Racists are not welcome to do business in the Middle East, Fadi Ghandour, executive chairman of investment company Wamda, has said.
He spoke after Islamophobic comments by a Sequoia Capital partner that have led to a wave of public criticism from the Middle East and North Africa's tech sector.
Speaking to The National, Mr Ghandour said the region remains open and diverse, but that tolerance must be mutual.
“If these people want to be racist, then they’re not welcome in the region,” he said. “If they want to engage us, we are so open for engagement.”
His comments follow a July 4 post by Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, who referred to New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as an “Islamist” and claimed he “comes from a culture that lies about everything”.
Mr Maguire later published a 30-minute apology video on X, stating that his remarks were directed at political Islam, not religion or ethnicity.
Mr Ghandour said the apology was not enough and rejected the idea that such remarks should be dismissed as personal opinion. “Islamophobia is not freedom of opinion,” he said. “This is simple prejudice.”
In a LinkedIn post, Mr Ghandour strongly criticised Mr Maguire's remarks, calling them racist and ignorant.
“Clearly Shaun Maguire of Sequoia Capital thinks it is OK for him to show off his racism and hatred of the 'non‑western' cultures and religions and is proud to show off his total ignorance,” he wrote.
His post linked to an open letter demanding that Sequoia Capital publicly condemn Mr Maguire's statements.
Regional pushback
The open letter was initiated by the founder of one of the region’s largest tech companies, based in the UAE. However, it was Mr Ghandour who helped amplify the effort, sharing it widely on social media and encouraging others to speak out.
He stated that the Sequoia partner had long utilised his platform to disseminate offensive views.
“He’s been, for the past two years, extremely aggressive on social media, specifically after October 7 [2023],” he said, referring to the Hamas-led attack on Israel that caused the Gaza war to break out.
The letter, which had more than 500 signatories by Monday afternoon, calls on Sequoia to issue a formal apology, launch an internal investigation and adopt a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech. It also demands a confidential reporting channel for founders to raise concerns about discriminatory behaviour.
The open letter sets a July 14 deadline for Sequoia's formal response.
Signatories from the region include Hosam Arab, chief executive of Tabby, Hisham Al Falih, chief executive of Lean Technologies, Ahmed Sabbah from Telda, and Eslam Hussein from Invygo.
Some signatures contained companies that have previously raised funding from Sequoia Capital India before it separated from Sequoia Capital in the US.
Mr Ghandour said the reaction from the region showed such remarks would not be tolerated. “Everyone that spells it out the way he does, or similar statements, they’re going to be called out,” he said.
Double standards and silence
Mr Ghandour also criticised the standards in western discourse around racism and religion.
He said if similar comments had been made about Judaism in the US, the reaction would have been far more severe. “You think a simple, straightforward video that says, ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it’ passes? No, it doesn’t pass,” he said.
He added that many in the tech world are still hesitant to speak out, especially since the attack on October 7, 2023. Mr Ghandour said many in Silicon Valley have privately expressed support but are afraid to speak out publicly.
“And this is coming out of a culture that historically has celebrated diversity, in fact, really propagated it. They talk about democracy all the time, about sharing opinion and hearing other opinions, and they basically scared a lot of people out.”
He added that people are “scared of him because he is from Sequoia, a very powerful venture fund”.
“If you want to raise money in this region, if you want to invest in this region, you’d better come out very strongly against this guy [Shaun McGuire]
Fadi Ghandour,
chairman of Wamda
Mr Ghandour said this is not simply a matter of values, there are also business implications. “If I was a start-up and I had this guy as a partner … I wouldn’t take his money,” he said.
Sequoia, he argued, needs to take a clear stand. “If you want to raise money in this region, if you want to invest in this region, you’d better come out very strongly against this guy,” he said. “The minimum that’s expected of Sequoia.”
He also said the region is no longer dependent on foreign capital. “We have our own funding, we have our own venture capital funds,” he added. “We can build our own businesses.”
Message of respect
While the incident may affect how founders evaluate foreign funding, Mr Ghandour insisted the region remains open for business, provided one condition is met.
“We’re happy to have anybody that wants to do business with us on a mutual respect basis,” he said. “It’s very simple, we’re not asking for much.”
His message to the global venture community was clear: “Racism and Islamophobia are extremely unacceptable in any way, shape or form.”
Sequoia has yet to comment publicly.
As the July 14 deadline looms, global founders are watching closely to see if Sequoia will address the concerns raised by Mr Ghandour and others, and what that might mean for the relationship between values and capital in the tech sector.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Autumn international scores
Saturday, November 24
Italy 3-66 New Zealand
Scotland 14-9 Argentina
England 37-18 Australia
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
If you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPyppl%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEstablished%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAntti%20Arponen%20and%20Phil%20Reynolds%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20financial%20services%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2418.5%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEmployees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20150%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20series%20A%2C%20closed%20in%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20venture%20capital%20companies%2C%20international%20funds%2C%20family%20offices%2C%20high-net-worth%20individuals%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
More from Armen Sarkissian
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
