As an entrepreneur himself and with 10 years of angel investing experience, Mustapha was confident he could start a company in North Africa. But, it had to be done right. First, Africans are very sensitive to “dumping,” the practice of importing foreign products and services without consideration for the African market. So, simply copying the rideshare models already in place wouldn’t work. They also hired locally for everything. For several years, they did all development and management with local talent, which created a sense of pride for the Algerian government.

There was also one key way in which the United States government played a pivotal role. Mustapha called the U.S. embassy in Algeria and asked to meet the ambassador. He pitched the startup, called Yassir, and asked for help making connections. “I’ll do better than that!” he said. “Give me a brochure, and I’ll have everyone at your launch event.” Yassir’s launch event drew 600 luminaries and triggered early contracts, giving them all the momentum they needed.

Companies like Uber and Lyft exist in part because of the ubiquity of credit cards, but they’re not commonplace in North Africa, so I had to ask: “How can you operate a ride-sharing company without them? Mustapha and the local leadership from Algeria knew Africa well enough to know that there was a way. Yes, they’d have to use cash, but they would invoice each driver monthly and ask them to come into the office and pay the ride-share app’s share of the revenue. Almost 100% did, and those who didn’t were weeded out, and the process worked and it’s still working today. People in North Africa respond to trust and respect with trust and respect, and knowing the culture makes a difference. 

Yassir has since expanded to much of North Africa, Cameroon, Senegal plus Germany and France. It raised $30M in 2021 and another $150M in 2022 as its growth plans continue to expand, with Canada and the Middle East on the drawing board. 

Mustapha’s children are grown and have launched successful careers of their own, also in finance. His daughter Miriam works in a hedge fund and in venture capital, and his son Ayman is also a member of the Pasadena Angels and he works for a market-leading index investment advisor.