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The Navvai Shift – AI & Business Insights
Welcome to The Navvai Shift, the podcast where business leaders in finance share their journeys, challenges, and unfiltered thoughts on artificial intelligence. We dive deep into how AI is shaping industries, uncovering real-world insights from those driving innovation.
Subscribe for expert conversations on AI, automation, and the future of business.
Hi everyone, welcome to another episode
of the via shift. Today we're happy to
have air solomon on and energy kamale.
Um is the founder and CEO of time
guardian and at ADGM payments. How are
you?
>> I'm great. Where are you?
>> I'm very very well thank you. We're
definitely excited to have you guys on
today. I know you're joining us right
after speaking at the crypto expo Dubai
2025 about AI blockchain crypto. How was
the expo? Expo was rocking actually a
lot of entrepreneurs comes a lot of
innovators comes from all over the the
way a lot of leaders was leading the way
uh was available. So you it's very good
to attend and know what is the latest
technology and what is happening and
collaborate with them if there is any uh
kind of collaboration can happen between
both. So very very I see that the
conferences and the exhibitions it's a
tool which is connect the people
together in order to have one vision and
one mission or in order to be all
aligned to get to the best tech and
provide the customer the best uh
customer value proposition. So this is
why actually I'd like to go to the
conferences see what is the newest
things what is the latest technology and
if my technology is aligned to this or
it's better. Man, that's amazing.
Hopefully 2026, you might see us make an
appearance ourselves. Yeah. So, as the
founder and CEO of Time Guardian with
over 25 years of experience at at spaces
like City Bank, FAB, you're leading a
change in crypto payments for sure and
decentralized finance. Can you give our
listeners a quick overview of how your
companies are helping businesses stay
profitable today?
Okay. So look uh when I've jumped out of
the banking sector I said I will be
looking into the gaps. So what is the
fractions area and accordingly I'll be
getting a customer value proposition
which is enabling them. So let's say by
time guarding time guardian it's a kind
of digital vaults which allow you to
save data and store it. It's a mainly
NFT. You save the data and store it in
decentralized and interrupted way and
transmit it to your beloved one. Here we
are all in the GC special most of us as
expats and working here and we invest
here and there and we have our
investment in our home country. We have
it in other countries. So we don't track
it. We keep things scatter everywhere.
So we to have a place which we keep it
safe and save all our information in. So
whether it's financial information,
whether it's our will, whether it's a
video which want to give it to our
beloved ones. So I came up uh actually I
brought this technology from uh France
which is uh being initiated by Nikano
which is my co-founder and I asked him
that we can take it here to GC given
that this big gap. So I start looking
into the financial institution and sell
it to them as a a customer value
proposition in order to be or given to
their HNI customer the network customers
they can save and store into their
digital wallets their data and put a
name of their kids or their beloved ones
their wives whoever they want and define
a certain date and time up to 100 years
in order to transmit this data to them.
So this is one of the solution. It's not
only for the financial institutions this
as well available for the insurance
company for the corporates it's everyone
any HR organization would like to give a
kind of insurance this is will be
digital vault which will be given secure
your data and decentralized own it
yourself nobody else will be owning the
data so this is a very very crucial gap
as of now the data it's owned by
everyone you know with the AI this it's
owned by everyone you know but now this
confidential information this things
which you feel it's very precious to
you, you can store it and keep it for
your blood clots. I give I give you as
one example. Second one which is
enabling the crypto payments. So now
everyone more than 690 million users of
the crypto available world but they are
not able normally to use it directly. we
need to bridge and then convert to fiat
and then I'll be able to use it right or
there is very minimal solution which
gives you a card in order to use your
crypto what what I'm doing I am
partnering with the payment solution
provider by giving them a QR code which
will enable the customers to come and
directly use their USDT and USDC to buy
their coffee to buy their mortgage to
buy uh the shopping everything. So
instead of going for merchants or going
for small companies, I said I'll go for
the source. I will go for the payment
solution provider and I'll give them the
solution and like this instead of uh
importing one to one I import 40,000 by
partnering with any financial service
and I'm planning by end of the year I'll
enable 1 million through the GCC PS
accepted.
No, that's
>> yeah the third one which is a continuity
of the second one. So once I get you as
a user and I get to know that you are
having a crypto, I will import you to my
AI algorithm which will allow you to do
a defy protocol investment based on your
risk appetite. So let's say you are a
kind of high-risk person. I will place
your fund into the high risk and you can
get up till 15% in return and the money
is not locked once you withdraw it you
can withdraw it in time if you have low
risk you go I will place your fund under
a veil and directly you get two to 3%
annual investment so uh it's acting as a
digital RM for the investors so multiple
as I mentioned to you I'm looking into
the gaps and I'm trying to fix the gaps
using the AI I am the blockchain.
>> I see. So, I feel like you've just given
us like a host of obviously what your
what your businesses do and I think in
the crypto space some may consider it as
quite confusing. So I wanted to say I
wanted to ask how does a tank guardian
>> the gap which I see in the crypto is how
to use the blockchain
and this is where it comes when I had
Nikano which is very very innovative the
CEO of Trena who's my co-founder and
advisor as well CTO for us he make it
very simple so he built into his trena
blockchain he make it as a multi-layer
using the agri layer technology which is
very very new it's an EMV so it's
allowing ing you to bridge immediately
through all the chains and do transfers.
So like this the the the gap which we
are having as of now in order to
transfer the fund and convert it and be
payment all of this we are eliminating
it. So as I mentioned to you the crypto
it's very tough when you talk about
using it but if you give the customer a
good experience and simplify it through
assar finance which I'm doing he
download the app it's very smooth
journey in the download he will just
link it to his wallet and accordingly
there is no need to breach there is
nothing at all you will be able to use
it through the payment not only this in
the NFTs or into the digital v it's a
very smooth journey for the customer. He
download the app and accordingly we
start storing the data and it will be
available for him till time he wants. So
I I look into the the customer uh
journey it's a very very important thing
for me. So I'm always when I build when
when we start launching something we
ensure that he will get the best
experience because this is how they will
understand it and this how you can use
it. Of course, that is amazing. Amir, I
was going to ask, do people in different
regions or cultures use crypto payments
or legacy system tools differently?
>> Look, normally
now the crypto user is 1% out of the
world
>> was using so we need to educate and
educate and teach them how to use it. In
the GCC area, they are in love with the
crypto. They are in love with
technology. They are especially the UEE
and Dubai they are very very advanced.
So they are looking for the best
technology in order to give the customer
the best experience. So and they care
that about the the wellness of the
people you know they wanted to be
wealthy. So they are encouraging as much
as they can the best technology to come
in. they are encouraging the payments.
They've just launched from two days back
uh that they will be accepting in Dubai
all the crypto payments. So the payments
in the GCC actually they are accepting
the crypto payments. They are willing to
it and the government and the
regulations are very very supported. In
other areas let's say in my home country
we don't have this acceptance. The
government doesn't accept at all the
crypto in China in a lot of places they
don't accept the the crypto.
>> Wow. But in the GCC in US they are
supporting the crypto like nothing else.
So
>> every every London I heard it will
happen as well. So
>> I I like to think London see how the big
players are moving and try to follow
suit trying to keep up but it's quite
hard. So actually here in the GC same
like the US I feel that both of them
having the same vision you know and they
are supporting the tech and technology
and ensuring the customer get the
experience and his wellness and
wellbeing. So we are doing great in this
in this area in this part of the world.
>> Definitely. So Amir, why do you think
there is such a big disparity I guess
between the adoption that somewhere like
Dubai has taken in terms of you know
like cryptocurrency and the blockchain
versus somewhere in like the UK.
This is a political questions I cannot
answer to be honest.
I cannot go to this part. But uh uh
everyone have his uh way of thinking and
UK is not a small uh country. It's a
huge the United Kingdom of UK. So we
cannot say that it's a it will not take
it 100%. If they will see it's
benefiting to their country, they will
be jumping 100%. But as of now it's not
the right decision for them. Maybe they
have other things to be done. It's I
don't know what is the road map or their
strategy to be honest. But I believe
that every single uh country have their
way and strategy and mission which they
want to achieve and the mission here in
the GCC is to digitalize everything. So
once there is digital assets coming in
they want to be supporting of digital
assets and the crypto and the
blockchain. They feel that the storage
it's and the security of the data it's a
very very important thing. So they feel
that the AI is the future that's why
they invest heavily in this. So even I'm
part of this area and I'm living here. I
respect what they do and I bring the
latest in what they do because I'm a
believer in the technology as a
>> that's amazing. I know that you're
definitely a believer, but I still feel
like a lot of Do you think a lot of
other businesses are excited about
stable coins or do you think they're
still hesitant due to the rules or the
lack of understanding?
>> I think it's a lack of understanding
which is uh
a lot of people doesn't understand yet.
What is the stable coin? they are not
educated enough. So I think the most
important thing is the advocate and the
platform which is launching over same
like the webc application should be very
easy user user friendly kind of
easygoing you know so you can import
more and more customer base in it if
it's uh uh if the bitcoin it started
with $1 and now was 109 and it's going
to cost 115 soon so I think that this is
a big alert to all of If there is a USDT
available and it's controlled linked
with the dollar and USDC linked to the
dollar as well, it's a big sign to us.
UE is launching their own topic. It's a
big sign for us. So all of this they are
doing why? Because they want to educate.
So there is initiative coming from the
government to educate you know and this
is very important once the government
itself leading the way in order to
educate the people it your way become
much more easy you will need to focus
into how to deliver something which is
easy which is user friendly for the
customer this is it and truly good
because the government support you right
>> I definitely agree and I think so I've
kind of und said that you you've really
been stressing a point of having like a
easy customer interface but although
finding skilled workers and developers
have is I feel like that can be quite a
task in itself. So I wanted to um ask
like how does your team's experience in
like banking fintex and work three uh
drive success in your businesses. Okay.
So let me tell you uh me myself have 25
years of experience in the banking
field. Ing she has how many you have
into the banking field? She's my head of
operation.
>> 16
>> 16 years in the banking field.
>> Yeah.
>> It's between fintech and banking and
credit risk assessment. uh Nikano the
king actually the one who's behind the
full technology which we have he all his
life he was in he done multiple exits
before tenua he make it very advanced
and high security transaction very very
fast and he's selecting he's a kind of
he's the CTO and advisor for us he's a
very selective he's selecting worldclass
developers under him so I trust him
blindly to be honest and always whatever
ideas I have or whatever we will come
together with I believe in his choices
and I I don't I I don't influence at all
what he will say everyone I'm a a
business person I'm very good into
finance and payments and partnership
when it come to the tech I'm learning
from him and he is the you know he he
he's the guru if he says this is good
it's good if he says no I don't want
this I want
he's the king, you know,
>> but these these are definitely the sort
of people you want within your team and
you have that trust and you know that
they can provide you the value that you
need to kind of excel and keep pushing
the business to milestones you want to
get past. Absolutely.
So I was going to ask um how are you
making your tools that work for
different groups out of insight like
digital nomads or creatives
>> startup it's a small still you know so
we collaborate all together so mainly I
I manage the creative and the marketing
as well okay uh in Barry we have another
one we manage the operation part
completely and the tech as I mentioned
to you I leave it completely 62.
So I kind we have we agree in one
strategy we agree in one mission and we
all focus into making it happen. So it's
all about collaboration understanding
each other and ensure the proper
execution as a team. So this is what
will make our customers which is the
banks and the corporates is very happy.
So once all of us have this mission done
and once all of us want to take this
company to 1 billion there is no
argument you know our focus is to work
and execute.
>> I love that energy. That's got me fired
up.
So I was also going to kind of get a bit
more insight. Does the smart safe have
like standout features that kind of
change the game for DeFi?
Of
course, it have a lot actually. We are
crossing the 1 million touch points as
of now. We are keep training our AI
agent in order to replace the RM or the
personal banking available into the
wealth management. So they can
completely decide where to put the funds
in and they will withdraw it in case of
any high risk itself. So uh Nikano have
built actually state-of-the-art in AI
pay and I believe this is the new era of
the wealth management which is and then
it's not only wealth management we'll
have over it the lending borrowing
staking farming we'll have the credit
cards as well we are speaking with
master card but I will keep it up to
here because are doing a small crypto
banking so we don't want to
>> 100% I was going to say I can imagine
that the crypto expert But you must have
had a lot of conversations in regards to
AI and asset tokenization. So I kind of
want to get my insight. How are you
using these technologies today to stay
ahead in in in within the fintech space?
>> Okay. So that the AI and tokenization
look I believe a lot into the AI. Now
with the AI you can place your funds,
you can trade for your funds, you can
remove it from the harvest trading, you
can tokenize it itself. So you can do a
lot you know and when it come to
tokenization people trust more you know
it seem like I look into tokenization
that before the things will go for IPOs
the shares it will go through
tokenization it will increase the
liquidity the roe of tokenization can
grow higher so it's a new era you know
when we link the tokenization to the
defy protocol and the borrowing and
lending and with the AI
this is the new financials institution
will be coming up. So and I think the
banking system now start adapting and
understanding they start being discussed
about the defy protocol. They start
thinking about what is this tokenization
what can be tokenized the music can be
tokenized you know the arts can be
tokenized everything can NFTs you know
it was
>> even even down to a house. Yes, it's
with tokenization you can afford, right?
It's a share. You are buying a share
>> and it's very secured you know. So just
we need to put the regulations in it
just to measure the risk of it because
the valuation we need to have a regular
valuation. So which is different than
the existing risk. So we need to take
care about the statics and we need to
put a framework of regulation around
which is very very strong but toization
of course is the future.
I agree and I did want to talk on
something that you touched on earlier.
It was about it being a new era. So I've
seen like your work supporting women in
like fintech and partnering with a
>> you just saw my post. Yes.
>> Stay up to date and I have to say it's
like it's really aspiring. So could you
just elaborate on that? Like just tell
me more.
So
I give you from my experience actually
during my time when I've been working
into the banking field
always I'm pro woman kind of because I
feel that they are they are wor warriors
kind of you know they have their own
families they have their own home and
still they want to go out and work and
prove themselves you know so how we can
support them how we can push them what
is the tools required why they are not
investing why they cannot take a
decision. So I'd like always to give
example that please go out take decision
dream of something and make it happen.
Take a decision that you invest in this
and be strong to execute it. Don't worry
nothing can happen. You know what is the
risk always if we didn't take a risk in
our life we never so I'd like people to
stand out. I'd like the ladies to stand
out and ask if you are entrepreneur
stand out and ask for a funds. uh even
if 10 say no try 20 no problem raise
your capital be strong go and invest for
others support each other you know I'm
behind the women's you know I I I
believe that uh they deserve a lot of
been working same like men might be
three times in order to reach their
position I don't mean don't get me wrong
but so let's say for a banker and my
colleague is a banker he goes by 5:00 I
go by 12:00 to show that I'm capable so
he can give me what he gets. So this is
why I believe that uh the woman really
they need a support. They need to stand
out for themsel. We need to educate them
to be
uh decision makers. This is what they
don't have to scale. If you didn't raise
your hand and say that I'm in nobody
will look for
amazing that's definitely powerful words
for sure. Thank you for that. So I was
going to just ask so what's at time
guardian's big plans for 2025?
>> Um
>> actually we started in 2024 May we
started with the digital vaults which is
mainly uh saving data and transmitter.
Now we have SR finance which is enabling
the payment. Now we have AI Pinpal which
is the wealth management AI defy
protocol. So we are doing great
touchwood and we've done excellent
partnership with one of the PSPs called
AFS and we are into multiple discussion
with financial institutions to close and
we keep it up till
>> we closed our uh preede round and we are
in the seed now. So this is it. No,
you're definitely moving the needle for
sure and I was there for one of the
reasons I was very keen to have you on
this podcast because you are doing
exceptional things and it's amazing to
see and as I mentioned to you um before
we joined this podcast success leaves
clues and so I definitely want to kind
of pick your brain and get a bit more of
a further understanding. So truly thank
you for that. I was going to ask Sam,
what mistakes do you see businesses
often make that could hurt profits
within the payment space?
>> When you increase the rates actually, so
once you become very greedy, this is
hurts a lot. So be aware about the
market,
be aware about the competition and start
coming up with a value proposition which
compatible and
this is will be 100% making new revenue.
When I've done the partnership with AFS,
I dropped for them the rate from four.
>> Absolutely. Um and just to kind of
follow up on what Deari said, Amir, um
it's clear to see that you have a
wellestablished career and we we do have
a story on our podcast. So, I wanted to
ask if you could like maybe share one
challenge that you've had to overcome
during your career.
My heart is broken off
a lot of challenges lot lot I have
worked I started my work when I was 18
years old you know and all my colleagues
in a bank in city bank all my colleagues
was graduate I was in the second year of
college and they took me as intern and
because I've done well they hired me
seem like the graduate so they've been
pushing for me the application in my
trade to finish I was doing a credit
analyst job so I evaluate the
application and give
So all all the people around me elder
they just push for me the applications
and uh they told me I mean I need to do
the double because you're still young.
So I've been bullied all over my life
because I was in younger age when I
started and this is was a problem in
this stage you know they keep ignoring
you you'll be left behind. So you need
to work three times in order to show
that no don't leave me behind keep me in
it please I'm same like you you know so
this is a big challenge when you are a
lady as well and coming to see level
take decision it's not easy to be heard
it's not easy really so a lot of
challenges during your career uh to
raise up three kids and put them into
colleges and and keep balancing work
life balance big challenge of course big
challenges It's uh it's not easy but the
most important that you know what you
dream of and you focus in your goal and
execute it. So whatever it is when you
raise fund and go for people and ask
them and you don't they don't take
challenges. So it's all over the journey
you know since 18 years till now it's
all about challenges but how you take
this challenge as opportunity to grow is
the most important. Take it as a step
forward for yourself. So don't take it
as a negative ever. I always everyone
tell them don't take the rejection or
whatever you don't like as negative
thing. No take it as opportunity for
improvement and go ahead and achieve
your goals. So a lot of bullying happen
of course. Of course
>> no ma this is this has been such an
insightful conversation. And then before
we wrap up, if you could tell every
business to focus on one thing to boost
profits in 2025, what would it be?
>> Be confident. Don't lose hope. Focus in
your strategy and mission and go and
execute it.
>> Absolutely love it. Amir's definitely
ended it.
So, um, Amira, for for our viewers
listening, what would be the best way
for them to get in touch and find out a
bit more about yourself and your and
your companies? Of course, you can go to
our website which is www.asarfinance.com
or www.time-guardian.
Both of them have all of them or you can
download as well timeguard app. It's
available in iOS and Android and start
uh maintaining your legacy for your
records.
>> Perfect. Now, much appreciate much
appreciate your time today. Again, this
is the end of another episode of the
vice shift. Amir and you really
appreciate your time today. Thank you.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you. Thank you, Daniel. Bye.
>> Oh.