Bassim Haidar
Bassim Haidar is a Nigerian-Lebanese telecom and fintech businessman and entrepreneur. He is, among others, the founder and CEO of multinational fintech services provider Channel VAS, founder of African telco infrastructure provider Channel IT and chairman & co-founder of Dubai-based venture capital firm Knuru Investment Limited.
Early life and education[edit]
Bassim Haidar was born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents and lived there until he was 10. At the age of 12 his father lost his fortune, something that he has stated had a deep impact on him.[1] This was the driving force for him to start his businesses based on what people in territories like Nigeria and Lebanon really need.[2] After his family moved back to Lebanon, he finished school and graduated from Beirut University College.[3]
Career[edit]
At age 20 in 1991, Haidar co-founded his first company, Intercomm Ltd., specializing in telecom equipment and radio links. In 1995, he started GMT Group, a procurement, finance and logistics provider for West Africa. In 2003, he founded Channel IT to provide supplies and services to the telecom industry in Nigeria. In 2011, he founded Channel VAS, vendor of Mobile Financial and Fintech Services for emerging markets across the globe.[4]
He is also the chairman and co-founder for venture capital firm Knuru Investment Limited[5] as well as a co-founder and key stakeholder in Safricanna, the first EU-GMP medically licensed Cannabis facility in Africa.[6] He is considered one of the most successful Lebanese expats in Nigeria[7] and has been praised by the Nigerian Communications Commission Chairman, Olabiyi Durojaiye, for his company's achievements.[8]
Bassim Haidar has been advocating for the opportunities existing in utilizing new technologies and mobile financial services, showcasing them through his companies' growth in top-tier news outlets like CNN.[9] He evangelizes how such services can help bridge the financial gap for unbanked populations and empower growth in emerging regions, especially in Africa[10] and considers them "a form of social entrepreneurship".[11] He has also contributed opinion pieces highlighting the importance of the utilization of mobile financial services but also business flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic[12][13] as well as the strong potential of the overall fintech business sector.[14]
His career and the growth of his business ventures, mainly in Africa, have been the subject of interest and interviews in major news outlets like Bloomberg[15], France24[16], CNBC[17], Business Insider[18] and Fox Business Network[19], while he has also been the cover story and main interview feature in Telecom Review in December 2020, in both their Middle East[20] and Africa[21] issues.
Under his professional capacity, he has participated and featured as keynote speaker in several global and regional forums and conferences such as Davos' World Economic Forum[22], Africa CEO Forum,[23] Africa Com,[24] Webit[25] and GSMA's Mobile 360 Series - Africa[26] and 4YFN.[27] He is also supporting entrepreneurship through various platforms such as Endeavor[28] and E2E.[29]
Personal life[edit]
Bassim Haidar has three daughters.[30] He is an avid squash supporter, sponsoring through his company Channel VAS the two Top-10 professional squash players Mohamed El Shorbagy and Marwan El Shorbagy,[31] while he also envisioned and sponsored Professional Squash Association’s World Tour Gold Event[32], Channel VAS Championships Tournament at St. George’s Hill.[33]
Philanthropy[edit]
Bassim Haidar is a philanthropist and in January 2016 he was appointed as a member of Amnesty International Global Council, joining human rights supporters from the world of art, business and philanthropy including Paulo Coelho, Yoko Ono, Salil Shetty, Hadeel Ibrahim and Krishna Rao.[34] He has also been donating all proceeds from the Channel VAS Championships Squash Tournaments to UK's leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families, CLIC Sargent.[35]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Mobile Fintech Entrepreneur Bassim Haidar Found His Motivation in His Family's Past". The Financial Technology Report. October 4, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bassim Haidar's Business Approach: 'Get Out Of The Living Room'". Huffpost. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Personal Profile on Bassim Haidar". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bassim Haidar CV". Milken Institute. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Knuru Team". Knuru Website. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Key Stakeholders". Safricanna website. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Nigerian-Lebanese: West Africa's Most Successful Diaspora". Diligencia Group. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "NCC chairman applauds Channel VAS founder for company's growth". The Guardian Nigeria. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Creating opportunities from shortcomings". CNN “Marketplace Africa” show. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Mobile money key to Africa's growth, but bad tax policies ruin it". The Africa Report. October 23, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ ""Μπασίμ Χαϊντάρ: Η κρίση έκανε την Ελλάδα καλή αγορά για μικροδάνεια" (Bassim Haidar: The crisis made Greece a good market for small loans - article in Greek)". Kathimerini.gr. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "COVID-19 underlines the importance of fintech in emerging markets". World Economic Forum. May 15, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Ask a FinTech: how are you coping with the 'new normal' of remote working?". FinTech Alliance. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The future of fintech is bright in 2020 despite challenges". Global Banking & Finance. April 28, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "How Africans keep talking when their prepaid card runs out". Bloomberg. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Davos 2015: Doing business in an unstable climate". France24. January 23, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Africa can't be summed up as a continent, Channel IT CEO says". CNBC. January 23, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ ""World Power Is Shifting": Bassim Haidar Interview". Business Insider. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "How technology is helping underdeveloped regions financially". Fox Business Network (YouTube page). January 29, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Telecom Review Middle East". Telecom Review. December 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Telecom Review Africa". Telecom Review. November–December 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)CS1 maint: Date format (link) - ↑ "List of Delegates to 2020 World Economic Forum". Quartz.com. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bassim Haidar speaker profile". Africa CEO Forum. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Building and Scaling a Fintech Company: Channel VAS Keynote Speech at Africa Com 2018". Repost on Channel VAS YouTube page. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Money & Fintech Week: The Thought Leadership Summit". Webit Virtual. June 30, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "GSMA Announces Speakers for Mobile 360 Series – Africa 2018". GSMA. 29 May 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Channel VAS CEO Bassim Haidar discussing FinTech in 4YFN 2019". Repost on Channel VAS YouTube page. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bassim Haidar Mentor Profile". Endeavor Greece. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Scale Up 2 Success". E2E YouTube page. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Story on Bassim Haidar". Enigma Magazine. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Men's World Rankings". Professional Squash Association. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Channel VAS Tournament profile, 2019". Professional Squash Association. Retrieved 20 July 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Channel VAS Championships". Channel VAS Squash Tournament Website. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Amnesty appoints telecommunications entrepreneur Bassim Haidar to its Global Council". Amnesty International. January 21, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Channel VAS Championship to donate all proceeds from ticket sales to charity". Professional Squash Association. November 30, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
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