Tariq Sanad, CFO at Tarabut: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the business community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of business questions for fun. Speaking to us this week is Tariq Sanad (LinkedIn), CFO at Tarabut Gateway. Edited excerpts from our conversation below.

I’m Tariq Sanad, CFO at Tarabut. I was born in Bahrain but I’ve called the UAE home for the last 23 years. My career has come in two halves: The first half was with Procter & Gamble, which I think of as my real school, and for the second half I’ve been working with high-growth startups in the region since 2012. I’ve worked with companies that have scaled up really quickly, like Careem and Pure Harvest.

Tarabut was founded in Bahrain in 2017 by Abdulla Almoayed (LinkedIn), and it has a meaningful connection for me as its roots are in my home country. The company is now the MENA region’s first and largest open banking platform, working closely with regulators, banks, and fintechs to unlock embedded finance across the region.

For me, the attraction was clear: The ability to give SMEs and individuals access to finance they deserve, but are often excluded from because timing isn’t right or the necessary information isn’t all there. That’s a massive need in our region. There’s backing from governments and central banks, but there still needs to be more targeted, granular support to unlock the potential growth in the SME sector.

Open finance is now moving from concept to reality in the UAE. We’ve seen it start in Bahrain, then Saudi, and now the UAE is rolling out its framework. That means the conversation isn’t only about payments and account data anymore. It’s expanding to include ins, investments, and more. For us, it’s about going beyond simple use cases and integrating data across verticals to truly democratize access to financial products.

Today, our focus is Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both markets represent the bulk of the region’s population and the biggest potential. We’ve proven we can scale across borders, and while we do plan to expand further, these two will be our priorities over the next few years.

On the financing side, we have a really supportive investor base that includes Pinnacle, Visa, and the DIFC, who took part in our series A funding round. The era of “grow at all costs” is behind us. For us, it’s about focusing on the right markets, developing the strongest products that the market needs and making sure we give investors the best possible returns.

We’ll be expanding in the next 12-18 months, and this would mean further investment at some point on the horizon, but for now we’re building the right metrics to set ourselves up for the next stage and to show shareholders we continue to deliver on what we promise.

The region needs more players and VCs focusing on the series B and C stages and have the experience as many of the firms we’re seeing haven’t necessarily had all the chances available to them to get into B and C stages. But it’s not a one size fits all — the B and C standards are much higher and not every startup is going to graduate to that level.

I’m an early riser — my day starts around 4:35. I’ll usually read for 30 minutes before heading to the gym or going for a walk if the weather is good. I like to be the first one in the office to get some work done early on. Mornings are when I’m most productive — quiet, no interruptions, a chance to think clearly before the day’s meetings begin. Evenings are simple: Dinner at home and I’m in bed by 9 or 9:30. That routine keeps me balanced.

I always have a book going. I recently read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which really changed me fundamentally. It helped reset my perspective and sharpen how I think about things like leadership and delivering big projects.

Stress is unavoidable in a CFO role, but what keeps me grounded is people — my family and friends, who understand the sacrifices this journey sometimes requires, and my team at Tarabut, who show up with the same commitment every day. That support network makes the pressure manageable.

When I want to switch off, my guilty pleasure is the TV show Law and Order. It’s been running since the early 90s, so there’s always something new to watch, and I’ve probably seen every episode at least once. I think the procedural, compartmentalized nature of the show appeals to the finance side of my brain as everything is structured and each case has a beginning and an end.

One piece of advice has stayed with me since my first job at Procter & Gamble. My boss told me: “Don’t come to me again with questions without actually thinking of the answer before.” It was a pivotal moment, and I’ve lived by it ever since.

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