arab podcast

Today’s episode is about dating and relationships. 

Boys and girls, men and women, young and old, met, dated, and had relationships. They met though, and that's usually when it all starts! In this podcast Hassan and co-host Mira talk with Leila Muhaizen about this topic. Leila is the founder and CEO of Baklava, the only Arab dating app out there. Leila studied Media & Communication in her native Lebanon before moving to the US where she combined her experience in social entrepreneurship and project management, to build a social app focused on dating and friendships for Arabs from all walks of life. It's a fun and informative conversation that we hope you’ll enjoy.

 For more episodes visit ArabAmericanCafe.com. You can also send your email to podcasts@ArabAmericanCafe.com, or connect with us on twitter @CafePodcasts

Every human deserves an education, especially the vulnerable and uprooted refugee children who have no choice in the circumstances they are often forced to face. This week I interviewed Rudayna Abdo, an MIT graduate, who left her career in urban planning to pursue a calling in giving back to refugees through an organization she founded named Thaki. 

Thaki is a non-profit organization that’s on a mission to empower thousands of vulnerable children in the MENA region with the high quality education that they deserve. The model that Thaki operates in is a highly collaborative and savvy one, that involves collecting used computers donated by organizations, loading them with relevant educational content and distributing them to schools or institutions that interact with refugees.

What makes this story even more special is the fact that Rudayna herself was a refugee child who was forced to flee her country, at 8 years, in a boat to Cyprus due to the civil war in Lebanon. She knows and understands, by first hand experience, the struggles that refugee children around the world go through.

We also talk about what it really takes to start an NGO organization, and the importance of collaboration in a space like this

I decided to cover some of the most interesting social entrepreneurship endeavors during the holy month of Ramadan, and providing digital literacy to refugee children is one that definitely deserved the highlight! 

Show Notes:

Thaki’s website: https://thaki.org/
Rudayna Abdo’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudaynaabdo/
Tuyoor Al Amal website: https://www.tuyooralamal.com/

 We are kicking off season 2 with an extremely important yet an underrated topic, and that’s the power of negotiation. When you wake up to an alarm, there’s a negotiation. When you try to resolve a conflict with your partner, there’s a negotiation. When you’re asking for a raise from your boss, there’s definitely a negotiation!  

Our guest, Lousin Mehrabi, one of the most influential professional negotiators globally, is here to share strategies and tips around becoming a professional negotiator. Lousin has rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful negotiators in the world, including FBI negotiators. She is also an international speaker and an advisor on topics such as leadership and emotional intelligence.  

The conversation that I have with Lousin goes well beyond negotiations and explores emotional resilience as she shares the tough personal journey she has been on dealing with her son’s fatal disease. 

An intellectually stimulating, emotionally rich conversation you wouldn’t want to miss!   

Episode Notes: 
- EQ book recommended by Lousin: Emotional Agility, by Susan David (PHD)

The conversation continues with H.E. Dr. Aisha, and in part 2 we go deeper into her personal life as she recounts never-heard-before aspects of her childhood  that shaped her character today.  

We talk about the social stigmas and glass ceilings that women are typically faced with in this part of the world, and her excellency talks openly about her perspective on why that's the case.  It took courage and confidence for Dr. Aisha to break those barriers, and she gives candid advice to women on how they could pave their way to pursue bold dreams.

Dubai is one of the most progressive cities in the world, and as a public servant, Dr. Aisha talks about the formula and reason behind the city reaching the global recognition it has.

Great conversation, intimate flashbacks, incredible advice, and a lot of professional lessons to learn from.

Season 1 Finale is here, and what better way to end it than with a truly special guest that I look up to personally and have had the privilege to work with, that being: Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, who currently is the Vice Chairwoman of Emaar. 

The conversation I explore with Dr. Aisha is nothing like she’s ever discussed in depth before, since we talk a lot about her upbringing, childhood and the intimate milestones that made her the person she is today. 

Dr. Aisha was titled as one of the world’s most influential Arabs by Arabian Business Magazine (2019) and ranked as the Top 10 'Power Businesswomen' in the Middle East by Forbes in 2020 for the several prominent roles she’s held throughout her 25 year career in the government, such as working as an executive for the office of HH sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.

Prior to her current role at Emaar, Dr. Aisha was leading Smart Dubai, the smart city and technology arm of the government, and that’s where I got the chance to work with her and witness her charismatic leadership.

Dr. Aisha’s active social media engagement, openness with people and advocacy towards female empowerment made her the admired influencer she is today.

Some of the topics I explore with Dr. Aisha in part 1 of the conversation include:
- Pressure of holding a leadership role in government as female in the early days
- How honesty and openness in government are extremely important today
- Why she chose technology as a field of profession back when there weren’t many women in it?
- Dreams that she had as a child, and were manifested
- What does it really mean to work for the executive office of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
- The story of Smart Dubai and how it came about

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Noor Sweid, an incredible woman with a phenomenal record of achievement and business success. Noor was recognized in the World’s Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes, Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women list, and has received the Arab Woman Award for Finance

Today, she’s the managing partner at Global Ventures, one of the most prominent VC funds in the MENA region and that focuses in growth stage startups in tech. 

Prior to founding Global Ventures, Noor joined her family business back in 2005, and only within a few years managed to scale up the size of that business by 10 folds, and led it to an IPO on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai - achieving over a billion+ dollars in valuation.

Managing her family business did not stop Noor from pursuing an entrepreneurial venture “on the side”, which ended up growing into one of the largest chains of Yoga and Pilates in the region.

An extremely exciting conversation covering several topics and fronts including:

• How Noor was able to balance time and effort between leading a billion dollar company and running an entrepreneurial venture "on the side"
• The importance of career diversification vs. skill specialization in today's world
• What Venture Capital funds look for in founders today
• Red flags to look out for before investing in any start up

In this week’s episode Omar dives into the Food & Beverage business, with Andreas Borgmann the founder of Kcal, one of the oldest and most successful nutritious F&B businesses in the UAE.  

Andreas is true serial entrepreneur, starting from the age of 18 he has failed, succeeded, started and stopped several businesses before coming up with the Kcal concept with his partner. To say he’s got real knowledge and practical experience to share is an under-statement.

Andreas’ drive stems from growing up dyslexic. He made a promise to himself to pave his own path to success regardless of how educational institutions or society label him.

An inspiring conversation with another inspiring guest, and during this episode Omar explores all sorts of enriching topics with Andreas including:  
- The pain and insecurity of growing up with dyslexia turning into power
- What it truly takes to succeed in F&B business
- Ways through which an entrepreneur can learn from competition
- The biggest pitfalls that entrepreneurs should avoid before launching their ventures

The guest of the week is one of the most active individuals in the start-up support ecosystem in the UAE today, Louis Lebbos; the co-founder and board member of Astro Labs, and the ex-founder of Namshi.

Louis and his partner created Astrolabs with a mission to drive digital growth in companies and people, and they are doing that today through their educational programs, start up support services as well as the co-working spaces and communities they’re running across UAE and KSA.

Prior to kicking off Astro-labs, Louis co-founded Namshi back in 2011, which today is one of the largest online fashion ecommerce platforms in the region.

Some of the topics that Omar explored with his guest this week include:

- Various self-development strategies
- Reasons why traditional educational system cannot fulfill job market needs
- The importance of practical hands-on education that is closer to job market needs
- Why entrepreneurs fail, and the critical factors that would make any venture succeed
- Why stress at work can only harm than ever do good
- The difference between positive and negative stress 

Today’s guest is a TV journalist and correspondent based in Moscow. Mohamad Hasan was born and raised in Russia, he completed higher education there to work later at various International and Arabic Satellite TV stations. The conversation ranged from being an Arab in Russia, to the American and Russian propaganda machines, to the geopolitics of the Arab region. We also briefly addressed the role of both traditional and social media in shaping the political discourse and narrative.

 Please support our work by subscribing and sharing this podcast. You can send us an email to podcasts@ArabAmericanCafe.com, or connect with us on twitter @AACafepodcasts

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is Amna Al Qubaisi, a 21 year old Emirati Racer. Amna is the first and youngest Emirati female racing driver to ever partake in professional motor sport locally.

Inspired by her father's passion in the sport, she began her karting career at the age of 14, and soon after became the female Arab to participate in international racing competitions claiming top finishes.

She won the F4 Trophy race at Yas Marina in 2019 and became the first woman to stand on the top step of a podium in an F1 supporting series. Today, the racer continues to elevate her game, claim more wins and build a name for herself.

The conversation continues with Dr. Yazan in part 2 of “Unlocking Human Potential” and this week the conversation takes an exciting turn and dives into activating the human element at the workplace as Dr. Yazan shares strategies that businesses could take advantage of in order to make the best of their human capital.

Omar gets deep with his guest and probes Dr. Yazan on topics around fear of success, the true meaning of growth, and personal development strategies from a Ph.D. professor. You wouldn’t want to miss it…

💌 If you are interested in the coupon mentioned during the episode please reach out to Omar on email through onedaythepodcast@gmail.com. Mention in the email Dr. Yazan’s episode and that you are interested in the coupon.

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is Dr. Yazan Hijazi, a brilliant mind who is here to share strategies on tapping into our human potential and unburying the creativity  we lost as kids. This conversation will be a two part episode, with the second part coming out next week.

Dr. Yazan Hijazi is a man of many hats. He is a scientist, an engineer, a professor at IE University, director of innovation at a reputable university in Jordan, and the founder of the human engineering center, which focuses on optimizing on the human potential to enhance the performance of organizations and teams.

Dr. Yazan's fascination in human potential has pushed him to explore and study topics such as creativity, innovation and the ways people can harness that.

Some of the topics discussed during the episode include:

• “What does it mean to have a possibility mindset?
• How labeling ourselves can hurt us instead of advance us
• What does it mean to be creative? How can we measure creativity?
• How are schools killing our children’s creativity?

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is the inspirational Fida Taher, a Jordanian serial entrepreneur, and the founder of one of the largest online food recipe platforms today, Atbaki.

Fida is also the managing partner of Amam Ventures, a fund that offers manageable financial solutions particularly to businesses and SME’s that value gender equality.

Fida’s passion towards supporting women is evident in everything she does since she also serves as co-founder and chairperson of the on-growing "Women in Business Arabia" network, which includes more than 40,000 active members, with a mission to connect, support, and celebrate Arab women in business.

In this episode, Omar Almajali takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guest to tell you the untold story of their success while also sharing the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journey toward success.

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is Amna Al Haddad, who made history as the first female Arab weightlifter to compete in hijab. Her career opened wide doors and opportunities for her such as allowing her to partake in Nike’s Hijab Pro campaign and product launch.

Those are not the only inspiring milestones in Amna’s journey since there was a bigger battle she was fighting against, and that was her depression. Turning the crippling dark depressed phase of her life into world victories while shattering glass ceilings of society through pursuing a “not very feminine” sport is what makes Amna’s story a truly inspiring one.

During the episode, Omar delves deep into Amna’s journey of self-mastery and growth to explore the intimate details of these life-changing moments and decisions that Amna took along the way.

Today, Amna is a mental health advocate and motivational speaker. As the first UAE national to receive the Rosalyn Carter Journalism Fellowship for Mental Illness, she is using her experience and story as means to raise awareness about mental health and its place in society.

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is Daniel Essa the founder and creative director of the luxury footwear brand, Daniel Essa. This Syrian entrepreneur has been making waves globally for the extremely sophisticated, minimalistic and customizable designs his shoe line is recognized for.

This story is one that will inspire you to never give up or be the victim of your circumstances. It is a story of a young Syrian refugee who fled his country Syria because of the war, moved to France, and only within a few years has built a global fashion brand and a name for himself in one of the major fashion hubs in the world.

With Daniel, we’ll learn how to make the best out of a worse situation and how his luxury footwear brand quickly became a favorite amongst Hollywood stars and fashion elites from across the world.

In this episode, Omar Almajali takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guests to tell you the untold story of their success while also sharing the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journey toward success.

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is Hassan Al Shaikh! Hassan is a radio and TV personality. He's also a social media influencer and a content creator. In addition to all of that, he's a tech enthusiast and has been a managing partner at an IT company for over 15 years now in Dubai.

Hassan's online content is inspirational and educational. He has a very unique way of expressing himself, which is full of honesty, bluntness, and humor, and because of this, people love his work and follow his content.

In this episode, Omar Almajali takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guest to tell you the untold story of their success while also sharing the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journey toward success.

This week's guest on the One Day Podcast is Scott Armstrong, Editor in Chief of “Arabian Business” Magazine. Arabian Business Magazine is one of the most recognizable and sought-after sources of business and industry news in the Middle East.

Scott brings with him 30+ years of experience as a journalist, editor, and strategic communications consultant. He shares with Omar some golden nuggets about effective communication and leveraging skills.

From having no formal education to rubbing shoulders with some of the most intelligent and successful people in every industry in Dubai, Scott shares his take on the real meaning of education and learning. In the same vein, he points out the importance of re-inventing yourself as opposed to defining yourself by just one career and all the things you think you could do.


In this episode, Omar Almajali takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guests to tell you the untold story of their success while also sharing the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journey toward success.

This week's guest is Raha Moharrak, the youngest Arab and first Saudi female to climb Mount Everest and the 7 summits of the world (highest peak of each continent). 

Raha's accomplishments and bold dreams have inspired the youth of our region, and especially young girls, to dream big and go after their dreams regardless of society’s expectations from them. 

Her name has made global headlines, and today Raha is a female ambassador for a number of global luxury brands including Burberry, Adidas, and others…During the episode, Omar explores with Raha all the stigmas and cultural norms that she had to push against in order to pursue this dream of hers.  

After years of hard work and grit, Raha shares her perspective on success, and what does it truly take for anyone to climb a mountain from a both actual and metaphorical sense. 

In this episode, Omar Almajali takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guests to tell you the untold story of their success while also sharing the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journey toward success.

This week's guest is Zeina El Kaissi, who's currently the regional head of public policy MENA at Amazon, and before that she held the role of Chief Digital Officer at Smart Dubai, the government entity leading the smart city agenda in Dubai. 

Zeina kicked off her career as a strategy consultant right after college, working on some major transformational and reform projects in the public sector here in the UAE. One of the many prestigious government entities that she has worked for includes The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (the ruler of Dubai). 

During her time at Smart Dubai, Zeina was involved in the launch of launching several city-wide complex strategies such as the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, and the Dubai Paperless Strategy. Zeina delves deep into the best ways to establish winning strategies whether that be at a city or a corporate level. She emphasizes the importance of pursuing daring visions.

Given her diverse and rich professional background, Zeina shares the real secret behind her ability to shift careers, be agile in no time and without compromising on impact and value.  We talk everything strategy, innovation, public policy and impact!


In this episode, Omar Almajali takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guests to tell you the untold story of their success while also sharing the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journey toward success.

Today’s guest is Michael Lahyani, the founder of the largest and most searched for online real estate marketplace in the Middle East, Property Finder.  

What started as a visit to Dubai in 2005 from Geneva eventually turned into a life and a career move as Michael saw the city as the new promised land. Recognizing a gap and a massive opportunity in the real estate marketing space, he set out to build one of the most powerful Proptech companies in the Arab World. His journey, however, was not the smoothest as Michael had to weather two crises and make hard decisions along the way, but it was worth the fight.  

Enjoy listening to this episode as the host, Omar Almajali, takes you behind the scenes and into the minds of his inspiring guest to give you the untold story of their success while juicing out all the tips, hacks, and habits that can help you on your own journeys of accomplishment.