Omar Hagrass

Buckle up for the great process of Omar Hagrass. This guy’s the real deal in the African startup scene, and his story? It’s straight fire. So, Omar’s from Egypt, and he’s got this background in Political Economy from the University of Oregon, not your typical tech guy, right? But that’s where it all starts. He’s super curious about how stuff works, especially the economy and people.

He kicked off his career doing investment banking at CI Capital in Cairo. Spent three years crunching numbers, understanding finance, and learning the game from the inside out. Not your typical startup founder move, but that grind gave him a solid foundation. Then, he jumped into Uber, and that’s where he really started to flex his muscles. First, he was Community Ops Manager in Cairo, basically building Uber’s community and making sure everything ran smooth. Then he moved to the UK as Launch & Expansion Manager for EMEA, which is a big deal. Dude led UberEATS across over 40 cities in the UK, Dubai, Cape Town, Riyadh, Johannesburg, basically, he was the guy making Uber’s food delivery and ride-hailing work across major markets. That’s some advanced experience with scaling, logistics, and understanding how to grow in tricky markets.

Omar isn’t just about big tech anymore. In 2019, he co-founded Trella, and that was where he really jumped into the deep end. Trella is a Cairo-based trucking and logistics platform, basically, the backbone of goods movement in Egypt and beyond. Connecting shippers to carriers, making freight cheaper, faster, more fast. And get this, Trella was part of YC’s summer batch in 2019. That’s a huge stamp of validation. Since then, Omar’s crushed it, raising Egypt’s biggest seed round ever and turning Trella into a major player in Africa’s tech scene. This isn’t just a startup; it’s a movement.

What’s crazy is how Omar’s experience shaped him. His time at Uber showed him how to scale operations, handle logistics at a huge level, and understand what markets need. His finance background? That’s his secret weapon, knowing how to raise funds, manage investments, and build something sustainable. Plus, he’s deeply involved in supporting other early-stage entrepreneurs through the Raba Partnership. He’s not just about his own success but wants to lift others up in Africa.

Bottom line? Omar’s a guy who jumped from finance to Uber to founding one of Africa’s biggest startups, all while staying connected to his roots. He’s motivated by building stuff that actually moves the economy forward, making logistics better, cheaper, more accessible. No cap, he’s a true innovator, and his process proves that if you’re hungry and smart, you can start anywhere and crush it. That’s why he’s so important, he’s not just talking about change, he’s making it happen.