
      1:16:02 - The next barrier Fernando wants to break
      1:18:55 - Quickfire: Speed or trust? AI prototype or customer?
      1:21:00 - Final message for the audience

      In this episode of Breaking Down Barriers, Fernando reveals the real playbook behind hyper-growth products - the decisions, culture, philosophy, and hard barriers that most teams never talk about publicly.

      Make sure to like, comment and subscribe to hear more great stories for some of the top product and tech leaders in the ecosystem.

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      57 min
    • McKinsey → CPO: Scaling MENA’s Fastest-Growing Wealth App
      Nov 20 2025

      Product Scaling in Fintech: How Sarwa Built a Multi-Product Wealth Platform with Robin Harb


      Today’s guest is Robin Harb, Chief Product Officer at Sarwa, one of the Middle East’s fastest-growing fintech platforms.


      Robin went from McKinsey consultant to leading Sarwa’s product team and scaling it from a single robo-advisor to a multi-product wealth platform that handles stocks, crypto, ETFs, and options and achieving over AED 15 billion in trading volume.


      In this episode, Robin shares:


      - How to scale fintech products fast without breaking the team

      - Designing for first-time investors and building trust in wealthtech

      - Lessons from a product decision that didn’t go as planned

      - The future of AI in fintech and what products the MENA region still needs

      - Advice for product leaders, founders, and C-suite executives


      If you’re a founder, operator, or product leader in MENA fintech, this episode is packed with actionable insights you won’t want to miss.


      Timestamps:


      0:00 – Intro

      1:05 – Robin’s career journey: McKinsey → CPO

      4:30 – Scaling Sarwa from robo-advisor → multi-product

      9:15 – Product strategy & roadmap evolution

      13:50 – Regional fintech challenges in MENA

      17:40 – Lessons from failed product decisions

      21:30 – AI & the future of wealthtech

      25:10 – Rapid fire & executive takeaways

      28:00 – Closing thoughts


      Like, subscribe, and hit the bell to catch more insights from MENA’s top leaders.

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      52 min
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