Bassim Haidar is a Nigerian-born Lebanese executive and entrepreneur. He has a strong track record of founding and scaling businesses in Africa and the Middle East, and now heads up a multi-sector conglomerate with revenues in excess of $1.6bn.
His expertise in driving growth, improving financial inclusion and unlocking economic opportunities in emerging markets has led him to found businesses across technology, telecoms, logistics, energy, engineering and medicinal cannabis.
He is the founder of Channel VAS, now Optasia, a leading vendor of mobile financial and fintech services. It improves financial inclusion by offering banking services and smart handset financing for developing markets and currently serves over 650m customers in over 30 countries.
A serial entrepreneur, Bassim founded his first company, Intercomm Ltd, when he was just 20 years old. He later founded GMT Nigeria, which he grew to the leading integrated procurement, finance and logistics provider in West Africa.
In 2003, recognising the growing need for telecoms infrastructure in Nigeria, he founded Channel...Bassim Haidar is a Nigerian-born Lebanese executive and entrepreneur. He has a strong track record of founding and scaling businesses in Africa and the Middle East, and now heads up a multi-sector conglomerate with revenues in excess of $1.6bn.
His expertise in driving growth, improving financial inclusion and unlocking economic opportunities in emerging markets has led him to found businesses across technology, telecoms, logistics, energy, engineering and medicinal cannabis.
He is the founder of Channel VAS, now Optasia, a leading vendor of mobile financial and fintech services. It improves financial inclusion by offering banking services and smart handset financing for developing markets and currently serves over 650m customers in over 30 countries.
A serial entrepreneur, Bassim founded his first company, Intercomm Ltd, when he was just 20 years old. He later founded GMT Nigeria, which he grew to the leading integrated procurement, finance and logistics provider in West Africa.
In 2003, recognising the growing need for telecoms infrastructure in Nigeria, he founded Channel IT. At a time when the industry was facing a magnitude of challenges in sourcing, logistics, revenue generation and customer retention, he created the benchmark on how to successfully create and provide essential supplies and services nationwide. The company now operates across 19 countries and plays a major role in connectivity in the Middle East and Africa. He also founded Knuru Capital, a private venture capital firm with interests in technology across the Gulf Region, Africa and Southern Europe, and serves as its Chairman.
He founded South African-based medicinal cannabis company SafriCanna, which funds extensive R&D, undertakes clinical trials and exports to several countries worldwide.
As an active philanthropist, Bassim has previously worked alongside the World Economic Forum and Africa CEO forum, and is a member of the Global Council of Amnesty International.moreless
Optasia, formerly Channel VAS, provides a flexible AI platform that enables financial inclusion for all, allows responsible financing decision making, and drives a superior business model and good customer experience.
Channel IT
Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer
2003 - Present
Lagos, NG
Channel IT, part of the Channel IT Group, is an independent distributor of mobile network infrastructure that has helped mobile operators in several countries, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Athens, Cairo and Delhi.
SafriCanna is a cannabis firm based in South Africa that specialises in the cultivation, processing, and export of therapeutic EU-GMP cannabis products to international markets.
GMT Nigeria
Founder
1999 - Present
Lagos, NG
GMT is a finance, inbound logistics and integrated procurement provider in West Africa.
Intercom Telecoms Limited is a Nigerian IT & Telecommunications company. Its goal is to offer comprehensive information and communication technology services and solutions to help customers build their businesses.
The fundamental service of Optasia is a fully integrated, versatile AI platform that handles scoring, financial decision making, disbursement, and collecting.
Amnesty International is the world's foremost human rights organisation, fighting injustice and inequality all across the world. Global Council Members are encouraged to act as champions within their own networks and to assist the organisation's Secretary General in identifying and engaging new human rights supporters.
At the 2019 Davos WEF Summit, Bassim chats to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business programme Mornings with Maria, advocating for financial inclusion in emerging markets.
Isha Sesay speaks with Bassim Haidar, CEO of Channel IT Group, on how the lack of infrastructure in Africa's mobile business has helped with his company's success.
The Africa CEO Forum is an annual gathering of top executives from Africa's leading enterprises, as well as international investors, multinational executives, heads of state, ministers, and officials from the continent's major financial institutions.
Endeavor is a global, mission-driven organisation that is at the forefront of the high-impact entrepreneurship movement. Endeavor was created on the principle that vigorous support for high-impact entrepreneurs fosters job creation, innovation and economic prosperity.
