From Philosophy to Fintech: Building UmrahCash for Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia feat. William Phelps

Colors of Web3 & Entrepreneurship

In the 51st episode of Colors of Web3 and Entrepreneurship, we sit down with William Phelps, the founder and CEO of UmrahCash. William, originally from London with a background in philosophy and traditional finance, found his passion in emerging markets and the potential of blockchain technology. After working with an Africa-focused Web3 fund, William saw a significant gap in the market for financial services catering to pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia. He founded UmrahCash to address the challenges pilgrims face in accessing local currency, particularly those from emerging markets with currency restrictions. Join us as William explains how UmrahCash leverages stablecoins to simplify access to Saudi Riyals for pilgrims, working within the existing financial and cultural landscape to provide a seamless and secure experience. ⌛ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Episode trailer 00:01:24 Show introduction and brief self-intro from William Phelps 00:01:57 William discusses his transition from traditional finance to Web3 00:05:20 How Saudi Arabia is supporting Web3 His favorite experiences in previous companies 00:06:53 What made William study philosophy and his PTSD from the writing day 00:09:33 His experience working at a financial broker 00:12:15 How William discovered blockchain 00:14:23 William talks about his experience working at Adiverse 00:20:14 William's take on Cardano’s role in emerging markets and the academic nature of Cardano 00:22:39 William shares his personal interests and language skills 00:28:51 An in-depth look at UmrahCash and its mission 00:32:18 Understanding the demand for pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia 00:32:55 Challenges related to currency for pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia 00:34:52 The solution that UmrahCash has built 00:36:29 How UmrahCash works under the hood 00:38:01 Traction of UmrahCash 00:41:28 Overview of the pilgrimage process and logistics 00:44:17 How technology supports pilgrimage operations 00:45:34 How the fund movement works in UmrahCash 00:48:16 Addressing capital flight and regulatory compliance 00:50:08 William's thought on designing a user-friendly experience for customers 00:54:07 The team behind UmrahCash and company structure 00:56:52 Challenges facing UmrahCash 01:01:30 Working permits in Saudi Arabia 01:03:52 Islamic finance and cryptocurrency 01:05:40 Where to follow William 01:06:16 Episode outro and next episode preview Follow William and his company: William's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wjphelps/ William's Twitter: https://x.com/wphelps_ UmrahCash website: https://www.umrahcash.com/ My social media: Twitter/X: ⁠https://www.twitter.com/LamWeb3⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamweb3/⁠ Website: ⁠https://lamtrinh.xyz⁠ My old article about the 2-3 prevailing narratives of 2024-2025: https://substack.com/home/post/p-143541984 If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to stay updated on our upcoming episodes with industry experts and innovators in the Web3 and Entrepreneurship spaces. Thank you for listening!