# The VC Fund That Sees Opportunity in Red Tape  | Walid Aradi & Wes Schwalje, Red Tape Ventures

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-decile-podcast-7851283/the-vc-fund-that-sees-opportunity-in-red-tape-walid-aradi-wes-schwalje-red-tape-ventures
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-decile-podcast-7851283/the-vc-fund-that-sees-opportunity-in-red-tape-walid-aradi-wes-schwalje-red-tape-ventures.md
Podcast: [Top Decile Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/top-decile-podcast-7851283)
Published: 2026-06-15T01:00:00+00:00
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Duration seconds: 1692

## Resource

Walid Aradi and Wes Schwalje spent over 15 years at Tahseen Consulting advising heads of state, ministries, and 11 unicorns on navigating the regulatory and political realities of the MENA region, including structuring two of the region's biggest exits, Uber's acquisition of Careem and the Dubizzle-EMPG merger. Together they launched Red Tape Ventures, a Dubai-based seed fund backing marketplace and enablement technology startups across 22 countries where regulation isn't the risk — it's the unfair advantage. We get into why founders who align with government national visions end up co-creating regulation rather than fighting it, and how Red Tape made its first close during an active war (and why that's less surprising than it sounds).

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## Transcript

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