After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story? 

On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him.  

Ragab is the CEO and Partner at Baraka Retail Group. This past May, Ragab sold control of Baraka Optics to Maghrabi, via a merger through acquisition, where Maghrabi bought 51% of his company. He chose not to walk away, even though he could have. 

Baraka launched in 1979 as a wholesale business focusing on optics. Today, they operate in a number of industries: optics, fashion and e-commerce.

Ragab explains the why behind the decision, and then breaks down the projected outcomes. He also shares his ethos as a manager, how he keeps up with trends “in a classic industry,” and how he thinks about the question of succession.

Sign up to our newsletter to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story?&nbsp;
On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Ragab is the CEO and Partner at Baraka Retail Group. This past May, Ragab sold control of Baraka Optics to Maghrabi, via a merger through acquisition, where Maghrabi bought 51% of his company. He chose not to walk away, even though he could have.&nbsp;
Baraka launched in 1979 as a wholesale business focusing on optics. Today, they operate in a number of industries: optics, fashion and e-commerce.
Ragab explains the why behind the decision, and then breaks down the projected outcomes. He also shares his ethos as a manager, how he keeps up with trends &ldquo;in a classic industry,&rdquo; and how he thinks about the question of succession.
Sign up to our <a href="https://enterpriseam.com/egypt/makingit/">newsletter</a> to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world’s companies and economies — and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them. 

Making It is an hour where the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers making the biggest decisions in our region show their work and talk about what’s next. 

From EnterpriseAM, the Arab world’s business daily.

Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world&rsquo;s companies and economies &mdash; and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them.&nbsp;
Making It is an hour where the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers making the biggest decisions in our region show their work and talk about what&rsquo;s next.&nbsp;
From EnterpriseAM, the Arab world&rsquo;s business daily.

A show where we talk shop with the people who run the biggest companies in the Arab world.

Making It

After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story?  On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him. 

The mechanics of retail with Baraka’s Ahmed Ragab

Foreign investors see a lot of potential in Egypt. Their optimism, however, is not necessarily shared by many inside Egypt. So where does the gap lie?

On this episode of Making It, Neveen El Tahri joins Patrick to make the case for optimism.

Neveen is a legend in banking and finance. She is a serial entrepreneur, the first woman to sit on the board of the Egyptian Stock Exchange and the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, and a member of parliament.

Neveen was not always optimistic, but she recently saw the puzzle pieces come together. She dives into policy, privatization, the many opportunities ahead of Egypt, and her personal belief that changes on the policy level will eventually trickle down.

Sign up to our newsletter to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

Foreign investors see a lot of potential in Egypt. Their optimism, however, is not necessarily shared by many inside Egypt. So where does the gap lie?
On this episode of Making It, Neveen El Tahri joins Patrick to make the case for optimism.
Neveen is a legend in banking and finance. She is a serial entrepreneur, the first woman to sit on the board of the Egyptian Stock Exchange and the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, and a member of parliament.
Neveen was not always optimistic, but she recently saw the puzzle pieces come together. She dives into policy, privatization, the many opportunities ahead of Egypt, and her personal belief that changes on the policy level will eventually trickle down.
Sign up to our <a href="https://enterpriseam.com/egypt/makingit/">newsletter</a> to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

Foreign investors see a lot of potential in Egypt. Their optimism, however, is not necessarily shared by many inside Egypt. So where does the gap lie?   On this episode of Making It, Neveen El Tahri joins Patrick to make the case for optimism. 

Why Rep. Neveen El Tahri is optimistic

When Chinese cars first appeared in Egypt around a decade ago, they were met with backlash. Now, they’re everywhere. Why? And how?

On this episode of Making It, Ankush Arora joins Patrick to break down how this happened, and why the pace of adoption is accelerating.

Ankush is the CEO of Al Mansour Automotive Group,a leading Egyptian and regional automotive distributor.

With both global and local industry knowledge, Ankush provides an insider’s perspective on the automotive industry in Egypt. Particularly on policy, development, and the bet Mansour is making on manufacturing.

Sign up to our newsletter to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

When Chinese cars first appeared in Egypt around a decade ago, they were met with backlash. Now, they&rsquo;re everywhere. Why? And how?
On this episode of Making It, Ankush Arora joins Patrick to break down how this happened, and why the pace of adoption is accelerating.
Ankush is the CEO of Al Mansour Automotive Group, a leading Egyptian and regional automotive distributor.
With both global and local industry knowledge, Ankush provides an insider&rsquo;s perspective on the automotive industry in Egypt. Particularly on policy, development, and the bet Mansour is making on manufacturing.
Sign up to our <a href="https://enterpriseam.com/egypt/makingit/">newsletter</a> to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

When Chinese cars first appeared in Egypt around a decade ago, they were met with backlash. Now, they’re everywhere. Why? And how?   On this episode of Making It, Ankush Arora joins Patrick to break down how this happened, and why the pace of adoption is accelerating now.

The Chinese takeover with Ankush Arora

Past the doom and gloom, what the heck is actually going on with AI at the moment?

On this episode of Making It, Tarek Assaad joins Patrick to decode the latest in AI.

From one of the smartest people in business and tech, this is an episode for both the novice and the pro, about what we should make of the recent technological breakthroughs, and what we’re yet to find out.

Tarek is Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures,one of Egypt’s leading venture capital firms.

Algebra turned 10 in May 2026. So we also discuss the journey of backing Egyptian founders through three devaluations, a pandemic, the end of free money, and the hyper AI moment we're all living through.

Tarek is the first guest we’ve invited on Making It twice. You can listen to the previous episode here. 

Sign up to our newsletter to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

Past the doom and gloom, what the heck is actually going on with AI at the moment?
On this episode of Making It, Tarek Assaad joins Patrick to decode the latest in AI.
From one of the smartest people in business and tech, this is an episode for both the novice and the pro, about what we should make of the recent technological breakthroughs, and what we&rsquo;re yet to find out.
Tarek is Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, one of Egypt&rsquo;s leading venture capital firms.
Algebra turned 10 in May 2026. So we also discuss the journey of backing Egyptian founders through three devaluations, a pandemic, the end of free money, and the hyper AI moment we're all living through.
Tarek is the first guest we&rsquo;ve invited on Making It twice. You can listen to the previous episode <a href="https://enterpriseam.com/egypt/podcast/investing-in-digital-disruption-how-algebra-ventures-became-synonymous-with-tech-startups/">here</a>.&nbsp;
Sign up to our <a href="https://enterpriseam.com/egypt/makingit/">newsletter</a> to get Making It in your inbox every Thursday.

 Past the doom and gloom, what the heck is actually going on with AI at the moment? On this episode of Making It, Tarek Assaad joins Patrick to decode the latest in AI. 

The mechanics of retail with Baraka’s Ahmed Ragab

In 1 playlist(s)

Making It

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips