Esam Al-Nahdi is founder and CEO of Riyadh-based HalalaH, Saudi Arabia’s first and leading digital banking platform.  Prior to HalalaH, Al-Nahdi founded multiple entities in the trading, retail and technology fields. Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, he worked in the banking sector, in both credit and investment banking, including in Banque Saudi Fransi, Venture Capital Bank and Arcapita. Al-Nahdi has a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from the UK’s University of Surrey. Recently, Al-Nahdi addressed the Financial Sector Conference held in Riyadh. Thousands of delegates took part, including ministers from the finance, economy and strategic ministries, as well as leading policymakers from capital markets and the investment and insurance industries. During one of the sessions, he spoke about entrepreneurs and the different stages of their businesses, from starting up through to expansion. He also talked about the commitment, skills and efforts required to succeed. The conference is part of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), itself a part of Saudi Vision 2030. The FSDP is one of 12 executive programs launched by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) to achieve the objectives of Vision 2030.