When the founders of Purpl launched their remittance start-up in Lebanon last year, their aim was to solve an increasingly difficult — and expensive — challenge for millions of Lebanese people living abroad: sending money home to friends and family after the collapse of the country’s banking sector.
Founded by banker turned entrepreneur Karl Naim, Wissam Ghorra and Jean-Marie Khoueir in 2021, the trio are well on their way to disrupting the country’s remittance sector by focusing on financial inclusion, lower fees and allowing beneficiaries to withdraw money from ATMs owned by its banking partner Banque Libano-Francaise.
“I was based [in] Paris until October of 2021,” says Mr Naim.
“Every time I would travel to Lebanon, I had friends in Paris who were asking me to take money with me to give to their families. Obviously, the maximum you can take is €10,000 [$9,979], so people will give me thousands of euros and say, 'Please, once you get to Beirut, distribute them to my uncle, my parents and my cousins'.
“Eventually, I was [asking myself], why is it so hard to send money to Lebanon?”
Lebanon remittances — in pictures
People no longer trust banks “because they're worried that [if] you send it to their bank account, they're not able to cash it out”, Mr Naim says.
By sending money home with a trusted friend, people were also trying to avoid the high fees charged by a few money transfer companies, which enjoy a near-monopoly status through a large network of branches, he adds.
“So that's how we came up with the idea of building an aggregator, where we are the technology piece that integrates with new digital remittance players to open the corridor to Lebanon, which will eventually bring fees lower for the sender, and at the same time bring an app that permits the beneficiary to cash out in a much more seamless and efficient way.
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Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis since the country's independence in 1943. Its economy contracted about 58 per cent between 2019 and 2021, with gross domestic product plummeting to $21.8 billion in 2021 from about $52bn in 2019, according to the World Bank. That is the largest contraction on a list of 193 countries.
Lebanon's economy collapsed after it defaulted on about $31bn of Eurobonds in March 2020, with its currency sinking more than 90 per cent against the dollar on the black market and inflation rising to triple digits.
Banks have imposed informal capital controls, barring depositors from accessing their savings, which created huge difficulties for people to withdraw money from their accounts.
Last month, a local man gained the admiration of many in Lebanon when he held up a bank branch in Beirut, demanding access to his blocked savings, so he could pay for his father’s medical treatment.
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Watch: Beirut bank hostage situation comes to end
The company's mission is to “democratise remittances, cross-border transfer flows and enable financial inclusion in a country where 80 per cent of the population is unbanked. It's very important to promote financial inclusion”, Mr Naim says.
“So we've built a technology that allows us to use ATMs of banks, that are supposedly only used by banked people or people that have a card, by unbanked people. With our prepaid app, you can even cash out from an ATM without having an account or a card.”
Remittances are important for Lebanon’s economy and account for 54 per cent of the country’s GDP, which is the highest among the Mena countries, according to the World Bank.
Lebanon received $6.6bn in remittances in 2021 and is the third highest remittance receiver in the Mena region after Egypt and Morocco, the World Bank data shows.
“Today, our users are people residing in Lebanon. For now, we are focusing on the inward remittances. Once we get a digital wallet licence, which we expect very soon, we will be able to also focus on the outward remittances allowing foreign workers in Lebanon to send money home.”
The digital wallet licence will also allow “users to store value on their app, and spend digitally at merchants instead of just cashing out that money all the time”, he says.
The company, which is part of the Hub71 ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, has plans to expand to other countries including Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Egypt as part of its future growth plans.
It has already signed an agreement with a partner in Iraq to replicate the same model of cardless ATM withdrawals for remittances, Mr Naim says.
Purpl has raised $2 million in funding so far from international investors, venture capital funds and family offices and is looking at doing another funding round at the end of 2023 to expand its operations across the region.
Being part of the Hub71 ecosystem in Abu Dhabi will help the company to secure more funding as well as build partnerships with remittance companies, Mr Naim adds.
“Today, for example, we are in talks with a few remittance companies in the UAE, thanks to help from Hub71.”
Company%20profile
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Q&A with Karl Naim, co-founder and chief executive of Purpl
What successful start-up do you wish you had started?
For me, a start-up success is a measure of disruption, empowerment and community building. In 2014 I launched my first start-up in FoodTech, called ChefXchange, a marketplace for private chefs. I was then inspired by Deliveroo. A second start-up I wish I had started would be Revolut, which reinvented banking in Europe.
What is your vision for the company?
We started Purpl to provide a new alternative to a banking sector that collapsed in Lebanon and lost the trust of the Lebanese population. Our vision is to connect, empower and enable financial access to all in Lebanon and eventually in the Mena region.
What new skills have you learnt in the process of launching your start-up?
Life in a start-up is all about continuous learning. When launching my first start-up in 2014, I learnt all about resilience and perseverance, but, most importantly, I learnt the hard way to never fall in love with your original idea and accept change. Being agile and accepting to pivot based on what your market and customers tell you is the key to success.
If you could start all over again, what would you do differently?
I wouldn't change anything. Everything that I did shaped me into who I am today and it came with its fair share of failures, successes and, most importantly, learning. I cherish and am thankful for everything I went through and the people who shared these adventures with me.
Who is your role model?
Every entrepreneur I meet and every person I get a chance to work with are role models one way or another. If I were to pick people who inspired me to start my entrepreneurial journey, it would be the founders I invested in as an angel investor.
Where do you see yourself after 10 years?
Hopefully, in a position of giving back, mentoring and investing in ambitious and disruptive founders. I do not believe, 10 years from now, that I would still have the energy required to start new ventures myself.
How would you describe the current state of Lebanon’s economy?
A state that is hard to comprehend. So much value destruction in so little time. In numbers, a currency that lost 94 per cent of its value, 75 per cent of the population living under the poverty line, 80 per cent of the population that is unbanked, triple-digit month-on-month inflation, and a GDP cut by more than 50 per cent in three years. That being said, adversity breeds opportunity and it is our duty to not stand idle and to try to make a difference. This is the mission we set ourselves at Purpl.
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
The%20Sandman
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday, February 8 v Kenya; Friday, February 9 v Canada; Sunday, February 11 v Nepal; Monday, February 12 v Oman; Wednesday, February 14 v Namibia; Thursday, February 15 final
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
Company%20profile
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