In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, Mehmet sits down with Ahmed Sameh, CMO at Fortis. Ahmed brings a fintech and B2B marketing view on how SMEs are changing the way they run daily operations.
The conversation reframes POS as more than a payment terminal. For small businesses, the real constraint is not accepting cards, it is connecting payments, inventory, customer data, loyalty, invoicing, reporting, and AI into one operational system. Ahmed explains why adding more tools often creates more manual work, more blind spots, and weaker decisions.
If you are building, investing in, or operating in fintech, SME software, retail technology, or AI-enabled business operations, this conversation shows why the transaction layer is becoming the control point for business intelligence.
About the Guest
Ahmed Sameh is the CMO at Fortis, a software company focused on helping SMEs manage payments and day-to-day operations.
Ahmed has more than 14 years of marketing experience, mainly across B2B and fintech. His background includes work connected to Tap Payments, Mastercard, FAB, and startup launches in the region.
He is the right person to frame this topic because Fortis sits at the point where payments, merchant operations, customer data, and AI reporting meet.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-samehfa/
Fortis: https://wefortis.com/
Key Takeaways
- POS is becoming the operating layer for SMEs, not just a payment device.
- Small businesses lose margin when transactions and inventory are tracked manually.
- More software does not create efficiency when systems remain disconnected.
- Customer data becomes useful only when it is tied to actual transactions.
- AI reporting depends on clean business data before it can support decisions.
- WhatsApp commerce creates operational blind spots when orders are not captured properly.
- E-invoicing will push SMEs toward more structured digital operations.
- SMEs need simplification before they need more tools.
What You Will Learn
- How POS systems are evolving from card machines into business operating platforms.
- Why traditional payment terminals leave major gaps in customer and inventory data.
- The operational cost of running SMEs through spreadsheets, paper, WhatsApp, and separate tools.
- How customer transaction data can support loyalty, offers, and repeat business.
- Why AI for SMEs starts with structured payments, inventory, and customer records.
- What e-invoicing means for SME digitization in the UAE.
- When a small business should choose simplification over another software subscription.
Episode Highlights
00:00 — Ahmed Sameh frames Fortis and SME operations
02:00 — SMEs still run critical work manually
06:00 — Traditional POS leaves operational gaps
10:00 — One terminal can shorten service workflows
13:30 — UAE digitization is forcing SME readiness
18:00 — WhatsApp commerce creates hidden operational risk
22:30 — More tools often create less efficiency
26:00 — Mobile-first SMEs need connected systems
29:30 — AI needs transaction data before prompts
33:30 — Agents move into reporting and inventory
36:30 — SME growth depends on usable operational data
39:00 — Fortis focuses first on the UAE market
Listen Now
Available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube.
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