Ayham Gorani

Ayham Gorani is a Germany-born entrepreneur and computer scientist who has been building digital businesses for nearly two decades.

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Hosted by

Hilmarie Hutchison

Ayham Gorani

Co-Founder & CEO of Pemo

Ayham Gorani is a Germany-born entrepreneur and computer scientist who has been building digital businesses for nearly two decades. After founding and exiting his first company in Germany, he moved to the UAE in 2011, drawn by the region’s momentum and the opportunity to build where his technical skill set was needed most.

As Co-Founder and CEO of Pemo, Ayham is focused on helping founders and finance teams reclaim time by modernizing how businesses manage spend. His approach blends long-term thinking with practical execution, shaped by real-world lessons in entrepreneurship, product building, and operating across fast-evolving markets.

About this Episode

→ Read the executive analysis inspired by this conversation

In this episode, Hilmarie sits down with Ayham Gorani to unpack the decisions behind building a fintech company in the GCC, from timing the market to navigating fragmented regulations and infrastructure gaps. Ayham shares why he waited years before launching Pemo, what it took to issue the first card, and how “building foundations before speed” helped the company scale.

The conversation also gets tactical for founders: how to approach fundraising with discipline, why validation beats “is this a good idea?”, and how AI is reshaping fintech toward more automation and fewer interfaces. Ayham’s green pill moment is a reminder that growth often comes when there’s no one else to blame, and your success or failure comes down to knowing yourself.

“ Sometimes you just have to take the leap of faith and go for it, and the rest will come together.”

Ayham Gorani

” The skill set of validating ideas before building anything is very important, not only for the entrepreneurship journey, but for anything in life. ”
Ayham Gorani