Join us for this MERI Podcast episode, which features Nassir Dino (Ph.D), Co-Founder and President of Higher Learning Center of Excellence (HiLCoE) and Co-Founder and Chairman of ZamZam Bank. We discuss a broad range of topics in this episode, such as: - Running HiLCoE and Building Excellence - Current Operation at HiLCoE - Introducing interest-free banking system - ZamZam Bank's business model Discover the practices employed by Nassir Dino(Ph.D) and gain valuable knowledge and life lessons from his experiences. More from our partners: EthioTelecom Download Telebirr Remit App on Playstore : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ethiotelecom.telebirr.remit&hl=en&pli=1 Appstore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/telebirr-remit/id6642675033 Website: https://www.ethiotelecom.et/ 00:00 - Intro 01:31 - Opening 02:38 - Background 03:55 - Early days business experience 05:24 - HiLCoE 12:48 - First years in the college business 14:51 - Challenges 18:05 - Building Excellence 31:42 - 27 years of operation in the education sector 29:33 - Size of current operation in terms of students and instructors 34:31 - Key learning points from the journey 41:01 - The challenges of scaling up 46:30 - Current state of higher education in Ethiopia both private and public? 56:26 - High price of education 01:16:40- Joining the banking sector, ZamZam Bank 01:16:12 - The Islamic Business model 01:36:04 - The benefit for depositors 01:42:41 - banking and the IT sector 01:46:07 - Core banking system 01:47:43 - balance between being friendly and getting work done? 01:54:29 - Run down questions 02:05:47 - what does the future hold? 02:06:30- Life wisdom Social Links https://www.linkedin.com/company/meripodcast/ https://www.tiktok.com/@meripodcast https://twitter.com/MERI_Podcast https://www.instagram.com/meripodcast/ https://t.me/MERI_PODCAST https://youtube.com/@Meriwoch?si=yIpJ3byprnVNwKi1 Copyright Notice for Meri Podcast: All rights reserved. The content featured in this podcast is protected by copyright laws. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or modification of any portion of this podcast is strictly prohibited. For permission to use our content, please contact us at info@meri.et Thank you for respecting our copyright.