Leadership is often associated with bold decisions and defining moments. Yet speaking to Karima El Hakim, it’s clear that lasting impact is rarely built on a single breakthrough. More often, it comes from the systems, structures, and habits that quietly shape everything behind the scenes.
Like the best conversations, El Hakim doesn’t reveal herself all at once. She is immediately disarming and effortlessly composed – the kind of person who makes you lean in rather than speak louder. There is a quiet confidence to her, one built not on performance but on certainty.
The more she speaks, the more layers emerge: thoughtful, curious, deeply intentional. You leave with the sense that you could easily spend hours talking to her and still walk away with something new to consider.
For the first installment of ELLE’s series inside the mind of regional changemakers, Step Into My Office, we sat down with El Hakim to discuss personal style, leadership, accountability, and the career decision that fundamentally changed her understanding of success.
WHO IS KARIMA EL HAKIM
As Partner Africa at Plug and Play, El Hakim sits at the centre of conversations around innovation, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem building. Over the years, she has worked closely with founders, startups, and institutions across Egypt and the wider region, helping connect ambitious ideas with the networks needed to bring them to life.
Yet beyond venture capital and growth metrics, her perspective is grounded in something more fundamental: creating foundations that endure.
It would be easy to assume that someone operating at the forefront of Africa’s innovation ecosystem lives solely in boardrooms and strategy meetings. El Hakim quickly dispels that notion. A Pilates instructor at B-URN, avid golfer, and self-professed penguin enthusiast, she approaches life with the same curiosity and energy that she brings to her work.
The result is a rare combination: someone equally comfortable discussing governance frameworks and pilates poses, startup ecosystems and Antarctic wildlife.
WHAT DOES DRESSING POWERFULLY MEAN TO YOU?
“To me, dressing powerfully is when someone looks at you and tells you, ‘Only you could pull this off.'”
El Hakim’s relationship with style has evolved alongside her confidence. What might once have been interpreted as a backhanded compliment eventually became one of the highest forms of praise.
“I used to be told, ‘Oh, only you can pull this off because it’s a clownish look.’ However, when I started to grow into my own style, it became the ultimate compliment.”
For El Hakim, personal style is also closely tied to supporting local talent.
“Dressing locally and doing so with pride is an intrinsic element of my style. You can do so without compromising on quality, especially when you’re blessed to be part of a country that has so much talent, particularly in retail.”
WHAT’S THE BLUEPRINT FOR BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS?
“The blueprint is governance.”
It’s a word often associated with large corporations, but El Hakim believes it’s just as critical for early-stage businesses.
“When we say corporate governance, it means understanding your institutional positioning. What is your relationship with your regulator? Are your books in place?”
But governance extends far beyond compliance.
“There’s governance when it comes to data. You’re not sourcing data incorrectly, reading it wrong, or mismanaging your customers’ data. You’re protecting it before protecting anything else.”
For founders, putting systems in place early can create immediate results.
“For small to medium sized businesses the implementation of proper governance systems at an early stage will yield remarkable results – its positive impact is realised much faster. You see the effect and result right away.”
WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ENTERING THE CORPORATE WORLD?
For El Hakim, one of the most important actions young professionals can take is to establish their value early.
“Build a personal position early so that your colleagues know where you drive value within the company. Be very vocal about specific progress you’ve seen in your job so that other people see the value.”
Equally important is maintaining curiosity.
“Work is not only actions. Work is understanding your market and being curious about what is going on around you. Even if this is not a straightforward task that you’re given.”
Her most important lesson, however, came later in her career.
“One thing that I learned later in life, that I wish I knew earlier, is asking for what you actually want at the appropriate time.”
She continues: “You’d be surprised that a lot of women, even in leadership positions, have shied away from asking what they wanted and regretted it. When I eventually made my requests clear and it was well received, I came to realize it was just an internal psychological blocker.”
WHAT’S A CALL THAT YOU MADE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING?
One of El Hakim’s most significant decisions involved looking beyond traditional centres of opportunity.
“I took a pause and decided to expand my efforts within the Egyptian governorates, which turned out to be not only very valuable for the business and the ecosystem, but also for my own personal understanding of the real development of a nation. People went from referring to us as Plug and Play Egypt, to now viewing us as Plug and Play Cairo. By looking inward we’ve built up our Aswan, Alexandria and Delta projects – people are catching onto that.”
The experience fundamentally shifted her perception of growth and innovation.
“I realized that we can keep pushing for a capital-concentrated tech ecosystem and still thrive to see double or triple our venture attractiveness. Though if we’re not expanding into the real population, we can be disappointed year after year because we’re not seeing substantial growth in a balanced way.”
For El Hakim, Egypt’s next chapter lies in expanding access, opportunity, and innovation beyond the capital. “With AI, this becomes even more crucial, because we’re going deeper into the sector-specific tech,” she explained.
“Enabling these areas was the main call that changed my perception on what success means in a market like Egypt or even in a venture space at large.”
WHAT’S YOUR NON-NEGOTIABLE IN BUSINESS?
“It’s easy to say integrity. But for me, it’s ownership.”
When evaluating talent and leadership potential, ownership consistently rises to the top.
“Ownership in work, in business, and with it accountability, is one of the most important things that I look at when I hire, value, or want to promote someone.”
She believes ownership cannot simply be taught.
“It needs to come through trust. It needs to come through leadership articulation of the real mission and the alignment between team members and the overall mission.”
WHAT PART OF YOUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE WOULD SURPRISE PEOPLE THE MOST?
Despite spending her career in highly social environments, El Hakim describes solitude as her greatest source of energy.
“You’d be very surprised to know that my favourite time is spent alone.”
While she considers herself naturally extroverted, her downtime looks very different.
“My fuel is solitude.”
Whether spending hours on a golf course without speaking to anyone or embracing complete stillness during time off, she has learnt the value of stepping away from constant interaction.
“Even on my days off and vacations, I end up doing a lot of nothingness.”
In a career built around people, ideas, and momentum, it is perhaps this appreciation for quiet that provides the balance.
