Omar Abdelwahed, co-founder and CEO of Valify Solutions: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is co-founder and CEO of Valify Solutions, Omar Abdelwahed (LinkedIn). Edited excerpts from our conversation:

My name is Omar Abdelwahed. I’m the co-founder and CEO of Valify, a digital verification company founded in 2019 with my co-founder, Ibrahim Eid. We specialize in providing verification technology that adds a secure, seamless, and compliant layer to digital interactions. We work with FRA-regulated brokerage and ins. companies to provide solutions that help these businesses ensure secure and smooth digital onboarding for their customers, as well as add security to their own operations. We work across various sectors including banking, fintech, ins., logistics, ride-hailing, and e-commerce, essentially anywhere digital identity verification is needed.

The idea for Valify was inspired by both professional and personal experiences. After graduating with a computer science degree from the American University in Cairo in 2015, I started off with a startup as soon as I graduated. That didn’t work out, so I began working at IBM, where I was exposed to digital solutions and noticed that one of the recurring issues was digital verification. At that time, my father — who has over 30 years of experience in the banking, financial, and strategic sectors — told us that KYC and identity verification were significant issues that needed to be addressed. So that was a real infrastructure problem that needed to be solved, not just in Egypt, but across many markets.

As CEO, I focus on strategy, vision, and the technical side of the business. We work closely with regulators like the Central Bank of Egypt, Financial Regulatory Authority, and National Telecom Regulatory Authority, as well as other non-regulated entities. This helps us ensure that people understand the value of what we do. I'm also deeply involved in product development, tech implementation, scalability, and expansion planning — both within and beyond Egypt, mainly in North Africa. A big part of my job is making sure we're not just keeping up with trends but leading them.

I think the most interesting trend I see right now is, unsurprisingly, AI and its implementation. It’s not just a trend in our industry but it’s transforming all industries, including ours. Since Valify is built on machine learning, AI is deeply embedded in everything we do, and we constantly explore new ways to apply AI to make digital verification smarter and more scalable.

I'm married with a young daughter, so the first 30-45 minutes of my day are spent with my family. After that, I pray, shower, and head to the office. I begin by organizing my schedule and checking in with my direct reports to make sure everything’s on track. Much of my day involves collecting direct feedback from our clients to ensure our offerings are aligned with their needs. I also work on our regional expansion efforts, speaking with partners and clients looking to bundle services or enter new markets. As part of my morning catch-up, I read EnterpriseAM and check news on LinkedIn and Instagram.

The one constant in my day is my family. My daughter is almost two, and spending time with her and my wife in the morning is non-negotiable. Everything else like meetings and tasks come after that. I’d like to say I work out regularly, but that depends on how the day goes.

What keeps me focused is having the right people around me. My co-founder is a huge part of that, he’s my partner, my friend, and my family. We split responsibilities where he handles the business side and I lead tech and product, so that helps me focus on my own responsibilities and of course we help each other when that’s needed. Our teams operate with strong ownership and a clear sense of accountability, that’s the culture we have within the company. Knowing that everyone has their domain and executes it well helps me stay grounded and focused on the bigger picture. It's very important to surround yourself with the right people.

The next step for me is expanding Valify beyond the financial sector and eventually beyond Egypt. We’ve already expanded into non-banking financial services and telecoms, and now we’re exploring use cases in retail, e-commerce, and logistics. Long-term, I’d like to see Valify grow into a regional and eventually global player. This is a goal for me on a professional and personal level.

Work-life balance is hard to maintain throughout your career or your life generally. There’s this concept of the “life wheel” with different categories like family, personal growth, health, and religion. At different stages of life, some categories take priority over others. In the early days of Valify, balance was nonexistent, it took up all my time including weekends. But when my daughter was born, that changed. Family became the top priority, and I’ve learned to structure everything else around that.

I like to watch movies to relax. I’m a huge film buff and I have to watch a movie or a series every day, even if just for an hour. It helps me disconnect and recharge. I also really like playing and watching tennis. I’m a big fan of Alcaraz currently, and before that I was a Nadal fan.

I like reading thriller and mystery books. Dan Brown is one of my favorites. Reading is a way to de-stress and detach from work, so I don't usually read business or self-help books. I might dive into professional development books later on, but for now, I read to relax.

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