Hisham Shawki and Nancy Zayed launched MagicCube in 2014 with the intention of eliminating the redundancy of hardware-based security currently used in mobile and IoT devices. The primary target of their technology is the USD 48 bn POS hardware market, a strategy that attracted investments from Visa and CIB’s VC arm CVentures. Beyond financial services, the security platform has major applications in industrial machinery, medical devices, and autonomous vehicles.

The implications on emerging markets looking to improve financial inclusion are undeniable. By removing costly barriers to entry caused by manufacturing and deployment of hardware components, the technology can help bring a greater portion of the informal economy into the system.

Hisham and Nancy take us back to how they went from building software in Egypt to working at tech companies that arguably changed the world, and share with us their favorite stories about meeting Steve Jobs.

** Subscribe to Enterprise, our 6am briefing on business, finance and economics in Egypt (also free) at www.enterprise.news.

Making It is grateful for the generous support of:

CIB, Egypt’s number-one private-sector bank and the partner of choice for CEOs and leaders of businesses at all stages of their growth stories.

The United States Agency for International Development, which has a 40 year history of inspiring Egyptian success in partnership with the Government and people of Egypt.

You can check out MagicCube here: magiccube.co

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.