Choosing Yourself: The Real Work Of Entrepreneurship with Amel Saidane (Tunesia)

Want the truth about building something from nothing? Emil Saiden joins us to unpack the beauty and the bruises of entrepreneurship, from testing ideas in Tunisia to leading BetaWaves across Africa and the Gulf. We talk about the messy middle founders rarely share: the nights when cash runs dry, the days when faith feels thin, and the moment you decide to choose yourself anyway. Emil shows how surrounding yourself with mission-led peers, acting fast under pressure and learning in public can turn a near-failure into the push that saves a company.

We dive into how BetaWaves evolved from venture building to a full innovation advisory with deep tech partners in AI, IoT and cybersecurity. Think real execution: building learning platforms in Nigeria, a sandbox in Botswana and AI products that democratise incubation and power smarter B2B connections. Then we go bigger, mapping bridges between ecosystems—Africa to the Middle East, GCC to Europe and the US—so founders can unlock markets, talent and capital rather than waiting for them to trickle down.

The funding conversation gets candid. Despite headlines, African venture capital still accounts for a sliver of global investment and remains heavily concentrated, with added barriers for women. Emil explains why early-stage VC underperforms and how to fix it by pairing capital with hands-on support. She breaks down two funds: a climate and sustainability vehicle focused on MENA and North Africa, and a sports tech fund connecting European innovation to the Middle East’s booming sports economy. The aim is simple and bold: do good and do well, without treating them as opposites.

If you’re a founder, policymaker or investor who believes ecosystems can be designed, you’ll leave with practical insight and renewed conviction. Subscribe, share this with someone on the edge of a big leap, and leave a review with the toughest decision you’re facing right now—we might feature it next time.

Music, lyrics, guitar and singing by Dr Ariel Rosita King

Teach me to live one day at a time
with courage love and a sense of pride.
Giving me the ability to love and accept myself
so I can go and give it to someone else.
Teach me to live one day at a time.....

Chapters

• 1:22 Setting The Stage And Guest Intro
• 2:23 The Beauty And Struggle Of Building
• 4:40 From Corporate To Founder Mindset
• 6:55 Testing Startups In Tunisia
• 10:33 Choosing Yourself Against The Odds
• 13:03 Fixing The Ecosystem Through Advocacy
• 16:59 Founding BetaWaves And Venture Building
• 21:22 Bridging Africa And The Gulf
• 23:52 Innovation Advisory And AI Products

Transcript

Dr Ariel King: 0:45

Hello and welcome to another episode of The Business of Life with Dr. King. Today we have a very special guest, Lady Amel Saiden. Welcome. Thank you, Dr. King. Very happy to be here. I'm so happy to have you here. Would you please introduce yourself to our listeners and guests?

Amel Saidane: 1:02

Yeah, my pleasure. So uh my name is Amel Saiden. I'm um founder of and CEO of Beta Waves. It's a company that I've uh started uh five years ago. I'm uh I'm also mom of two. It's uh one of the the most interesting startups and businesses or projects that you can start in uh uh in life. And uh I've also uh I'm uh an engineer by training. I've evolved in uh in the corporate space for the first part of my career, and then I've discovered the beauty of building and of uh starting things, and this is where I am today.

Dr Ariel King: 1:36

That's wonderful. And I think today we're going to be talking about the entrepreneurial journey, aren't we? Yeah, absolutely. Let's do that. Great. So let's start. Please give us your your opinions and your ideas about the entrepreneurial journey and perhaps some stories that that you've gone through uh opening up your company.

Amel Saidane: 1:56

Well, yeah, the entrepreneurial journey is probably something that should be discouraged because every everywhere you go, everyone is uh kind of uh pushing you to consider to start your company and uh because it's so cool and it's so rewarding, which it really, really is. It's such such a fulfilling journey, actually, to build something, to create something from scratch. But the what is not told uh systematically with this uh fulfillment and beauty of uh of creation is uh is actually all the surrounding struggles, all the the deep moments that you have to go through in order for you to uh to come back uh again uh to the surface and uh and really enjoy uh the process. So so that to and this struggle is very often something that you have to discover with yourself. So entrepreneurial journey is just pure beauty of creation, but it's uh just uh another a very high level of uh struggle to uh of uh learning self-discovery, but it's probably the best way to uh to understand yourself, your mission, your why, why are you here, why to understand the lessons of the universe that are condensed uh through this um uh entrepreneurial journey. So uh yeah, the entrepreneurial journey is uh just um can be uh it's just a learning, a journey of uh trials and uh tests and uh and learning. And this is a place where you need to have um enough uh patience and enough faith to make sure make sure that uh at some point it's gonna work out. But you need to have enough faith to try a hundred times, thousand times, whatever times it takes for you to discover what's the right path to go.

Dr Ariel King: 3:42

I love when it comes to that. I love that. Sorry, that's that's so amazing to me. And when you're speaking to me, I'm realizing that's almost like becoming a parent, you know, and learning as you go, and and it's a 24-hour job. So being an entrepreneur is a 24-hour job and not a nine to five. Can you tell us more about your particular journey, which is most likely very, very interesting? Yes, absolutely.

Amel Saidane: 4:04

So I started uh in the corporate space, so I was like so far away from the entrepreneurial spirit, I was, I I didn't have the opportunity to get introduced to the entrepreneurial spirit actually, because uh this was not part of the our standard uh education. Uh that's why I really almost envy this new generation today who are exposed to startup tech entrepreneurship, uh, AI, etc. And uh, yeah, I'm I'm always telling them if you don't use uh all these ingredients, it's actually your fault. There is no excuse for you to uh not to do and try something and succeed at something. Because um, so we're where we've started, uh I started actually with uh testing, experimenting, learning in uh out of Tunisia, because this is where I was based uh initially. And this is probably not the easiest or most conducive space for entrepreneurship. And this is where I've tested my uh my first uh projects, entrepreneurial projects, uh, the startup, the the projects, the initiatives. Uh so I've started testing a few things, and I really discovered the beauty of the the also the type of people you get surrounded with. Because you are, you know, that you are defined at some point by the people you the people you surround yourself with. And then all of a sudden I've discovered another level of energy, people who are there uh for the purpose, for the mission, they have people with visions, people with crazy energy every single day. And it was like, yeah, uh, it's actually fine to be crazy every day and just normal from time to time, because uh this is exactly the way I identify it. So, and and just to surround with yourself with people who are like-minded, who are doing uh just uh super interesting things, despite the odds. And this is the part that's really interesting because you meet people who know uh from early so they know or know from the beginning that it's their chances of succeeding in such an environment are so small, but they still do it. And uh maybe I give you just an example to illustrate the this type of thinking or or uh or mindset. I'm currently raising a fund, actually, two funds. And when you look at the VC fund uh space, you know, so data is showing that uh VC is actually really tough. So actually, only 25%, 75% of those who intend to raise a fund never make it to fund one. So only 25% raise fund one. And then only half of them make it to fund two. And only so eventually, it's only 5% of those who start the process who end up uh actually having carry and so success be being successful in the VC space. So and the data is there. So everyone who is starting this process knows from the beginning that they are going to be either they you are part of the five percent who are doing really, really well, or you're just out of business, or you just don't make it, but you still go for it, and this is the type of spirit that just inspired me at some point. I okay, this is the place where I want to say, because it's just that the so the question is why you still do that, because the chosen choose themselves, and I decided to choose myself, and this is the it was like my living mantra every single day. Okay, what do I do to realize to uh to make sure that I uh I I succeed in this and I'm part of this five percent who are succeeding in this. So I've started to all to um uh kind of be part of this type of uh environment, and this was so inspiring to me that I've uh actually started to be uh also part of uh the uh civil society. So I've started an association for startups in uh in Tunisia, so I've started being part of a momentum, uh uh being a driving force of this uh momentum as well in Tunisia. So, because the driving thought was how to fix the whole ecosystem for everyone, how to fix the whole system for everyone, so that I can also benefit from it. Because I also struggled in my early days of uh of entrepreneurship. And I also struggled in the early days of facing failure, uh, because I have always been a high performer, and then at some point you are you're facing failure after failure. What is this concept? I sort of like my book, isn't it? It's so different. It is, it is, it's a trauma. It's like and so fixing the system was actually the first objective, and this is where I started uh really uh engaging in civil society activities, collaborating with governments, being part of uh government committees, trying to really make sure that uh this is uh this gets uh this uh moves to another level, which it actually did. It was such a fulfilling experience, and it was a pro bono effort. So it was like the entrepreneurial pro bono. So it's like the combination of impact and trying to find a financial return at some point out of this uh uh impact that you uh contribute uh contribute to. Of course, in parallel, I had uh had also some uh interesting uh experience in terms of uh advisory. I've been uh advising uh in business strategy, digital transformation, international cooperation players. So I had the opportunity to collaborate with uh with the German corporation, with um development funds, with the with the EU, with uh other players. And this gave me actually this holistic view of uh combining the economic uh perspective, macro perspective with the innovation in tech. And this was a a very interesting uh learning process actually. And at some point, I uh decided to uh go back actually to this building because uh the association was a very fulfilling project, but somehow I had this uh also the drive to go back to the private sector effect and the financial returns that are combined with the impact. And this is how I started BetaWaves that used to be called Data Cube. It's a it's actually a startup support innovation hub that was focusing very much on uh on venture building at the beginning. So, how do you build several ventures at the same time while mutualizing resources? And this is uh so it was a response or it was the I've identified a challenge actually in the ecosystems in uh in Africa that that the first, the early stage is a white space. So uh uh yes, you find capacity building programs, you but you don't find really this business support that takes a business from zero to uh to one. And this is what I've uh tried to do through uh uh through uh this company. And so we had the opportunity to collaborate with uh with a lot of uh players in in Africa, so international cooperation players. So we've worked with um with uh German cooperation, with the French cooperation, with the EU, with uh USAID when it still existed. We've worked also with the with the with the Dutch, with the UN. Uh we had the opportunity to uh work on projects in uh in North Africa, in uh also in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Art Tanzania, Ethiopia. So it was like a lot of intensive learning and exposure to other ecosystems. And then at some point we decided to uh also go to the Middle East and build this bridge between Africa and Middle East. And this is uh the story of the last uh two years where we have uh we're uh being closer to uh to ecosystems like uh Saudi and uh and the and the UAE, enjoying this uh this uh momentum and this uh energy of growing ecosystems and connecting. So we we see ourselves as a the knowledge partner for governments, uh for corporates, for whoever is interested in uh in entrepreneurship, knowledge partner, but also this international network connector, connecting different ecosystems, connecting different spaces. Plus, of course, the investment arm that we have added, raising funds in climate and sustainability, but also in sports.

Dr Ariel King: 11:40

This is fantastic. Would you please go back a bit and tell us more about your company, beta waves, and the goals of the company? And I see that you work all over the world, so it's quite interesting. And then I would love to talk about the venture capitalism, the two funds that you're raising right now. Thank you. Absolutely, absolutely.

Amel Saidane: 11:58

So the company is acting as an innovation advisory with a special focus on tech. So we support actually government organizations, uh, corporates, foundations who are interested in innovative approaches to support entrepreneurship in their countries, in their region. So innovation that is powered very often by tech. We have built in a strong ecosystem of uh tech partners uh in uh in AI, IoT, cybersecurity, and we're we're building uh super interesting solutions, we're building, we're building learning platforms in Nigeria, we're supporting with the sandbox in Botswana, we're supporting with uh we're building even our own products, by the way, our own products that we see as a way to solve specific challenges. Uh, for instance, how do you do we democratize access to incubation through AI? So, this is a product that we're building in-house, how do we maximize the opportunities of B2B connections uh through AI, etc. So this is uh these are projects and programs that we're driving uh throughout the Middle Eastern Africa. We're very much focused on connecting spaces as mentioned earlier. So we have programs that are connecting uh GCC startups with the US, GCC startups with uh with Europe, for instance. What do you want to GCC for those people that don't know some of the lingo? Gcc is actually the Gulf space, and this is uh these are countries uh we are focusing for today mainly on uh on Saudi and the UAE, but we're also opening up to countries like Oman and uh and Qatar. And this is actually the connection that we'd like to establish because this is a space that's getting uh very attractive. And for instance, for uh capital raisers, so a place like Abu Dhabi is mentioned is uh today called the capital of capital because it's attracting people from everywhere to uh to raise capital. So there is a lot of uh momentum in this uh region that's making it attractive for uh lots of uh players in uh in the innovation, in the tech, and also in the capital space.

Dr Ariel King: 13:57

That's so interesting. Thank you. And can you tell us more about the the the two funds that you're working on now, which are so different but so very important?

Amel Saidane: 14:05

Yeah, absolutely. And the connection is uh for us almost uh organic because we have started with the startup support, and then at some point we have noticed that you cannot support startups without offering funding. It's it's it's good, it's but it creates some frustration at some point because they cannot move forward without the money. And in our region, uh, so in when you look at Africa, for example, yes, Africa is celebrating that we have reached five, uh about five billion in investment in VC, but this is not even 2% of the global VC investments. And then there is a massive fragmentation because this uh the these five billion are 80% of them are uh actually focused on four countries. So it's uh Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa, and then the rest are just sharing the what's uh what's remaining. So it's not it's not a lot, so there is a serious challenge in terms of access uh to uh to proper finance, let alone when you look at that from uh with a gender lens. So this is uh another serious, serious challenge. So and this is this has led us to consider actually the to jump into the investment space and raise the first fund. And then we've started researching what is actually this uh sector or focus area that requires intervention, requires attention. So we haven't found any uh climate or sustainability VC fund in um uh in in North Africa, for instance. And then we've seen also that there is um an uh an opportunity in connecting North Africa and the Middle East region. So uh the connecting them from a market perspective, from a capital perspective, but this needs to be done intentionally. And then also coming from the startup support space, being uh exposed to so many startups, we look at the funding and investment differently from people who have been doing who have done investment banking all their lives, for example. They are really good with uh with numbers, but they they don't know the startup perspective, they don't know what startups actually mean. They can they probably cannot see or feel who is a good founder and who is not. And this is our strength in this. So, luckily, we have also the former investment bankers on uh on board, but uh so we have all the old perspectives in uh in the project. But the whole idea is actually to uh to invest and support. So we're integrating, we're uh trying to rethink or to innovate even in the approach of uh how how VC operates actually, because uh VC hasn't been doing very well in terms of performance in the last years. So the question is why, is especially early stage VC. And this is where we're focusing, because this is where we see the need and the opportunity. And uh we the um uh one hour ago we were actually discussing how we can we articulate this in a uh in a way that's clear to everyone that doing well and uh uh doing good is not mutually exclusive. Because typically you are either an impact fund, so you have low returns, or you are a classical commercial fund, so you have aggressive and high returns. How can you do can you do both? And how can you convince that there is a new category that complies really both? So this is how we ended up building this 14 million uh VC fund focusing on MENA. MENA is the Middle East and North Africa, and and then also combining this uh invest and support perspective. The sports tech story is actually a new story, baby steps, but uh super, super cool because um, you know, as soon as you talk about sports, uh you don't even need to convince because it's an emotional component. Everyone connects with uh with this topic, and uh so uh we have uh British colleagues, uh British uh co-GPs on uh on on board who are also coming from the sports background, and the narrative of this fund is actually, or the thesis is to connect European sports tech with the Middle East because uh it's not only athletes that are now interested to go to the Middle East following Ronaldo and uh and the like, but uh it's also the startups that are seeing a big momentum happening there and are interested in connecting, and we will see ourselves as the vehicle to create this uh connection or at least the vessel who can help uh these startups to connect and uh and grow beyond the European market. And of course, we'd love to have this gender lens, so we're planning to have this gender lens in this uh in this endeavor as well. We're uh connecting with uh uh with the athletes with the uh that are yeah star athletes uh who are also interested in uh in creating an impact and creating also in investing in sports as well. And yeah, of course, we're totally open and interested if you have any connections that you'd like to share with us.

Dr Ariel King: 18:48

Wow, you're doing so much. I love it. You know, for those people that are on their entrepreneurial journey, and you're an especial one as vent as a venture capitalist, you know, and uh actually helping other companies start their journey. Can you tell us from your personal experience two possibilities? One is the lowest point where you had to figure out what to do, and then the highest point where finally all of the work, time, energy has shown you that this was the way for you to to continue.

Amel Saidane: 19:19

I love this question. Yeah, there is this, there are there have been many of these uh low points uh where I've heard this uh once in a video, this um head between your hands moment where you you just you just don't know where this is going. You know that this is actually going nowhere at that specific point. So it's like, yeah, you are two weeks away from going out of business because just cash is is uh you're running out of cash. As simple as that. Yeah, you have a beautiful pipeline, you have your virtual story, you have these uh all these assets, but you you don't just don't have any cash left because of uh whatever something wrong you have done, because there are reasons for that. But at that specific moment, you it's not just a moment of doubt, it's just a moment of uh deep, deep depression. It's like what do I do now? And then eventually some massive uh creativity comes from that specific moment, and then you just take action because what I really believe is what makes a difference between the originals, the innovators, the entrepreneurs, and those who succeed and those who don't. Actually, just the fact of taking action and not just overthinking everything and procrastinating everything, just take action. So that moment is that moment has happened actually somewhere in the last year in 25 to us. And then we emerged much stronger from that moment. And uh and things turned out, it turned out to be actually one of the best moments of the year, but afterwards, when we solved it and have managed to uh to to uh manage this uh caste challenge, etc. Yeah, and of course the the best moments are connected to this uh deep moment because uh when you come back and you emerge, uh you feel like yes, this was happening for a reason, this was telling us something, and this has pushed us to take the very tough decisions that we were not able to take in uh moments of in uh in uh comfortable moments, in easy moments where just things were just going right, or we were thinking that things were going right. So we had to have this slap in the face to wake up and to uh to understand, no, no, no, no, no, this is not the right way to do it. And this is the the the beauty of the faith when you really believe that everything is happening, happening for your highest good, even in these moments of your head between your heads. If you keep the faith, you will find your way up.

Dr Ariel King: 22:03

Love the fact also that you said, you know, you have to do something. It's not just sitting there going, oh, with your your hands in your head saying this is terrible, but the fact that you have to take action. Um, I want to thank you so much. Our time has almost ended. Would you like to tell our audience anything else about your company, what you're doing, and also can you allow people to know how they can get involved and how they can get in touch with you?

Amel Saidane: 22:24

Absolutely. So uh feel free to contact us by uh by email. My email address is uh name.family name, so ml.sidan at betawaves.io. Or feel free to reach out to me on uh on LinkedIn. So we're totally open. We're interested in partnerships in Middle East and Africa, but also beyond. We're very much looking to uh forward to finding the right investment partners in our funds uh who share our vision, who share our mission. So, yes, looking forward to connecting with the people who share our vibe, who share our energy.

Dr Ariel King: 22:59

I want to thank you for being with us today. I've learned so much about venture capitalism and entrepreneurship and more importantly, tenacity from a wonderful woman like you. So thank you so much.

Amel Saidane: 23:10

Thank you so much, Dr. King. Such a blessing to be here.

Dr Ariel King: 23:14

Thank you. For our audience, remember if I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, then when? That was by the great philosopher Helel. And I've added, if not me, then who? Thank you so much for joining us.