What if the fastest way to succeed was to stop fearing failure?
In this episode, host Mayuri Reddy speaks with Maryam A. Hassani — Head of Trends & Innovation at the Abu Dhabi Childhood Authority, co-founder of Hydro Wind Energy, and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. They explore how Abu Dhabi’s growing innovation scene is redefining what it means to build and learn in public.
Maryam shares lessons on AI as an equalizer, how to validate ideas before building, and why failure is just another word for data.
🎧 A must-listen for founders learning to grow through experimentation.
Accra, Ghana has a population of 5.5 million — and over 2 million small and medium-sized businesses. These SMEs employ most of the workforce and generate nearly 70% of the country’s GDP, but the majority can’t access credit or reliable tools to scale.
In this episode, host Mayuri Reddy speaks with Marie-Reine Seshie, founder & CEO of Kola Market, about how her platform is changing that. Marie-Reine shares her journey from banking and policy to building a tech company that de-risks lending for small businesses, supports women entrepreneurs, and empowers Ghana’s next generation of founders.
Expect insights on:
The realities of entrepreneurship in Accra
Building trust with small shop owners and traders
Why SMEs are the real engine of Africa’s economies
What global investors often miss when entering Ghana
Her hopes for the future of women-led business in West Africa
To reach Marie-Reine, you can email her at marie.reine@kola.market, via linkedin and/or through Kola Market's website.
🌍 The Founders Atlas brings you stories of entrepreneurs building in emerging ecosystems around the world. Follow along on instagram and substack.
Trift Africa’s Yemisi Isidi explains how community-based, collateral-free microfinance helps Nigeria’s nano and micro businesses grow—without predatory rates.
We cover Trift’s criteria (real cash flow over collateral, 3+ months in business), why compliance and digital skills training amplify funding impact, Yemisi's north star of job creation and practical tips for investors exploring Nigeria’s market.
You’ll hear about: community-based funding and accountability, single-digit monthly rates for founders, capping active loans to monitor quality, and the cultural realities entrepreneurs navigate—from childcare to infrastructure gaps
If you've been curious about the landscape of finance in Nigeria and want to learn about innovative ways to fuel collective economic growth, this is the episode for you.
.Connect with Trift & Yemisi:
🌐 Website: https://www.triift.africa/
🔗 Trift Africa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/triiftafrica
🔗 Yemisi Ajeojo (Isidi) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yemisiisidi/
Follow The Founders Atlas:
🌐 Website: https://www.thefoundersatlaspodcast.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoundersatlas.podcast
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-founders-atlas
In this episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy interviews Vivek Reddy, the founder of VIGA Entertainment, a Bangalore-based deep tech company revolutionizing how stories are told and produced.
They explore:
How Vivek’s U.S. film industry experience shaped VIGA’s mission
What it takes to build bootstrapped AI-powered products in India
How Bangalore became a hub for creative software
What Western founders need to know before expanding into the Indian market
The balance between spirituality, tech, and personal growth as a founder
If you're curious about what it takes to build a great business in India and are excited to explore the opportunities the country has to to offer, you do not want to miss this episode!!
🎧 Follow The Founders Atlas to hear untold stories from emerging global startup ecosystems.
🔗 Learn more:
VIGA Website | Vivek’s LinkedInThe Founders Atlas Instagram | Website | Mayuri's Linkedin
How do you build a career platform that connects job seekers in Palestine to top remote roles around the world? Meet Jafar Shunnar, CTO and Co-founder of TAP Careers - recently named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for Social Good.
In this powerful episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy travels to Nablus in the West Bank to explore how TAP is changing lives by helping high-potential talent across Palestine, Jordan, and Syria launch remote careers in tech - without leaving home.
🎧 In This Episode, You'll Learn:
What inspired the creation of TAP, and how it evolved from a coding bootcamp into a full career platform
How remote work is transforming access to economic opportunity in the Middle East
Why mentorship, community, and global networks matter as much as technical skills
What it takes to run a mission-driven business during extreme uncertainty
What investors and hiring managers should know about talent in the MENA region
How TAP uses AI and smart tools to help job seekers land meaningful work
The vision for TAP 2.0, and how it's scaling impact beyond borders
🌍 Want to support TAP Careers?
Looking to hire world-class remote talent? Interested in mentoring emerging professionals from Palestine, Jordan, or Syria?
👉 Learn how you can contribute to TAP’s mission:🌐 https://tapcareers.io
📬 Reach out directly:✉️ talent@tapcareers.io
🧑💻 About Our Guest:
Jafar Shunnar is the Co-founder & CTO of TAP Careers, a career acceleration platform helping young professionals in the Middle East find meaningful employment in global companies. With a background in software development and an MBA from INSEAD, Jafar brings a rare blend of technical expertise and social mission to the world of tech hiring.
🎙 About the Show:
The Founders Atlas is a podcast exploring global entrepreneurship through the lens of visionary founders building from underrepresented and overlooked regions. Hosted by Mayuri Reddy, each episode offers insights into the human stories behind startups—and the cultural, personal, and economic forces that shape them.
In this episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy travels to Budapest to speak with Roswitha Verwer, award-winning founder and CEO of YON E Global—a pioneering MedFemTech startup that's reshaping how women understand and track their vaginal and reproductive health.
Roswitha shares how her early experiences in women’s shelters shaped her mission to empower women through innovation, data, and education. We explore what it's like to raise capital in male-dominated spaces, how to build a startup with both purpose and scientific rigor, and why real-time vaginal health tracking could change everything from IVF outcomes to everyday wellbeing.
✨ Highlights:
YON E Global’s journey toward regulatory approval and clinical testing
Cultural taboos and the lack of education in women's health
Building a femtech business in Central Europe
Balancing masculine and feminine energy in leadership
Redefining success as a founder
If you're curious about the future of FemTech, want to support underserved health spaces, or just love hearing honest founder stories—this episode is for you.
🔗 Learn more at: https://yone.global🤝 Get in touch with Roswitha
Brazilian fintech Oinc is helping millions rethink money. Co-founder Fernanda Guilhermino shares how she's making financial wellness more accessible.
In this episode of The Founders Atlas, we travel to Rio de Janeiro to meet Fernanda Guilhermino, co-founder of the Brazilian fintech app Oinc. With fewer than 4% of Brazilians investing and sky-high credit card interest rates, Fernanda shares how her personal journey inspired a product that meets people where they are.
💡 You'll hear about:
The cultural roots of Brazil's financial anxiety
How Oinc helps users save, invest, and manage money automatically
Fernanda’s leap from law to launching a startup
What it takes to build trust in a low-literacy, high-risk economy
Why emotional intelligence, therapy, and co-founders matter
🌎 If you're interested in fintech, LATAM startups, or investing in emerging markets—this one's for you.
👉 Download Oinc (Brazil only), follow Fernanda on LinkedIn, or reach out if you're an angel or VC - reach out to her via email: fernanda.guilhermino@useoinc.com.br
🎙️ Hosted by Mayuri Reddy
#Fintech #Brazil #Startups #LatAm #Oinc #FoundersAtlas
In this episode of The Founders Atlas, Mayuri sits down with Nesma Amin, the Cairo-based founder of Aziza, a period tracking app built in Egyptian Arabic with one mission: making women’s health information accessible, inclusive, and culturally relevant.
Together, they unpack:
Why Aziza speaks to Egyptian women in a way global apps don’t.
The cultural myths Nesma is gently - but powerfully - unlearning through building Aziza.
How Nesma builds trust and intimacy with users by meeting them where they are, linguistically, culturally, and emotionally.
What it means to redefine success when building for impact in a fragmented healthcare system.
💡 Whether you're building a startup in an emerging market or navigating sensitive health topics, this conversation offers valuable insight on empathy-driven product design.
🎯 Want to support or connect with Nesma? Reach her at: nesma@aziza.app and learn more/download the app here.
✨ Follow and review The Founders Atlas to discover more global founders reimagining innovation on their terms. You can find us on instagram here.
In this solo episode, host Mayuri Reddy shares hard-won insights on one of the most tempting — and risky — moves a founder can make: international expansion. Drawing from nearly a decade of experience advising startups across four continents, Mayuri unpacks three truths every founder should reflect on before going global.
With real-world stories from companies like Canva, Spotify, Airbnb, WeWork, and Tesco, this episode is your crash course in what to really consider before setting up shop in a new country. Whether you're already eyeing your next market or just want to avoid the costly mistakes others have made, this episode is for you.
Follow Us! Instagram | Linkedin
Want to reach out to Mayuri? Send her a message on Linkedin.
In this episode of The Founders Atlas, we’re heading to Swakopmund, Nambia —to explore what it means to build community-first entrepreneurship ecosystems across continents.
Our guest, Cerina Bezuidenhout, is the co-founder of Future Females, a global platform empowering women entrepreneurs with education, mentorship, and access to funding.
Launched in Cape Town and now active across the globe, Future Females is creating space for founders who are often overlooked—especially women outside of traditional tech hubs. Cerina shares her journey from food scientist to founder, and how her roots in Namibia, combined with global exposure through Techstars and Berlin, shaped her mission to support women on their own terms.
We dive into:
💼 Why traditional businesses matter just as much as tech startups
🌍 What global funders still get wrong about African entrepreneurs
💡 The difference between real impact and vanity metrics
💰 Why VC funding isn’t always the answer—and what founders need instead
🤝 The power of honesty, values, and co-founding with trust
Whether you’re an investor, founder, or someone curious about what it takes to truly empower women globally, Cerina’s story offers a grounded, honest look at building for real impact.
✨ Connect with Cerina & Future Females: Instagram | Website | hello@futurefemales.co
🎧 Like, follow, subscribe, and share to keep The Founders Atlas community growing! 🌍
In this episode of The Founders Atlas, we're heading to Lagos, Nigeria, home to over 17 million people and a rising startup scene that’s been dubbed the “Silicon Valley of Africa.” Our guest, Seyi Alabi, is the co-founder of Crop2Cash, an agri-tech company on a mission to transform the lives of smallholder farmers across Nigeria.
With over 500,000 farmers already supported, Crop2Cash is building financial tools, payment solutions, and a marketplace that helps farmers not just survive, but thrive. Seyi shares how growing up with an agronomy background, and a hustler's spirit learned from his mother, shaped his approach to business. We dive into:
🌾 The real challenges of starting up in Nigeria
🌍 What it means to be climate-resilient in agriculture
💰 Why he believes grant financing is underrated
🤝 The power of trust, local language, and showing up
💡 And what success really means in the Nigerian context
Whether you're an investor, an aspiring entrepreneur, or just curious about innovation across Africa, this episode will leave you inspired to build boldly, and to maybe book a flight to Lagos.
✨ Connect with Seyi & Crop2Cash: Linkedin | Website
🎧 Like, follow, subscribe, and share to keep The Founders Atlas community growing! 🌍
In the first guest episode of The Founders Atlas, we travel to Kampala, Uganda to meet two extraordinary changemakers: Joan R. Nalubega, founder of Uganics, and Etienne Salborn, founder of the Social Innovation Academy (SINA).
Joan’s journey began as a child in an orphanage where malaria nearly took her life. Today, her social enterprise has helped reduce malaria cases by up to 88% in the households they reach, while employing over 40 people.
Etienne, who first met Joan when she was just 10 years old, shares how SINA is reimagining education by empowering disadvantaged youth to become entrepreneurs—through trust, autonomy, and self-discovery.
Together, they share a powerful story of community-led impact, overcoming bias, and designing business with deep purpose.
This is The Founders Atlas. We hope you enjoy the ride
—
💌 Learn more about Joan & Etienne:
Joan Nalubega: Website | Linkedin |Instagram
Etienne Sarbonne: Website | Linkedin | Instagram
📘 Show Notes & Chapters
00:00 – Welcome to Kampala, Uganda
03:57 – Introducing Joan and Etienne
04:10 – Etienne on founding SINA
06:27 – Joan on discovering purpose and founding Uganics
10:44 – The role of trust in their companies
13:38 – Building customer trust and empathy
16:45 – Upskilling employees and leadership development
19:13 – How SINA replicates across Africa
22:54 – Joan on building as a young Ugandan woman
29:01 – Etienne on resilience and redefining success
34:09 – Joan’s vision: health equity and expansion
39:26 – Etienne’s vision: replicating purpose-driven education
43:05 – Closing thoughts and how to get involved
Episode 1: Why I Started The Founders Atlas and The Power of Building a Global Context to Building a Business
In this debut episode of The Founders Atlas, host Mayuri Reddy shares the personal story and pivotal moments that sparked the creation of this podcast. From watching her mother build a business out of necessity to confronting her own blind spots about who gets visibility as a founder, Mayuri reflects on the power of perspective, community, and global entrepreneurship.
You’ll hear how attending event became a wake up call to her own blind spots, and how she's using this journey as a way to show others how much more power we have if/when we work together.
Expect deep curiosity, honest reflection, and a fresh take on what it really means to be entrepreneurial in today’s world.
🌍 This is The Founders Atlas. We hope you enjoy the ride.
—
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:05 The Journey of an Immigrant Entrepreneur
04:01 Lessons from Family and Community
04:31 Wake Up Call To Blind Spots 0
7:20 The Birth of Founders Atlas
08:44 Redefining Entrepreneurship1
0:09 A Call for Optimism and Collaboration
11:17 Outro
The Founders Atlas is your guide to the world’s most exciting business ecosystems — told through the eyes of visionary founders.
In each episode, host Mayuri Reddy speaks with entrepreneurs building bold, impactful businesses in fast-growing cities that don’t often get the spotlight — places like Lagos, Bangalore, Cairo, and Rio de Janeiro.
From social impact to AI, these founders share how their culture shapes their approach to entrepreneurship, the opportunities and challenges of building in their region, and how they navigate ambiguity in an ever-changing world.
Through their stories, we uncover insights on leadership, resilience, and creativity that help us become better problem solvers, founders, and investors — no matter where we are.
This is more than a podcast about startups.
It’s a global invitation to stay curious, reimagine what’s possible, and meet inspiring founders you might not hear from otherwise.
Welcome to The Founders Atlas.