Every major turn in Mountasser Hachem's career looked like a mistake before it looked like a breakthrough.

He walked away from a television business that was already thriving, to stake his future on an idea most of the region hadn't caught onto yet: Messaging.

He spent years earning the trust of mobile operators who had no reason to take a chance on an unknown company, and he took over a failing network in Gambia at the exact moment most people would have walked away.

Looking back, what stands out isn't that these ventures paid off, it's that he had the strength and conviction to make them before there was any proof they would.

The conversation reveals someone far more interested in judgment than luck, someone who treats every setback as a lesson rather than a verdict, and who refuses to let one success story talk him into standing still.

Across media, telecom, fintech, and now AI, one instinct never changes: Find where things need to move, and build a way through, regardless of the odds.

It's a candid look at what it actually takes to keep reinventing yourself, one industry at a time, without ever letting comfort take hold.

"Failure is one of the greatest assets an entrepreneur can have. When you lose, you learn. I've lost far more than I've won, and honestly, that's exactly why I'm still here."

Read the full interview on page 24 of the issue Entrepreneur Middle East August 1, 2026 | Beating The Odds by Entrepreneur Middle East - Issuu