Breaking Down Barriers
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.
Breaking Down Barriers
Engineering the Future: Building AI-Powered Super Apps in the Middle East
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Engineering the Future: Building AI-Powered Super Apps in the Middle East
From Silicon Valley to the Middle East, Mohamad has been at the forefront of shaping the future of AI-driven platforms. With a PhD from Stanford, senior roles at Facebook, and now as VP of Product, Data & AI at Careem, he’s helping build one of the region’s most ambitious AI-first super apps.
In this episode, we uncover:
- The evolution of Careem into an AI-first Everything App
- How to scale data, product, and engineering into a multi-service platform
- Lessons from navigating 90% revenue drops during COVID and transforming famine years into growth
- Real-world insights into GenAI, applied AI, and AI agents
- What the future of AI in MENAP looks like – from personalisation to robotics
Whether you’re a founder, investor, or tech leader, this episode gives you an insider’s view on building world-class AI platforms in one of the fastest-growing regions on the planet.
About the Guest
- VP of Product, Data & AI at Careem
- Former Senior Director across Mobility, Data, Platform & AI at Careem
- Ex-Facebook, leading Core ML for business integrity across Instagram, WhatsApp & Messenger
- PhD in Electrical Engineering (Stanford) + MBA (Berkeley Haas)
- Experienced in building & scaling high-performance tech teams across startups, Big Tech, and scale-ups
Chapters you won’t want to miss:
- Careem’s resilient, ambitious culture & super app journey
- The Hope Mission: lessons in leadership, alignment, and championship teams
- GenAI in practice: personalisation, optimisation & customer behaviour shifts
- The challenges of AI in MENAP: data, governance & infrastructure
- Future bets: Everything Agents, AI with memory, and the speed of thought software revolution
Don’t just watch this episode – be part of the conversation shaping the future of AI.