Tell us about yourselves
We’re Mikail Ismail and Anwar Rizk, rising seniors at the American School of Dubai and co-founders of FunFi — the flagship app of our financial literacy platform, Fundamental Finance. I’m Pakistani by heritage but born and raised in Dubai, where my family has been based for over 50 years. Anwar is Swiss-Lebanese and has lived here in Dubai for over 11 years. Together, we’re building the UAE’s first 100% free, gamified financial literacy app designed for Gen Z.
What has inspired you at such a young age to take the leap into entrepreneurship?
Both Anwar and I come from business families, so you could say entrepreneurship is in our DNA. But for me personally, I’ve always seen business as a tool to make a real impact. When the idea for FunFi came to mind, it felt like the perfect moment to take the leap into the business world and build something meaningful that could actually help people.
What inspired you to build FunFi?
It actually started over lunch at Anwar’s house. His sister, who had just moved into her own place, was venting about how hard it was to manage her finances. She mentioned never learning basic financial literacy like how to open a bank account or get insurance. That conversation really stuck with me. I started researching and realized how little accessible financial education exists, especially for young adults in the UAE. Once I understood the problem, I thought the best way to deliver this kind of learning was through an app. It needed to be mobile, gamified, and bite-sized to match how our generation actually consumes content—because let’s be real, no one’s reading textbooks anymore—I brought the idea back to Anwar and we haven’t looked back since.
What is your mission?
Our mission is to build a financially literate generation and transform how financial education is delivered in the UAE and beyond. We want to make learning about money simple, accessible, and actually enjoyable for young people.
How did you raise funding for your venture?
After registering our company, Vertex Tech Ltd, under ADGM’s Innovation License, we raised our initial pre-seed funding by pitching the idea to family and friends. They believed in our vision and took a chance on us, which gave us the opportunity to bring FunFi to life.
How are you revolutionizing real-world financial education for young adults in the UAE?
We’re making financial education feel less like school and more like something you actually want to do. Most platforms throw complex jargon or boring content at you — we’re doing the opposite. FunFi is built for the way our generation learns: fast, visual, gamified, and mobile-first. And we’re doing it with 100% UAE localization — from Islamic finance and Zakat calculators to crypto and remittance education. Our goal isn’t just to teach — it’s to build healthy financial habits that actually stick.
What are the main features of FunFi?
FunFi is a gamified learning app designed to teach young adults in the UAE essential money skills. The app includes:
- Personalized learning journeys based on user-selected financial topics
- Bite-sized lessons with expert-verified content, engaging visuals, flashcards, and multiple quiz types
- A full XP and badge system to track progress and celebrate milestones
- Daily quests, referral rewards, and a leaderboard to boost engagement
- Custom avatars that users can build and upgrade as they level up
- UAE-specific tools like a budget calculator, tip calculator, zakat calculator, and currency converter
- Toro, our mascot and in-app AI chatbot, who helps answer personal finance questions and guides users through their financial journey.
How have you used gamification to enhance the user experience?
We’ve built FunFi like a game, not a classroom. You earn XP for every quiz, unlock badges for achievements, complete daily quests, and even spin a reward wheel after lessons. There’s a streak system, leaderboards, and an achievements page so users feel motivated to return every day. It’s all designed to make finance feel fun, habit-forming, and rewarding.
What has been your biggest success in your entrepreneurial journey so far?
Honestly, building a fully licensed company in ADGM and launching a financial literacy platform and app before we even finished high school has been surreal.
What are the biggest challenges facing young entrepreneurs in the UAE?
Getting taken seriously. When you’re still in school, people assume you’re playing business, not building one. There’s also a real gap in resources and mentorship tailored to under-18 founders. But we’ve been lucky to find people who gave us a shot
How can leaders and successful entrepreneurs help to support young entrepreneurs in the region?
Give young founders access: to guidance, funding, partnerships, or even just a seat at the table. The UAE has made huge strides in supporting innovation, but we need more open doors for under-25 founders. Sometimes all it takes is one mentor or one early believer to change the entire trajectory.
As a young, emerging successful entrepreneur, what is your number ONE piece of advice for entrepreneurs just starting out?
Fail, fail, fail — and then fail some more until something clicks. There are a million billion-dollar ideas out there every day, but execution is everything. The key is spotting the one that matters and running with it. Don’t wait for permission. If you believe in your idea, start now.
Find a co-founder who balances your strengths and weaknesses, challenges your thinking, and is ready to stick it out through the ups and downs. Most importantly, stay consistent. Plans will change and setbacks will come, but if you keep showing up, the momentum will build.
What is your vision for FunFi?
We want FunFi to become the go-to financial education app in the UAE and eventually expand across the MENA and South Asia region. Our long-term vision includes launching FunFi Pro for financially savvy users who want deeper content, FunFi Biz for companies looking to improve employee financial wellness, and FunFi Ed for schools and universities to integrate into their curriculum. The goal is to make FunFi a part of everyday life — whether you’re learning on your own, at work, or in the classroom.
Where can readers find out more?
To learn more about what we’re building, visit www.fundamentalfinance.ae — the home of our broader financial literacy platform, Fundamental Finance. You can also follow FunFi on Instagram and TikTok at @funfi.app for behind-the-scenes content, sneak peeks, and financial tips from our mascot, Toro. To learn more about our parent company, Vertex Tech Ltd, check out our team on LinkedIn.
