Bassel El Tokhy is COO of vaLU, Egypt’s most innovative buy-now-pay-later platform.
Established in 2017, vaLU connects shoppers to a digital network of retail and e-commerce providers, allowing purchases to be made 24/7 and payments on a monthly basis.
What’s the best way to start your day?
I enjoy waking up every day at 7am to watch my baby boy Nour play while I am fresh. It gives me a lot of positive energy to start my day
If you could be any character from a movie, who would you be
I would choose Ken Carter from the movie Coach Carter. Firstly, because it combines sports and autobiographies, which are two of my favourite genres. Secondly, because the character inspires me for holding on to his moral principles and for achieving a lot while he did so
What is your greatest achievement
Hiring strong, highly motivated and impactful team members is something I am always proud of, especially when I witness them achieve great results, either while we are sharing the same employer or in later stages in their careers
What advice would you give your 13-year-old self
Travel the world backpacking. Now I would consider myself lucky if I take three holidays annually to catch my breath and spend time with friends and family, while my 13-year-old self had almost five months of holidays between summer break, Christmas break, spring break and Eid holidays
If you have 24 hours left on Earth, what would you do
Take my family to an exotic location to spend time with them and to have a nice meal
Who or what is your biggest inspiration
My parents, my late in-laws and my wife are my biggest inspirations in life. They are selfless, supportive, caring, loving, ethical, hard working and really good at what they do
What would you like to achieve in the next 10 years
On the professional front, I would love to take valU to become the top BNPL 2.0 globally. Personally, I would love to be the cool father that travels the world with his kids to build unforgettable memories.
