Shows
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #11 Backing Uber, Airbnb, Spotify (w Man Cap) then going all-in on Africa, with Hisham HalbounyHisham Halbouny is a managing partner at P1 Ventures, a $50m Africa-focused fund who's often referred to as contrarian. Hisham was previously a partner at Man Capital, the family office of Egyptian Billionaire Mohamed Mansour where he invested in Uber, Airbnb, Spotify, Bolt, and more.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode00:36 - Introduction01:13 - Investing in Uber/Airbnb/Spotify03:16 - Going all-in on Africa06:20 - Global VCs have pulled back, yet the timing is right07:43 - DFIs as the default LPs for African VC?08:54 - Tailoring the VC model for Africa?13:03 - P1's investment thesis16:33 - Personal evolution as...2025-07-2419 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #10 Selling Expensya for $100m 😱💰, with Karim Jouini [ThunderCode]Karim Jouini is the founder of Expensya, an expense management platform sold to Medius Group for $100m. Karim is now building his second company called ThunderCode: an AI testing agent for software teams.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode01:58 - Introduction02:59 - Missing PMF, SMB sucks, pivot to mid-market06:03 - Brex, Ramp, & copycats in Africa/LatAm/Asia10:31 - Karim's new AI company16:55 - Expensya: industry evolution, black swan event25:42 - Selling to corporates, build vs. buy, competition 31:01 - North star metrics, improvising, burn-outs, failed PoC38:45 - What takes you to $3m ARR won't take you to $10m ARR43:49 - Decision...2025-03-261h 02
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #9 From building Go1 [$3B] to leading Breega [$700m AUM] in Africa, with Melvyn LubegaMelvyn Lubega is a Partner at Breega, one of Europe's fastest-growing VC firms ($700m) which recently launched its first Africa-dedicated fund.This episode was recorded in October 2023.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode00:50 - Introduction01:53 - From founder, to angel, then VC04:37 - Growing Go1 to a $3b edtech giant07:15 - Breega's DNA and its expansion into Africa 09:47 - Global funds' common mistake in Africa 12:48 - (some funny part)14:38 - Uganda and the curse of tiny markets 16:51...2025-02-2021 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #8 Inside the mind of Saudi's leading early-stage investor, with Wael Nafee [Raed Ventures]Wael Nafee is a General Partner at Raed Ventures, the leading Saudi early-stage VC firm with $450m in AUM.This episode was recorded in October 2023.Timestamps:00:00 - In this episode00:49 - Introduction01:51 - Careem and Deeptech background06:00 - Identifying exceptional founders08:33 -  Portfolio risk-reward modeling tool for VCs09:48 - Better returns or more management fees?12:42 - Egyptian tech exodus15:31 - We were wrong about this model18:52 - Does MENA have any role to play in AI?20:23 - LPs in 2023/2024 are different22:01 - Next milestone: unlocking IPOsReferences:Raed’s open-sourced VC modeling tool - https://www.linkedin.com/puls...2025-01-1823 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #7 Setting the cornerstones of a fintech powerhouse, with Jacques Marco [Axis Pay]Jacques Marco is the founder and CEO of Axis Pay. The company raised a $8m seed round and is now one of Egypt's fastest-growing fintechs.
Timestamps:
00:00 - In this episode
00:46 - Introduction
01:21 - Lawyer dad and an intuitive grasp of regulations
02:59 - Non-fintech folks building fintechs?!
06:06 - Why building Axis Pay is so hard
07:56 - Founder dilemma: plug into APIs or build everything in-house?
09:57 - Impetus behind building Axis Pay
12:26 - Listening to the market vs. distorting it with VC money
14:49 - Humans' bias towards B2C.
16:34 - Ignoring the noise and competition.
17:13 - The bull case for Egypt...2024-11-1227 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #6 Raising the largest solo-GP fund in MENA, with Amir Farha [COTU Ventures]Amir Farha is a prominent figure in MENA VC. Having previously co-founded the first and largest early-stage VC firm in the region [BECO Capital, $500m AUM].
Timestamps:
(1:49) Building a second VC firm
(3:02) What does 'strong founder' even mean?
(4:29) Investing in underdogs
(6:15) Aren't we all improvising?
(7:05) The evolution of Amir 1.0, Amir 2.0, Amir 3.0
(11:18) Aren't VCs just monetizing access?
(13:26) Raising $50m as a solo-GP
(15:16) KSA/UAE/Egypt, too many startups, beyond the VC model
(17:57) Unconventional founder moves in nascent markets
(20:34) Unhealthy obsession: psychological cost of succeeding in VC?
References:
2024-08-0625 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #5 An alternative path to VC in MENA, with Tamer Azer [Shorooq Partners]Tamer Azer is a partner at Shorooq Partners, a prominent VC firm in MENA.
Timestamps:
(1:12) Finding your true investor self
(4:30) Building reputation in a new geography
(6:21) Is Egypt gonna recover, startup-wise?
(9:31) Breaking down fintech models via P&L items
(10:50) Why infra/API plays are tough to build in the region?
(13:27) The 'western vs. local' VC disagreement around lending
(16:56) The void venture debt funds aren't filling
(18:29) Climatetech: too early for the region?
(20:02) Alternative path to liquidity: owning the local mid-cap market?
References:
Shorooq Partners - https://www.wamda.com/2022/03/shorooq...
Pemo - https://www.wamda.com/2022/05/pemo-ra...
Nymcard - https...2024-05-1622 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #4 Bridging Africa, LatAm & Asia with $800m+ for fintech, with Johan Bosini [Quona Capital]Johan Bosini is a partner at Quona Capital, a $800 million pan-emerging-markets fintech VC firm.
Timestamps:
(1:58) Quona overview in numbers
(4:05) Imposter syndrome and self-assessment
(5:08) Investing in LatAm vs Africa: different mental models
(8:07) Lose-lose situation: too many VCs backing a model/space
(10:38) Africa & LatAm: similar [but delayed] growth trajectories
(12:49) Do not expand across continents! [for most startups]
(13:49) Fintech 1.0, Fintech 2.0, Fintech 3.0
(17:21) Thesis behind investing in Sava [Brex for Africa]
(19:25) Thesis behind investing in Orda [Toast for Africa]
(21:57) Not enough digital banks???
(23:11) African multi-billion dollar exits: is the dream still alive?
(24:09) Crazy founder story
References:
Yoco - https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/27/south-african-payments-startup-yoco-raises-83m-series-c-led-by-dragoneer/
Sava...2024-04-0427 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #3 Rare European VC success in emerging markets, with Enrique Martinez-Hausmann [Speedinvest]Enrique Martinez-Hausmann is a principal at Speedinvest, a €1 billion European VC firm, with a stellar track record in Africa, the Middle East, and emerging markets at large.
Timestamps:
(1:54) Speedinvest's key success factors in emerging markets
(5:54) Portfolio winners, in numbers
(7:14) Using a different lens for emerging markets vs. Europe
(9:18) Embracing lending models while others shy away from it
(11:18) Funding predatory lenders?
(13:26) Raising debt in emerging markets
(15:26) The inherent risk of VC-backed lending businesses
(17:47) Becoming a 'VC on steroids' by writing LP checks
(18:48) Investing in an M-Pesa challenger
(20:22) Too much VC money destroyed this vertical in Africa
(23:07) Early career mistake?
(24:09) Where to...2024-03-1625 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #2 Building a profitable $12m ARR company in 30 months, with Omair Ansari [CEO @ Abhi]Omair Ansari is the co-founder and CEO of Abhi, one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in South Asia and the Middle East.
Timestamps:
(1:36) Quick background on Omair and Abhi
(2:32) Abhi's performance in numbers
(4:12) Dirtiest MVP and figuring out the market need
(6:12) Early Wage Access is a tax on the poor?
(08:19) The moment when numbers went exponential
(11:58) Does SME lending scale?
(13:34) Key factor for a successful market expansion
(15:44) Preferring mercenaries over missionaries
(18:37) From equity to off-balance sheet lending
(19:22) Structuring debt instruments in emerging markets
(21:52) Winning market share in down markets
(23:15) Early mistakes: no more missionaries
(25:07) Bottleneck for growth and Abhi2.0
...2024-03-0327 min
The Rally Cap PodcastRCP #1 $205m African VC fund, with Lexi Novistke [GP @ Norssken22]Lexi Novitske is a General Partner at Norssken22, who just launched Africa's second-largest VC fund.
Timestamps:
(1:05) How to raise a $205m fund during a global downturn
(3:50) Current growth stage valuations and how to deal with unreasonable prices
(5:38) Growth deals that require restructuring
(9:44) Debt requirements for growth-stage companies
(11:28) Norrsken's thesis in financial services
(13:27) Thesis behind investing in Shara
(14:18) Overfunded fintech models
(15:53) Thesis behind investing in Sabi
(18:37) Living in Lagos
(20:36) Thinking like a growth stage investor vs. early stage investor
References:
Sabi - https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/19/afr...
Shara - https://www.crunchbase.com/organizati...
Listen on other platforms:
Apple: coming soon
...2024-03-0323 min