I chatted with Mahdi Kazemzadeh who was recently introduced to me by a mutual friend.
Mahdi is the founder and managing director of Afraz Advisers, a firm providing analytical tools and data services on the Iranian oil and gas industry. Their clients are international companies navigating the Iranian oil and gas industry as well as institutional and private investment funds.
I wanted to talk with Mahdi for a number of reasons, chief among them getting a better understanding of things from the perspective of a Western educated entrepreneur working on the ground in Iran.
Why Iran?
Unless it turns into ground zero for the next mushroom cloud, you’re staring at a country with a massive middle class, great demographics, very high level of education and a very high savings rate. It’s literally the flip side of the West!
I recorded the conversation and after editing out, ahem, private for-your-eyes-only sections I’ve got the finished “product” for you to listen in on.
Highlights Mahdi and I discuss:
- Why Iran could be “yuuuge” for investors (and why the emphasis on “could be”)
- A boots-on-the-ground perspective on the effect of the Trump election on Iran.
- Is Iran only an energy play or much more?
- Who’s actually aligning with Iran on the ground (and how does that reflect in various financing projects)?
- Why is Mahdi moving his business to Asia?
- And much more.
Enjoy!
– Chris
“Global investors are never going to see a country of this size and sophistication open up again.” — Charles Robertson, Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital