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Step Match 2021 Step Saudi 2022

Apply to Showcase your startup

Start Track

The Start Track at Step covers everything about the startup scene, and takes place at the Main Stage which features global influencers in the tech and digital space across keynotes, panels, and debates covering success stories, growth, investment and fundraising, and the coolest startups in the space.

What We Cover

Growth and Scalability
Startups growth and scalability during their journeys, lessons to learn from SMEs.
Solopreneurship
Business plan, tools, best practices.
Investment and Fundraising
Investors and founders relationships, different types of fundraising, and choosing the right deals.
Acquisitions and IPOs
International interest in emerging markets, filing IPOs and listing process, determining the right exit plan.
 

Previous Start Track Speakers

H.E.
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi

H.E.
Dr.
Ahmad
Belhoul
Al
Falasi

H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi has been named the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs under the new UAE Government structure approved in July 2020. Under this role, H.E. Dr. Al Falasi is at the fore of designing national initiatives to strengthen the UAE’s small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, one of the engines of the national economy, and promote entrepreneurship in various industries. H.E. is also tasked to set a strategic direction and develop a general national policy for the country’s tourism sector. Before his present position, he was the Minister of State for Higher Education during which he supervised the development of higher education and scientific research in the UAE. He also formulated new policies for the sector as well as streamlined the work of higher education institutions to ensure quality outputs that match the requirements of the labor market. In October 2017, pursuant to the ministerial amendment to the UAE Government, he took on the responsibility of equipping UAE nationals with skills of the future. H.E. is also the former Chairman of the Federal Authority for Human Resources and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Space Agency. He represented the space sector at the National Committee for Science, Technology and Innovation. Other positions he previously held included CEO of Masdar Company; Executive Director of Strategy and Tourism Sector Development at Dubai Tourism; Vice President of the Mubadala Industry Unit; and Consultant for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. H.E. Dr. Al Falasi holds a PhD from Monash University, a Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Engineering from Khalifa University in the UAE.

Shafika
Houcine

Etisalat

Shafika
Houcine

Etisalat

Senior Commercial Director | Head of Etisalat International Digital Center of Excellence | Author & Speaker

Walid
Faza

MSA Capital

Walid
Faza

MSA Capital

Partner & Chief Operating Officer at MSA Capital

Alex
Bouaziz

Deel

Alex
Bouaziz

Deel

Alex Bouaziz is the co-founder and CEO of Deel, the fastest-growing global compliance and payroll solution that helps businesses hire anyone, anywhere. Founded in 2019, Deel’s technology offers payroll, HR, compliance, and benefits needed to hire and manage a global team. In just under three years, the company has grown to 500+ employees worldwide in 60 different countries and has 6000-plus customers, including Shopify, Coinbase, and Cloudflare. Alex grew up in Paris and graduated from Technion and then MIT with a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to Deel he co-founded investment fund Sarona Ventures. In 2020 he was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Finance list. Outside of Deel, Alex enjoys cheering on Paris Saint-Germain Football Club.

Ashish
Sinha

AWS

Ashish
Sinha

AWS

Ashish Sinha, Early Stage startups-Lead, AWS MENA (Sr. Startup BDM) Ashish leads the Early stage startup segment at AWS-MENA, helping startups in MENA region to scale, grow, and become successful. He has 12+ years of experience in the startup ecosystem. He began his career helping build Snapdeal.com (Horizontal E-commerce platform in India) then moved on to help establish Wadi.com (Ecommerce platform in MENA) subsequently moving on to work with Souq.com (now Amazon). He is a strong advocate for innovation and technology, with a strong focus on solving for the bigger ideas which have numerous economic and life improvements impact. He seeks to help and mentor more technology founders and entrepreneurs VALIDATE, LAUNCH and SCALE their startup journey. To date Ashish has coached, trained and mentored over 50 startups and entrepreneurs, guiding them through the complicated avenues of being a business owner & help them start early & scale fast. He is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) & is fluent in English, Hindi & Mandarin.

Paul
Papadimitriou

Intelligencr

Paul
Papadimitriou

Intelligencr

Paul is a sought-after keynote speaker, emcee, and a strategic foresight advisor,with a focus on the human experience, the new normals, and the geopolitics ofdisruption — what it all means to us. As a sought-after keynote speaker, stage, radio and TV host, he has impacted audiences on 50+ countries, shared stages or live interviewed leaders such as President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron, Rakuten founder Hiroshi Mikitani, Apple founder Steve Wozniak, Nest founder Tony Fadell or the Prime Minister of Greece.

Shana
Marashi

EY

Shana
Marashi

EY

Shana is a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young in Dubai where she is dedicated to supporting companies in the MENA region on their IPO journeys. Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Shana was the Head of Equity Capital Markets at Nasdaq Dubai.

Yousuf
Almulla

E11 ADVISORY

Yousuf
Almulla

E11 ADVISORY

An entrepreneur with the experience in both, public and corporate sector. He has a passion to invest in and build technology companies and he does that through E11 Capital. He is constantly involved in strategic government initiatives to promote and enhance the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the UAE. He is one of the founding members of Emirates Angel Investors Association and a board member. In part of his support for the startup ecosystem during 2018, he launched a startup competition that focused on enhancing entrepreneurship amongst Emirati university students. In 2012, he was appointed as the Group Chief Strategy Officer of Dubai Holding. Prior to that, he was headhunted to join The Executive Office in Dubai to be part of the innovation team. He holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD, MPA from LKY School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and a BSc in Corporate Finance from Marshall Business School at University of Southern California.

Tarun
Krishna

Sheraa (Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center)

Tarun
Krishna

Sheraa (Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center)

Tarun is the Programs Junior Manager at Sheraa (Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center) where he currently works on the Sharjah Startup Studio (S3) to lay the foundation for home-grown entrepreneurial success by going beyond a traditional education-based program. In the past, he has worked with Intelak Hub and Aviation X Lab, led by global industry experts including the Emirates Group, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, Airbus, Microsoft – to name a few, to co-create the region’s leading hub for start-ups in aviation, travel and tourism. For over three years, Tarun also volunteered under the umbrella of Techstars, a global platform for investment and innovation as an ecosystem community builder for one of their community programmes, Startup Weekend (in partnership with Google for Startups) in the ME region, building idea-stage startup communities. In 2019, Tarun received the Entrepreneur 20X Award by the hospitality group – HITEC and the Mantra Leadership Award recipient – Entrepreneur of the Year by the BITS Pilani. Tarun currently serves as an active mentor, workshop facilitator and speaker on various start-up programmes and conferences in the region. He is passionate about content creation, storytelling and building impactful ecosystems.

Dirk
Stevens

E11 Ventures

Dirk
Stevens

E11 Ventures

Dirk Stevens is a Managing Partner at E11 Ventures. Prior to joining E11, he was the Chief Commercial Officer at Crowd Analyzer, which acquired TaskSpotting, where he was co-founder and CEO. At TaskSpotting, he scaled the platform from concept through a major pivot to fully viable and profitable business across 14 markets in Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. He has been working and scaling businesses in the tech industry for over 20 years, first financial technology then marketing technology and media intelligence. He holds dual degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and an INSEAD Executive MBA. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, coaching rugby, SCUBA diving, travelling, and advising start-ups.

Paul
Misener

Amazon

Paul
Misener

Amazon

Paul, a scientist, and attorney, founded Amazon’s economic development incentives program and Amazon’s global public policy organization. He built and led the team and then took the position of VP. He has delivered hundreds of speeches and media interviews and met countless times with political leaders around the world. He has also successfully negotiated agreements on public policy with hundreds of Representatives and Senators and dozens of US state governors. Paul also discusses innovation principles and methods with dozens of corporate CEOs and their senior leadership teams. In 2013, he acted as Chair of the technical subcommittee of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s advisory committee that recommended allowing commercial airline passengers to use portable electronics during taxi, takeoff, and landing Interestingly, Paul wanted to become an astrophysicist and conducted two projects in Princeton’s Physics Department and is still fascinated by space and time to this day

Sidra
Qasim

Atoms

Sidra
Qasim

Atoms

Sidra Qasim is a co-founder of Atoms, a Brooklyn based brand that makes the ideal everyday shoes and masks. At Atoms, Sidra leads the brand’s product development and operations. Prior to that, Qasim co-founded Markhor, a Y Combinator startup that worked with indigenous craftsmen in Pakistan to make high-end leather products. In response to the COVID-19, Sidra led the Atoms Mask project, designing and developing what WSJ said is the “Best Materials Mask” and donating half a million in the US. The popular blog Humans of New York did an in depth story on Sidra’s personal journey of growing up in rural Pakistan and building her startups. Originally from Okara, Sidra now lives in New York City.

Elie
Habib

Anghami

Elie
Habib

Anghami

Elie is the co-founder of Anghami – the leading music streaming service in the Middle East. Anghami has reached over 40 million users, raised many millions from Venture Capital firms over several rounds and partnered with MBC – the top media group in the region – as well as over 20 mobile operators. At Anghami, Elie runs the operations and product development, spending most of his time working between clouds, streams and pixels.

Michelle
Arrazcaeta

Polaroid

Michelle
Arrazcaeta

Polaroid

Michelle Arrazcaeta is inspired most by brave ideas and brands, compassionate people, and loud laughter. She currently works at Polaroid in Amsterdam leading brand strategy and collaborations. She’s a social innovator, creative strategist, career coach, and speaker. She turns insights into ideas and innovation for impact-driven brands whether they are her own side projects or big brands like Nike, Hewlett Packard, Crocs, and Sprite. Past jobs over the last 10 years include working at Wieden + Kennedy, The Future Company, and freelancing for Sylvain, SYPartners, TripTK, and Bionic. Side projects include a digital talk show around businesses creating social change and a travel service giving girls the guts to travel solo. Michelle balances her creative pursuits with holistic wellness, traveling and hiking, and dancing hip hop & salsa.

Eng.
Mohammed Al Rasbi

OTF

Eng.
Mohammed
Al
Rasbi

OTF

Mohammed Al Rasbi is an Omani serial entrepreneur, startup mentor and technical director. Mohammed started his first business in 2003 and has since been working in the information technology industry. With a comprehensive understanding of market evolution and online technologies, Mr. Al Rasbi is responsible for major digital project launches for institutional clients in the Sultanate of Oman. Today he works as the managing director, venture investment leader and entrepreneur-in-residence at Oman Technology Fund, and runs the fund’s acceleration pre-seed and seed programs. Within the past two and half years, he has invested in and accelerated more than 110 startups in the Middle East. His international studies include The George Washington University where he earned Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering and worked several years as a senior analyst.

Mohamad
Ballout

Kitopi

Mohamad
Ballout

Kitopi

Mohamad Ballout is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kitopi, the world’s leading managed cloud kitchen platform. Founded in January 2018, Kitopi’s mission is to satisfy the world’s appetite by partnering with F&B brands to help them scale beyond borders. It currently operates across the Middle East, powering more than 200 brands, across 60+ kitchens, thanks to 2500+ Kitopians (colleagues). Prior to founding Kitopi, Mohamad co-founded BMB, which is now the largest confectionery business in the Middle East. He was critical in spearheading BMB’s growth across 32 markets and setting up the first fully-automated ethnic sweets manufacturing unit. He sold his shares to a private equity group in May 2016. Mohamad has a double major in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Warwick and a Masters in Management from Imperial College.

Fouad
Jeryes

Maqsam

Fouad
Jeryes

Maqsam

Fouad is the Co-Founder and Director of Business at Maqsam, MENA’s friendliest cloud communication suite for SMBs. Previously, Fouad has served as a partner & manager at various forward thinking ventures. He has led strategic consulting efforts to top tier companies including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! & others. Fouad served as a partner at one of the most vibrant content sharing portals, d1g.com. Initiated by HM King Abdullah II, Fouad was part of the founding team of Jordan’s 1st technology accelerator program, Oasis 500, where he built the mentor & angel investor networks that facilitated the investment of the first 50 startups. Fouad co-founded Alpha Apps Inc., a venture-builder focussed on building technology within emerging markets around online trade. Alpha Apps Inc. ‘s products resulted in numerous accolades for the business, notably the 1st place at the largest startup gathering in Eur-Asia, Startup Istanbul, and recognition by Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos.

Aya
Sadder

Bolt Consultancy

Aya
Sadder

Bolt Consultancy

A real believer in startups, Aya Sadder has helped bring companies to life across a range of industries, countries, and ecosystems. Founder of Bolt, Aya launched the company in late November 2020 to help build hubs of entrepreneurship across the MENA region. Some of her accelerator program clients include the Mohamed bin Rashid Innovation Fund and the Youth Hub. Prior to BOLT, Aya was the Incubator manager of Intelak, the first Aviation, Travel & Tourism Incubator in the MENA region sponsored by the Emirates Group, Microsoft, Accenture and Dubai Tourism.For her work there, she was recognized with the Ecosystem Influencer award in 2017 from Entrepreneur Middle East as well as Intrapreneur of the Year from Arabian Business in 2018.

Eugene
Willemsen

PepsiCo International

Eugene
Willemsen

PepsiCo International

Eugene Willemsen is Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Middle East, South Asia. PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, PepsiCola, Quaker, Tropicana and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Over the past two decades, Eugene has earned a reputation as a transformative leader who can harness the power of diverse teams to create high-performing businesses and some of the world’s most resonate brands. Most recently, Eugene served as Chief Executive Officer, Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019 and as Executive Vice President of Global Categories & Franchise Management from 2015 to 2019, where he was responsible for the strategic direction of PepsiCo’s global categories and brands as well as PepsiCo’s global commercial functions, during which he oversaw a period of strong growth. Prior to that, Eugene led the company’s global tea joint venture with Unilever, which operates in roughly 120 countries worldwide, following more than a decade leading PepsiCo businesses in Europe. He has served as Senior Vice President, General Manager for PepsiCo’s South East Europe business, overseeing our operations in 17 countries, including Turkey; Senior Vice President and General Manager, Commercial for PepsiCo Europe, heading up the Marketing & Sales functions across Europe for all lines of business; Senior Vice President, General Manager for PepsiCo’s Northern Europe business; and General Manager of PepsiCo’s snack business in the Benelux and Belgium. Eugene joined PepsiCo from Friesland-Campina in 1995. Eugene holds a BBA from Nijenrode University in the Netherlands, a MSc in Economics from the ‘VU University’ in Amsterdam and an Executive MBA from INSEAD. He previously served as a board member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the AdCouncil and the Dutch Grocery Manufacturers Association, where he served as its Chairman. In 2017, he was named one of the “25 Most Influential People in the Netherlands at 50.

Marius
Ciavola

Tradeling

Marius
Ciavola

Tradeling

A transformational executive with foresight and imagination, Ciavola has a history of surpassing ambitious business goals and delivering revolutionary technology innovations. Before joining Tradeling in 2020 he was head of Logistics at Amazon Middle East where he built the operations and grew the firm’s regional logistics business from the ground up and led large-scale expansion projects. He also played a key role in many of Amazon’s global initiatives. Prior to that he held senior roles at Souq.com and Sukar, a private Middle East sales club later acquired by Souq.

Nathalie
Spree

True Search

Nathalie
Spree

True Search

Nathalie is the Lead Partner of True Middle East. True Search is a US headquartered global Executive Search firm focused on innovative PE and VC backed high growth tech businesses. Nathalie launched the MENA office in 2019 and the team is based in Dubai Internet City. She has extensive experience of leadership recruiting and start up advisory in the tech scene in the region over the past 13 years, having previously headed the people functions at Dubizzle and Property Finder.

Akram
Amir

AR Engineering

Akram
Amir

AR Engineering

Akram Amir is the Founder & CEO of AR Engineering, Before devoting his work full time to AR Engineering, Akram worked on research studies on nanotechnology, While before that he also worked on Designing and Building of Drones. Currently, Akram works with a team of engineers that are putting in their combined knowledge and experience to close the knowledge and skills gap that exists in the industry by providing immersive technology tools to various organizations to help them in their learning and training processes.

Anas
Bhurtun

Arts DAO

Anas
Bhurtun

Arts DAO

Anas is the co-founder and CEO of the Arts DAO and the co-host of the Crypto Sheikhs Podcast.  Anas manages a +300 exclusive NFT community of senior futurists, collectors, artists and entrepreneurs in Dubai who he brings together every month at premium locations in Dubai to discuss NFTs and the wider growth of Web3. The community is also the foundation for a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that will be offering fractionalised ownership of blue chip NFTs to the Arts DAO community. Anas is a qualified English lawyer, previously practicing as a Crypto and FinTech lawyer with Checkout.com and a number of leading law firms in London and Dubai.

Alper
Celen

Enhance Ventures

Alper
Celen

Enhance Ventures

Alper Celen is the founder of ENHANCE VENTURES, a venture studio for the MENAPT region for the future of finance and commerce. Enhance’s portfolio includes JOI GIFTS, CLEVR, BLUE TERRA among others. Previous to Enhance, Alper was the founder of FOODONCLICK.com in Saudi Arabia (acquired by DELIVERYHERO). Alper is an angel investor and advisor. His portfolio includes BUGLANCE, MUBI, ZENSION, and TAGVANCE. Alper sits on the boards of BUGLANCE and ZAJIL EXPRESS, and on the advisory boards of GLOBAL STARTUP STUDIO NETWORK and HASHED HEALTH. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Alper was a management consultant in his own consultancy Commit and at McKinsey & Company. Previously, Alper worked at Nokia, Ansys, IBM, and NASA subcontractor Millitech. Two satellites he helped design are in Earth orbit. Alper has an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and BS and ME in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Alper is a Henry DuPont III Scholar and Siebel Scholar and is a recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Achievement Award from MIT. He volunteers for TechStars and MIT. He lives in Dubai with his wife and two sons.

Feras
Jalbout

baraka

Feras
Jalbout

baraka

Feras is the Founder and CEO of baraka, a commission-free investment platform for the Middle East. Before embarking on this venture, Feras executed and structured hundreds of public and private investments across a 15-year career in investment management in asset management and venture capital. Feras is passionate about getting more people in the MENA region to invest and is an active Angel investor in dozens of early-stage businesses.

Omar
Kassim

Nomod

Omar
Kassim

Nomod

Omar is the Founder & CEO of Nomod, the payment processing app to sell anything anywhere!

Mohamed
Imtiyaz

Amazon Payment services

Mohamed
Imtiyaz

Amazon Payment services

Mohamed Imtiyaz is the Head of Business Development for Amazon Payment Services in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA). In this critical role, Mohamed spearheads the go-to-market efforts of Amazon Payment Services across eight countries in the MENA region, namely the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman. Imtiyaz has spent a decade in Amazon leading the go-to-market strategy for multiple products including Amazon Pay, Amazon Gift Cards and now Amazon Payment Services. In his 15+ years of experience in the e-commerce and fintech domains, he has scaled multiple multi-billion dollar businesses ground-up. Imtiyaz is a Fintech thought leader who has deep experience in Digital Payments, Co-brand Partnerships, Gift Cards, BNPL, and Wallets, and is passionate about helping businesses succeed using technology. Imtiyaz also specializes in People Management, Sales Ops, Inside Sales, Vendor Management, Small Business and Enterprise Solution Consulting and Pre-sales, Digital Marketing, and Product Management.

Peter
Abou Hachem

Hub71

Peter
Abou
Hachem

Hub71

Peter is a key member of the Hub71 team, focusing on Products and Business Development. In his current role, Peter plays an integral role in designing new products and programs for the Hub71 ecosystem as well as identifying the right partners that could activate such programs. A key part of Peter’s role is identifying synergies between startups, corporates, government entities, universities, global hubs and programs. Matchmaking entities based on identified synergies is a key role in enabling a fully functional tech ecosystem. Peter has been part of designing and launching programs such as Corporate Engagement Program, Ventures Lab, Value Creation, Academia Engagement, Banking Products for startups, The Outliers and many more. Prior to joining Hub71, Peter was a Project Manager at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. As a consultant, Peter worked on building tech ecosystems, developing country-wide strategies, building new ventures, driving partnerships between private and public sectors as well as digital transformation and restructuring. This previous experience allows Peter to play a key role in shaping Hub71’s strategy. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the American University of Beirut (Beirut, Lebanon) as well as a Machine Learning certificate from Stanford University (California, USA).

Asad
Sheikh

Microsoft for Startups

Asad
Sheikh

Microsoft for Startups

Asad manages marketing activities at Microsoft for Startups MEA. He has been involved in the MENAPT startup ecosystem since 2019, when he moved to Dubai and kickstarted his career in the space at venture capital and startup data platform MAGNiTT. He believes startups have a fundamental role in solving key problems and closing a widening socioeconomic gap.

Pinaki
Laskar

Fisheyebox

Pinaki
Laskar

Fisheyebox

Pinaki Laskar : A Visionary who’s Transforming Tech into an Art & Business and an AI Researcher, Inventor, Futurist Speaker, XAI Author & Thought Leader, Spatial Computing Savant and NextGen Mentor. He is a disruptive Innovator & Cognitive Technologist, and has been founding brain for many disruptive AI solutions ranging from Autonomous Car and Intelligent Transport System, Brain for ITS & Future Mobility, Developing AI Chips and Providing affordable Autonomous Driving DNA for self-driving Autonomous cars. He is an expert and distinguished Inventor in Artificial Intelligence and AIOT with research in AI and Ethics. As a thought leader, he has been speaker at various conferences across world with a work experience of two decades. Pinaki as one of the top 10 Influencers of Selfdriving Cars and Data Scientist in the world and the Top 20 Global Thought Leaders & Influencers on Autonomous Vehicles. The inceptive mind behind Fisheyebox, Founder of the company currently is leading AI Of Things for business transformation & Innovation by AI Thinking using technology as a catalyst, trying to solve world most challenging problem of Future Mobility, Road Accident, Safety & Security, Privacy and ethics, Sustainability, et al.

Hamza
Khan

Letswork

Hamza
Khan

Letswork

Hamza Khan, 28, is the co-founder of Letswork. Hamza received his law degree from the London School of Economics and trained at Clifford Chance LLP in London and Dubai. During his time at Clifford Chance, Hamza was also seconded to Dubai World to act as in-house assistant legal counsel. In October 2017, Hamza joined Emaar as an Entrepreneur in Residence as part of the E25 innovation lab. In 2018, Hamza launched Letswork with his co-founder, Omar Al Mheiri. Hamza is British and is a qualified solicitor in England & Wales. Omar AlMheiri, 26, is the co-founder of Letswork. Omar graduated in 2017 from Northeastern University, Boston, USA with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He previously worked at DELL EMC in Boston as a Global Supply Quality Engineer . In June 2017, Omar joined Emaar as an Entrepreneur in Residence as part of the E25 innovation lab. In 2018, Omar launched Letswork with his co-founder, Hamza Khan. Omar is Emirati and a member of the Private Sector Youth Council of the UAE.

Michelle
Tarnow

Alliance Care Technologies

Michelle
Tarnow

Alliance Care Technologies

Michele Tarnow is the Founder President and CEO of Alliance Care Technologies (ACT) a digital health technology company. ACT’s driving vision is to provide world class connected care across the continuum of care. Michele has assembled a team of visionary physician entrepreneurs to create technology solutions that optimize value-based healthcare and build a connected continuum of care. Michele has spent most of her career in new product development with technology companies such as Hewlett Packard, Kodak Health Imaging (now Carestream), Kodak Digital Imaging, and Opsion Medical. Other industries she has worked include: Arts and Culture, Community Engagement and Public Policy. As Professor of Practice at Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University. Has taught Marketing, Strategic Management, Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Enterprise, and Product Development. Also, she has taught Sociology as Adjunct Instructor at Syracuse University and SUNY ESF. Michele Tarnow volunteers her time with a number of organizations including actively engaging on the Board of Directors for African Diaspora for Development, Pan African International Arts Council, International Delphic Championships and African Diaspora for Development.

Vikas
Thapar

MASHREQ Bank

Vikas
Thapar

MASHREQ Bank

In his role, Vikas manages the bank’s Business Banking segment and NEOBiz propositions, including defining go-to-market strategy and improving the overall delivery and experience for the business banking customers. As part of his responsibilities, Vikas closely work with other business segments to capitalize on growth opportunities as well as help drive a strong value proposition through cross sell and strategic partnerships. Vikas brings with him more than 25 years of experience in the banking sector. Most recently he was the Senior Client Lead, MENA financial services for American digital consulting company, Publicis Sapient. Prior to that, Vikas served as EVP and Head of Business Banking at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), where he led the bank’s digital transformation efforts including its digital onboarding proposition for SMEs. His prior experience also includes serving as the Executive Vice President & Head Business Banking at Emirates NBD, as well as senior leadership positions at Citigroup in India and Indonesia. He is a holder of an MBA in Finance & Marketing from the Faculty of Management Studies, Udaipur, India, and a B.Sc. in Physics from Delhi University, India

Kamal
Reggad

RemotePass

Kamal
Reggad

RemotePass

Co-founder and CEO of RemotePass. Kamal is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 14 years of experience in IT. In 2011, Kamal started the first e-commence company in Morocco, before selling it to a local holding company in 2018. Prior to Hmizate, Kamal worked for Spotfire (acquired by TIBCO) as a lead system engineer in charge of building large scalable infrastructure environments for software deployments. Kamal is an Endeavor entrepreneur and holds a B.S & M.S in Computer Science from Northeastern University.

Mohamed
Khaled

Hotdesk

Mohamed
Khaled

Hotdesk

Mohamed is the Founder & CEO of Hotdesk, the on-demand workspace platform that enables users to book workspaces anytime, anywhere. Hotdesk is based in Dubai, DIFC and has presence in 30 countries and 115+ cities worldwide. Prior to Hotdesk, Mohamed was the Director of Finance at Swvl and Core Member of the $1.5bn SPAC Transaction Team, leading Public Readiness and Transaction Execution. Before that, Mohamed spent ~7 years of audit and consulting experience at PwC in 3 countries across MENA.

Mohamed
Amine Merah

BIM Ventures

Mohamed
Amine
Merah

BIM Ventures

Passionate about creating value through venture building. 10+ years experience in audit, finance, management consulting & strategy with startups, corporations and public entities.

Amir
Farha

COTU Ventures

Amir
Farha

COTU Ventures

Amir Farha has been actively investing in MENA since 2008. He is the founder of COTU Ventures, a leading seed stage VC firm with a mission to transform the culture of venture investing in the Middle East by investing early (first check) and with conviction on people. Amir was previously co-founder and Managing Partner at BECO Capital (backers of Kitopi, Careem, SWVL, Property Finder, Fresha, Tribal Credit and others), where he helped raise, manage and deploy 2 successful funds ($200m+ in AUM) from 2012 to 2020. Amir is also a Kauffman Fellow and holds a BSc in Computer Information Systems and an MSc in Management from the University of Bath.

Carolin-Carmen
Neubauer

Fero

Carolin-Carmen
Neubauer

Fero

I have seen the problems in the logistics and delivery space across the globe firsthand, every day, for +15 years. As an Executive, I leverage f global leadership, partnership management and deal transaction experience to achieve operational excellence. I work with talented teams to transform businesses worldwide into highly scalable and efficient global organisations to deliver high quality and innovative products and services. Throughout my career (Ex-Maersk, Ex-Uber) I have been optimising business operations and developing a highly competitive workforce. Voted into the top 25 Logistics Executives in Middle East. My current role as COO & Co-Founder Fero is first and foremost fun and a unique privilege, as I get to work with an outstanding team on a super exciting product. Fero is an enterprise SaaS venture that builds advanced freight automation, optimization & orchestration products using narrow Ai systems, in other words the Siri for Supply Chain.

Adel
Khalil

Talabat

Adel
Khalil

Talabat

Adel is serving as Delivery Hero MENA | Talabat Vice President of Engineering, where he is responsible for the q-commerce, vendor and order fulfilment technology group both in UAE and Egypt. Prior to this role he was the CTO for Vezeeta.com building engineering and technology. The startup in few years has become the leading health startup in the region with backing from investors including IFC, STV, BECO Capital & Silicon Badia.

Daniel
Dsouza

Scality

Daniel
Dsouza

Scality

Daniel is inspired by innovative ideas and the individuals that make them a reality! Currently manages the Marketing & Sales function at Scality, an innovative hub for technology startups, operated by Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ). Also manages relationships with existing partners, and leads agreements & contracts with new partners that are excited to be part of Scality’s growing community at DAFZ. A seasoned professional, specialized in Consumer Marketing Strategy, Operational Deployment, Business Development and Partnerships/Collaborations. Previously built & led Retail Brand teams across various divisions (Nike, Sun and Sand Sports, Timberland, etc.) within the region’s dominant sports retailer & distributor; Gulf Marketing Group. A key decision-maker that supervised the launch of multiple innovative concepts by the group, including the rebrand of Sun and Sand Sports.

Julien
Plouzeau

Dtec Ventures

Julien
Plouzeau

Dtec Ventures

Julien leads the operations of Dtec Ventures, the VC arm of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, managing investments end-to-end and a portfolio of 20+ startups. He also spearheads the deployment of startup programs in Dtec and is an active mentor/advisor in the local scene. He previously spent 7 years building tech companies in the UAE after 3 years as an Investment Banker for Societe Generale CIB in Italy.

Elodie
ROBIN

HUB71

Elodie
ROBIN

HUB71

Elodie is an ecosystem enabler and angel investor, passionate about aerospace and space. She supported the creation of the first aerospace industrial cluster in the UAE in the early 2000s. After 15 years enabling industrial partnerships for aerospace leaders (Airbus and Thales) in Middle East and Africa, she joined the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, a joint initiative by the UAE Government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, to promote the future of industry in alignment with the SDGs. She contributed to the launch of the aerospace and new space start up ecosystem in the UAE and backs several entrepreneurs from the vertical through Alidade Ventures. She is volunteering for French Tech, as President of the UAE community. She heads growth and strategy at Hub 71, Abu Dhabi global tech ecosystem, supporting the Emirate’s economic transformation, cultivating market access for entrepreneurs through mutually robust partnerships between government, corporates and global tech start-ups.

Ottmar
Krauss

I² Consulting

Ottmar
Krauss

I² Consulting

Ottmar is on a mission to help companies on their complex journey to bring great technology successfully into the market. He is a cross-cultural leader and senior international sales and marketing executive with almost 25 years of telecommunications and tech industry experience in the Middle East, Europe and around the globe. Being a generalist with significant depth across many different areas including technology, sales, marketing, consulting, and people leadership, he loves to work collaboratively with various stakeholders and senior decision-makers. He is known for following through on commitments and turning around sales performances. Throughout his career, he has solved various complex business issues and challenges, from delivering $100M+ sales pipelines in highly complex regions and countries to maximizing global market visibility of a 1B+ EUR portfolio.

Christian
Kunz

DIFC

Christian
Kunz

DIFC

In his capacity as Head of Group Strategy at DIFC Authority, Christian is responsible to develop and continuously evolve the strategic agenda and initiatives of DIFC in line with the UAE’s commitment to innovation and development of future economies. As part of this vision, Christian also furthers in developing DIFC’s core and future of finance proposition and leading a number of initiatives to move the innovation agenda towards a broader conversation about the future of finance. Christian’s previous experience lies at the intersection of Financial Services, Technology and Innovation. He led the Fintech and New (Digital) Business Building practice for McKinsey & Company in the Middle East. Besides developing future of finance strategies, Christian has built-up several digital Fintech ventures following a build-operate-transfer model and applying Agile, Design Thinking and Lean Start-up principles. He has also led several digital and analytics transformations of large banks and insurance businesses across the Middle East and Europe.

Nikita
Patel

Oasis Greens

Nikita
Patel

Oasis Greens

A Wharton School grad, Nikita Patel is the third generation of her UAE-based family business, leading the food distribution and agriculture verticals. Nikita is the founder of one of the UAE’s first indoor hydroponics vertical farms with the mission of strengthening the UAE’s food security capabilities and reducing the country’s food mileage and environmental footprint, promoting greater transparency and sustainability in food systems. In 2019, she founded Oasis Greens which is proudly a UAE-based hydroponics, vertical farm in Dubai where they grow pesticide-free, fresh leafy greens and herbs under their own home-grown fresh produce brand. The company supplies primarily to the HORECA sector in the UAE. Oasis Greens will be diversifying into growing fruiting vegetables and mushrooms. Nikita believes in the power of social enterprise to create lasting positive impact.

Saeed
Alnofeli

in5

Saeed
Alnofeli

in5

Saeed Alnofeli is the Director of in5 and joined the business incubator with a mandate to drive innovation across Dubai’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in 2020. He is responsible for supporting startups and members of the enabling platform by turning early-stage startups into commercially viable ventures. With 15 years of commercial, telecommunications, technology, and command and control systems experience, Saeed’s unique skillset has enabled local firms to take their idea from concept to prototype to market. Prior to joining in5, he worked with the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center as a Programs Manager where he trained, mentored and graduated over 100 startups at pre-seed and seed stage. As Co-Founder and CEO of tech startup Jamalytic, which has brought cutting-edge data analytics capabilities to the billion- dollar camel racing industry, Saeed has a track record of developing successful homegrown companies and fostering a culture of entrepreneurship in the UAE. He holds a Master’s in Engineering Systems and Management with a specialisation in technology management, innovation and entrepreneurship from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Security and Network Technologies from Zayed University.

Tymour
Fisher

Nomad Homes

Tymour
Fisher

Nomad Homes

Tymour is the General Manager of Dubai at Nomad Homes, a property technology company in the Middle East founded in 2019. Prior to joining Nomad, Tymour was the Head of Operations at Uber Eats in Dubai. He started his career in New York City where he was known for growth hacking and redesigning operations across organizations. Tymour has previously worked at Gilt Groupe and General Assembly which are both known for their high performing startup cultures.

Mohammad
AlRazaz

OTO

Mohammad
AlRazaz

OTO

Mohammad AlRazaz is a Serial Entrepreneur and the Co-founder & CEO of OTO – MENA’s Largest Shipping Integrator & Aggregator Solution for Online Businesses & OmniChannel Brands. At the age of 22, Mohammad founded Jeeny (previously EasyTaxi) in Saudi Arabia during his time with Rocket Internet, making him the youngest Country Manager in Easy Taxi globally by then. Al-Razaz is a MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp alumni, selected out of 800 global applicants, and has built several startups and business in transportation, e-commerce, logistics and technology.

Vijay
Tirathrai

Techstars

Vijay
Tirathrai

Techstars

Vijay Tirathrai Vijay is an impact investor and serial entrepreneur. He currently serves as Managing Director at Techstars, the global platform for innovation and investment, with a portfolio of 2,700 companies. Vijay has developed Techstars accelerator programs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh and has invested in over 50 early stage technology companies across the globe. Prior to Techstars, he was the former Global CEO and Chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) based in Washington D.C.; where he led the growth of 20,000+ leading entrepreneurs represented in 165 cities worldwide. As an entrepreneur he has founded several pioneering businesses; including cycling safety helmets, events and association management, and corporate venture capital. Early in his career he served in CEO roles namely in a leading fashion retailer and large scale clothing manufacturing across Asia. Vijay is an active Non Executive Director to several technology companies, is an advisor to Scholars of Finance and Chair of the YPO MENA Gold Chapter. Formerly he served on the board Young President Organization International, a Trustee at Richmond University, U.K., organizing committee of the 16th Commonwealth Games. Now based in the Middle East, Vijay has previously lived and worked in Washington D.C, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Other than being an avid cyclist and an explorer of world heritage sites, he is passionate about connecting people through entrepreneurship across the world. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijayktirathrai/

Haninder
Pal Singh

StrategyConnect

Haninder
Pal
Singh

StrategyConnect

Haninder P. Singh has 10+ years of experience in management consulting, business operations, financial planning, and due diligence across MENA, India, SE Asia and US markets. He co-founded StrategyConnect with the thesis of building an open talent and workflow management platform to support struggling SMEs and to operationalize ambitious government initiatives centered around Middle Eastern geography. Before founding StrategyConnect, Haninder led mission critical initiatives supporting a high cash-burn ecommerce venture based out of MENA. Responsibilities included company restructuring, operating cashflow management, monthly financial closing, and Investor Relations. Before kicking off the entrepreneurial journey in 2014, Haninder played pivotal role in notable transactions in the Telecommunications industry in India, landmark electric mobility budgeting for the Government of India, power plant PPP deals in Africa, commercial diligence for bulge bracket PE funds as a part of Booz & Co India/ Middle East team before its acquisition by PwC.

Mo
Yusuf

checkout.com

Mo
Yusuf

checkout.com

Mo Ali Yusuf (Mo) is an international fintech and eCommerce leader, with a passion for how the power of financial technology can improve the lives of individuals, communities and businesses in every corner of the world. Mo is a Regional Lead at Checkout.com, a global fintech changing the way businesses access financial services. In his role, Mo is responsible for driving growth across the Middle East region. Prior to joining Checkout.com, Mo was the Head of Digital Commerce at Visa, driving eCommerce and fintech across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. Mo has also held senior level positions with top tier consulting, consumer banking and technology companies in Canada and across the Middle East and was the founder of 2 fintech startups. A Canadian national, Mo holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from Concordia University in Canada and an MBA from the prestigious London Business School.

Tarek
Bayaa

Bayzat

Tarek
Bayaa

Bayzat

Tarek is a co-founder & CCO at Bayzat. He is tasked with building a world-class sales organization to deliver on Bayzat’s mission. Tarek spent 7 years at GE in various positions and multiple geographies, leading various finance & consulting engagements across industries. Tarek graduated with a B.S. in Computer Software Engineering from McGill University in 2007.

Roberto
Croci

Microsoft

Roberto
Croci

Microsoft

With over 2 0 years’ experience working for the likes of Microsoft and Google, Roberto Croci’s passion lies in innovation, startups and PEOPLE. Relationship driven, he has bridged the gap between corporates and startups across more than 20 countries, helping them develop real solutions that solve real world problems.

Ahmed
Hazem Dakroury

Falak Startups

Ahmed
Hazem
Dakroury

Falak Startups

Ahmed is an avid investment professional with a diversified business experience. Prior to leading Falak Startups, Ahmed headed the Investment team in the company and helped companies optimize their business models and managed their fund raising processes. Before joining Falak Startups, Ahmed worked for a number of multinational companies in the energy, building materials and real estate sectors developing strategic plans and financial models. Ahmed has also advised startups and SMEs on strategic and financial fronts.

H.E.
Dr. Nabeel Koshak

Saudi Venture Capital Company

H.E.
Dr.
Nabeel
Koshak

Saudi Venture Capital Company

H.E. Dr. Nabeel Koshak is the CEO and Board Member of Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC). Nabeel is the Founder and Angel Investor at Athaal Angel Investor Group. He is a Board Memebr of Middle East Venture Capital Association (MEVCA). Nabeel is the Chairman of GEN (Global Entrepreneurship Network) Saudi. He is a member of the Investment Committees of KAUST’s Innovation Fund. He is a startup mentor at Endeavor Saudi Arabia. Nabeel is a member of the Saudi Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. He is a Board member of TCL (Tomouh Community of Leaders). Formerly, Nabeel was the Founding Dean of Prince Mohammad Bin Salman College (MBSC) of Business and Entrepreneurship in partnership with Babson College at King Abdullah Economic City. Nabeel was an Executive Advisor at Ministry of Economy and Planning and an Executive Advisor at Deloitte. Nabeel was the Co-Founder and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wadi Makkah Company (Innovation Fund, Startup Accelerator, and Venture Capital Fund). He was a Board Member of Oqal (Angel Investors Group) Jeddah branch and a mentor at Flat6Labs Jeddah Startup Accelerator. He was a Board Member and the Chairman of the Investment Committee at King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Innovation (Mawhiba). Nabeel is the former Co-Founder and Director of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) GIS Technology Innovation Center. Koshak was a Member of the Executive Committee of King Faisal International Prize. As an entrepreneur, Koshak was the Founder and CEO of five tech startups.

Aboudi
Al Qattan

DASH Ventures

Aboudi
Al
Qattan

DASH Ventures

Aboudi has extensive experience in Venture Capital/Private Equity having spent the last five years working for some of the most active investment firms in the MENA region; he is currently the Investment Associate at DASH Ventures. Aboudi studied entrepreneurship at Babson College and spent two years playing professional basketball career while working for a Food and Beverage focused Venture Fund in Kuwait called Savour Ventures.

Khyara
Ranaweera

The Conscious Consultancy

Khyara
Ranaweera

The Conscious Consultancy

Driven by a passion for all things business, marketing and impact, Khyara Ranaweera has always been entrepreneurial from a young age. Having grown up in Dubai but boasting a global repertoire of experience, Khyara started her first venture at just thirteen – before launching an e-commerce fashion business and a Dubai-based app called Quickshop. ae which was quickly sold to a competitor. After realising the region lacked a sustainable approach to the PR and digital sector, Khyara set up shop in Dubai to disrupt, challenge and offer clients a more omnichannel approach to communications whilst advocating a more impact-driven way of thinking with the UAE’s first conscious comms agency, aptly named – ‘The-Conscious-Consultancy’.

Ali
Shabdar

Zoho

Ali
Shabdar

Zoho

An avid user and consultant of Zoho since 2008, Ali fell in love with the platform when he built a CRM for his real estate company in Zoho Creator in a single afternoon. A multidisciplinary business technologist and a published author, Ali contributes to the the steady growth of Zoho’s diverse ecosystem in the MEA region. Experienced in business growth and transformation, business process, marketing, and information management, Ali understands the challenges of modern businesses and helps them utilize the immense power of cloud computing strategically and in day-to-day operations. Ali also chairs the SME and Entrepreneurship Committee of MENA Cloud Alliance where he contributes with other peers and industry leaders to the advancement and adoption of cloud computing in the region.

Bilal
Ghalib

Bloom

Bilal
Ghalib

Bloom

Bilal is a researcher, community builder and entrepreneur with 20 years of experience exploring himself, society and the world through through creating interactive businesses. His new project with Bloom supports unlocking human potential for positive change through social enterprises.

Youssef
Salem

Swvl

Youssef
Salem

Swvl

Youssef Salem is the CFO of Swvl, first unicorn from the Middle East to list on Nasdaq and first mass transit marketplace to go public globally, via a $1.5bn business combination with Queen’s Gambit. At 29 years old, Youssef will become one of the youngest CFOs of a Nasdaq listed company. Youssef has 10 years of investment banking experience with Moelis & Company and QInvest. He executed greater than $85bn of capital raises, financings, and M&A across greater than 50 transactions. Youssef was previously an Adjunct Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo (AUC). He has a Bachelor of Science from AUC and is a CFA Charterholder and Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. He was featured in Forbes Middle East 30 under 30 list.

Saif
Ali

Dastgyr

Saif
Ali

Dastgyr

Saif Ali is a college-dropout marketing & growth generalist with 10 years of experience in advertising, media, and strategy. He has appeared in Asharq Bloomberg, The New York Times, Branding in Asia, Wamda, and Profit Magazine as a leading industry voice. Saif has collaborated with 50+ international and local brands on corporate, consumer, and employer branding projects, having led many industry firsts. Currently, Saif is spearheading marketing, public relations, and partnerships at Dastgyr, a venture-backed B2B e-commerce startup.

Dana
Abou Shackra

Park Innovation

Dana
Abou
Shackra

Park Innovation

With a passion for building things people love, Dana trains in the areas of lean startup methodology, market validation and startup best practices. She began her career with the DMZ (Canada’s #1 multi-disciplinary academic incubator) where she worked with over 100s of technology startups across all industries. Since 2016, Dana has transferred her skills to a Middle-Eastern market to support the MENA startup ecosystem. She has given countless training programs and has run several bootcamps for early stage startups. She is currently a Program and Marketing Advisor with Park Innovation, building and supporting tech ecosystems in rural Lebanon.

Aamer
Sheikh

PepsiCo

Aamer
Sheikh

PepsiCo

Aamer Sheikh is the Chief Executive Officer of the Middle East Business at PepsiCo. The Middle East Business Unit is an operating cluster within PepsiCo Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA). This newly formed cluster brings snacks and nutrition (Quaker) businesses together with the franchise beverages businesses. Aamer serves as the Co-Chair of the US-Saudi Business Council (US Chamber), member of the Multinational Companies’ Business Group (MCBG) Regional Presidents Forum as well as other distinguished associations. In 2021, he was ranked among the top 15 leaders in MENA by Forbes for spearheading regional success for PepsiCo. Prior to his current role, Aamer recently served as the President and General Manager for MENA and Pakistan. Aamer joined the PepsiCo family in 1999 in Pakistan in the Finance function and since then assumed several leadership roles in Pakistan, UAE, and the United States. In 2017, he was appointed Chief Financial Officer for PepsiCo’s Asia Middle East & North Africa Sector (AMENA) – designated with leadership of the company’s financial operations in 40+ countries, covering Beverages, Snacks and Nutrition businesses, including 10 Joint Ventures. Other leadership roles included Chief Financial Officer for Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2008, SVP for Planning and Transformation for Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA) in 2014 and SVP for Commercial Finance for Frito Lay North America in 2016. Prior to his time at PepsiCo, Aamer held multiple finance roles including five years in the USA, working as an auditor for Ernst & Young and The Walt Disney Company and leading the Finance Function for Unisys for 3 years in Pakistan. Aamer is a CPA and holds a BBA in public accounting from Loyola University of Chicago. He has also attended several executive education courses at Harvard and Wharton School of Business.

Amal
Dokhan

500 Global

Amal
Dokhan

500 Global

Amal is a seasoned professional with experience in startup investments, corporate innovation, and consulting in the MENA region. Previous to joining 500 Global, Ms. Dokhan was the Managing Director of Babson Global for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Previously, she was the Manager of Learning and Design at the Entrepreneurship Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology where she led the New Ventures Acceleration and Corporate Innovation programs. Prior to that engagement she worked in the KAUST Seed Fund developing marketing and events, while also providing a range of services to startup clients. Ms. Dokhan sits on the board of several organizations such as Wayakit Company, Cranfield University UK, King Abdulaziz University. She contributes to a monthly column at Leaders Magazine on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and has been a speaker at Davos World Economic Forum, TEDx at Kaust, the Annual Conference of the Islamic Development Bank, among others. Ms. Dokhan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, English Language & Literature from the King Abdul Aziz University, and a Masters of Strategic Marketing and Marketing Management from the University of Wollongong.

Omar
Rifai

Grub Tech FZ-LLC

Omar
Rifai

Grub Tech FZ-LLC

Omar’s Rifai is the Co-Founder of GrubTech, his role is to focus the organization on strategic growth, capital efficiency and unit economics in addition to leading the company’s fund raising efforts. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Omar spent 16 years in private equity and special situations investing in Dubai and New York. He was a Managing Director with Gulf Capital overseeing funds with over $400 million in AUM invested in numerous companies across Emerging Markets. Omar also spent over ten years Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) and played an integral role in building out their MENA business, having invested over $600 million in growth capital in a number of portfolio companies, including souq.com which was sold to Amazon. Omar has also served on numerous boards of directors for companies across MENA and Turkey.

Tina
Daher

Shorooq Partners

Tina
Daher

Shorooq Partners

As an Investment Professional with Shorooq Partners, Tina harnesses her passion for creating an impact by working with A+ founders with disruptive tech solutions, shaping tomorrow’s emerging market. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the American University of Beirut, after which she completed her Master’s degree in International Political Economy, Finance Focus, at The London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to VC, Tina worked in Private Equity and Investment Banking, as well as explored avenues in Law and Insurtech. Tina enjoys practicing yoga, exercising, and exploring new places to recharge.

Ammar
Al Malik

Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource City

Ammar
Al
Malik

Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource City

Ammar Al Malik is the Managing Director of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource city, a role to which he was appointed in 2016, following a successful stint as Executive Director at the same organisations. Ammar has been instrumental in shaping the development of a community in which Fortune 500 businesses, innovative entrepreneurs and start-ups continue to thrive. His leadership and in-depth knowledge of the ICT sector have enabled companies at Dubai Internet City to continue to break new ground in developing technologies that support Dubai’s vision of transforming itself into one of the world’s smartest and innovative cities. With the convergence of ICT in business services Ammar has helped nurture Dubai Outsource City to be equipped to respond to the evolving needs of global outsourcing firms. Ammar plays a crucial role in nurturing the next generation of home-grown enterprises led by forward-thinking and innovative tech entrepreneurs, primarily through the in5 innovation centre. He holds an MBA in Business from Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan, which is a leading private institution renowned for producing highly influential leaders.

Christian
Eid

NoBueno

Christian
Eid

NoBueno

Entrepreneur, marketeer, brand builder, angel investor and advisor are just some of the many hats Chris has worn throughout his career. With a diverse background being raised in Saudi Arabia and molded by his professional experiences in North America and the Middle East, Chris has been most notably recognized for his efforts at Rocket Internet, Careem, and now his own brand builder, DUCKLIFE which just launched NoBueno.

Riyad
Abou Jaoudeh

MEVP

Riyad
Abou
Jaoudeh

MEVP

Riyad is a Partner at MEVP, where he has led and closed several investments in technology companies across the MENA region over the past 6 years. Riyad specializes in marketplaces, transportation, on-demand logistics and SaaS. Riyad is a board member in several technology startup. Prior to joining MEVP, Riyad was a Senior Associate with Strategy&). Riyad was country manager for Qatar at Careem in the early period of Careem . Riyad Holds an MBA from The Wharton School.

Shubham
Yadav

StrategyConnect

Shubham
Yadav

StrategyConnect

Shubham is an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of business. Shubham has more than 14 years of experience in Strategy & Operation working at Rocket Internet and MarkaVIP where he focused on leading the Middle East operations and business expansion across GCC. Before MBA Shubham started my career at Siemens as a project manager in their Energy Division. Shubham is solution oriented, is comfortable with unstructured environment, and takes an iterative approach to problem solving. Hence, he decided to quit our job 4 years ago and start StrategyConnect along with his co-founder Haninder. StrategyConnect is a platform that makes professional talent like management consultanats accessible to small businesses on-demand.

Mohannad
Ali

Hotjar

Mohannad
Ali

Hotjar

Mohannad Ali is the CEO of Hotjar, the Product Experience Insights software of choice for small and medium businesses. Mohannad has over a decade of leadership experience and before joining Hotjar in 2019, he was VP of Engineering at HelloFresh.

Vincent
Ghossoub

Nifty Craft

Vincent
Ghossoub

Nifty Craft

Vincent Ghossoub is an innovator of the games industry in the Middle East and China. He is building Nifty Craft, the forge of the metaverse where players craft each other’s equipment in the form of NFTs. Prior to that he founded Falafel Games, the leading producer and publisher of MMO games in the Middle East, ranked on Forbes Top 30 Innovators in the Middle East for 2017 and 2018. He released the first game with truly Arabic content inspired by the history of the region, and the first MMO Strategy game developed in the MENA, as well as Taqki a global innovation in multiplayer live video. Vincent is a graduate of China Europe International Business School, and is fluent in French, Chinese, English, and Arabic.

Badr
Ward

Lamsa

Badr
Ward

Lamsa

Badr Ward instigated the Edtech industry for Children across the Middle East and North Africa. He is the founder and CEO of Lamsa, the leading Education technology platform for Children, ranked as the number one application for Children across more than 10 Arabic markets on both Googles Play and Apples App Store, delivering Digital Interactive Learning experiences to more than 17 Million Arabic speaking Children globally. On account of his vast and diverse knowledge, Ward was selected by the World Economic Forum as a member of the Global Future Council. Badr has been recently selected as a ‘Dreamer’, an ‘Innovative Educator’, and his story is featured as part of the UAE Pavilion and has been honored for his work on Innovative Education through Lamsa.

Jehan
Ara

Katalyst Labs

Jehan
Ara

Katalyst Labs

Jehan Ara is the Founder & CEO of Katalyst Labs which is a Technology Startup Accelerator and Innovation hub. She is also the Founder of The Nest I/O which incubated 217 startups and empowered over 1000 founders and 021Disrupt a premier innovation conference. Jehan has vast experience in Marketing, Communications and interactive New media in Hong Kong and the Far East. She is a motivator, an entrepreneur, a mentor, a social activist and a strong propagator of extending the power and use of Information and Communication Technologies beyond pure traditional business, to empower and enable communities.. Currently Jehan serves as a Member of the Prime Minister’s Taskforce for IT & Telecom, as a Member of the APAC Content Advisory Board for TikTok and the Punjab IT Board, an Independent Director on the board of the Central Depository Company. Jehan is also on the World Bank Advisory Group on Gender Diversity. She recently received an Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to the Digital Industry at the Pakistan Digital Awards 2021.

Sharif
El-Badawi

Dubai Future District Fund (DF²)

Sharif
El-Badawi

Dubai Future District Fund (DF²)

Sharif El-Badawi is the Chief Executive Officer of the newly established Dubai Future District Fund, an evergreen venture fund of funds and direct investment vehicle of the emirate of Dubai. The fund is anchored by Dubai Future Foundation and the Dubai International Financial Centre to invest in the Future of Finance and Future Economies with the aim of bolstering economic development in Dubai, the UAE and the broader region. Previously, he co-founded and managed Plus Venture Capital (+VC), a leading seed stage investment firm in the Middle East and North Africa region, investing across sectors from seed to growth within the region and diaspora. Before that he was a founding managing partner of the first US-based venture capital firm with a dedicated fund for the MENA region and was the most active venture capital investor in MENA during its investment period from 2017-2020. In his role, he managed the 500 Startups MENA fund, 500 Falcons, which invested in over 180 startups across 15 countries. In addition, Sharif serves on the board of San Francisco Bay Area based non-profit TechWadi where he was the chairman of the board from 2015-2019 helping build meaningful bridges between MENA startups and Silicon Valley. He also serves on several advisory boards for startups, organizations and governments in the MENA region and Silicon Valley. Prior to his career in investing, Sharif was the Partner Lead to VCs and Startups at Google where he worked with top tier VCs and their most promising startups on strategies that bring all of Google to their businesses. Before joining the Global Partnerships team, he spent 5 years leading performance advertising strategy and solutions for Google’s largest customers in North America covering Mobile, Search and Display ads. He joined Google through the $750m acquisition of AdMob, the world’s leading mobile advertising network. Before AdMob, Sharif was a technologist and serial entrepreneur having founded or co-founded several companies in the Consumer Internet and B2B space over a twelve year period starting in 1998. Sharif earned his Master of Business Administration from University of California, Irvine Merage School of Business and his Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles. He recently relocated from his home state of California to Dubai with his wife and three children.

Sanjeev
Kohli

GLOWFISH VENTURES

Sanjeev
Kohli

GLOWFISH VENTURES

Sanjeev is a Founding Partner at Glowfish Ventures, a UAE based Venture Builder. Glowfish’s portfolio companies include CarSwitch, ServiceMarket, oladoc and MobiMatter, operating across UAE, KSA and Pakistan. In addition to building ventures for the Glowfish portfolio, Sanjeev is also helping build Digital Ventures for leading corporations in the region. Before Glowfish, Sanjeev was a Partner at McKinsey & Company where he advised clients across Asia, Middle East and Africa on Sales & Marketing, Strategy, M&A and Regulatory topics. In his last role at McKinsey, Sanjeev led McKinsey’s Telecom and High-Tech Practice in Middle East and North Africa. Sanjeev received an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from University of California at Berkeley and B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Delhi.

GV
Ravishankar

Sequoia Capital

GV
Ravishankar

Sequoia Capital

At Sequoia, GV Ravishankar advises on both technology as well as non-technology investments. He’s deeply interested in technology’s role in helping to drive efficiencies, reduce costs and improve access in consumer and healthcare markets. He currently serves on the boards of BYJUs, Capital Float, Eruditus Learning, Faces Cosmetics, Five Star finance, Finova Capital, HomeLane, India Shelter Finance Corporation, Indigo Paints, K12 Technoservices, Prataap Snacks (NSE: DIAMONDYD), Rebel Foods, Rupeek, Suburban Diagnostics and Turtlemint. I have also served as board member/observer of companies like Via (sold to NASDAQ: EBIX ), Manappuram (NSE: MANAPPURAM) and Equitas (NSE: EQUITAS). Prior to this, GV worked at McKinsey & Company, where he advised senior management of top Indian companies on a variety of issues including business building, channel management and leadership development. He also had a prior stint with Wipro Technologies in their Embedded and Internet Access division. GV is the recipient of the Midas Touch award by Economic Times Startup Awards 2020 and IIM Ahmedabad’s Young Alumni Achiever’s Award, 2019-20 in the Corporate Leadership category. He has an MBA from IIM A and holds a BE in Computer Science and Engineering from NIT Trichy.

Mikal
Khoso

Emergent

Mikal
Khoso

Emergent

Mikal a multi-stage venture capital investor with a portfolio of companies now worth over $5+ Billion. Mikal invests pre-seed to Series B startups helping to digitize and restructure legacy value-chains across industrials, logistics, finance and commerce globally. Mikal was born in Asia, grew up in Africa and now lives in the US.

Sonia
Gokhale

VentureSouq

Sonia
Gokhale

VentureSouq

General Partner at VentureSouq

Noor
Sweid

Global Ventures

Noor
Sweid

Global Ventures

Noor Sweid is the General Partner of Global Ventures, a UAE-based international venture capital firm with presence in Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Tunis and Lagos. Noor was the Chief Investment Officer at The Dubai Future Foundation and Managing Partner at Leap Ventures. Prior, Noor joined her family business, Depa (NASDAQ: DEPA.DU), where she scaled the business tenfold, executed four cross border acquisitions and led the region’s first IPO on the LSE and the NASDAQ Dubai, achieving a billion+ dollar valuation. She also founded ZenYoga, the first yoga studio in MENA, which grew to become the region’s largest wellness chain before successfully exiting to a private equity firm. Noor started her career as a biotech strategy consultant at Accenture in the US. Noor is the Chairwoman of MEVCA, and was a Founding Board member of Endeavor UAE. She also sits on the board of MIT Sloan, Arrow Labs, Proximie, MUNCH:ON, Clue, Tribal Credit and Ogram. Noor was recognized in Forbes’ World’s Top 50 Women in Tech, Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women list. She received the Arab Woman Award for Finance. Noor holds bachelors’ degrees in Finance and Economics from Boston College as well as an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Christos
Mastoras

Iliad Partners

Christos
Mastoras

Iliad Partners

Christos is the Founder and Managing Partner of Iliad Partners, a Venture Capital fund based in the UAE investing in early stage tech startups in the MENA region. Christos has actively been making VC investments in MENA over the last 5 years, with a focus on Series A startups, including in regional success stories such as Trukker. He is a VC investor and former tech entrepreneur, angel investor, digital executive, and management consultant with 23+ years of experience in the US, Europe, and MENA. Based in Dubai for the last 14 years, he was previously the Head of Business Development of Yahoo! Maktoob and an engagement manager with Booz & Company. Christos previously held operating roles at four startups he helped build and exit: GlamBox (UAE), Upstream (Greece), govWorks (US) and SloanGear (US). He serves on the Boards of several startups and the Board of the Middle East Venture Capital Association (MEVCA). Christos holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.S. in International Relations from Georgetown University.

Elliott
Denham

Dtec Ventures

Elliott
Denham

Dtec Ventures

Elliott sits on the intersection between people, business, and technology. Having traveled the world helping startups develop, refine, and execute their go-to-market strategies, he now leads the Startup Programs team in Dtec Ventures, notably running SANDBOX; the landmark founder-focused 12-month program supporting early-stage technology entrepreneurs to scale, grow and fundraise (www.sandbox.dtec.ae).

Povilas
Joniskis

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Povilas
Joniskis

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Povilas is a partner in BCG Middle East office primarily focusing on Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Financial Services. He has extensive experience in Media content production, Gaming & esports, Media sector and related infrastructure development, sales channel strategy & optimization, customer value management & analytics as well as Digital Transformation projects

Kareem
Elsirafy

Modus Capital

Kareem
Elsirafy

Modus Capital

Kareem Elsirafy is Managing Partner at Modus Capital, a Venture Builder and VC fund with offices in New York, Cairo, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Modus aims to change the narrative on how to engage entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem, whilst driving positive returns for investors and social impact initiatives. A seasoned entrepreneur and investor with extensive strategy and operating experience in early-stage tech, Kareem has dedicated almost two decades of his career toward technological solutions for business and social challenges. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran, Columbia University alumnus and firm believer in the power of technology to drive positive social change.

Kevin
Holliday

C3 (Companies Creating Change)

Kevin
Holliday

C3 (Companies Creating Change)

Kevin has over 20 years of strategy and finance experience across the globe, with broad exposure to different sectors and business models within complex and dynamic environments. He is the Managing Director of C3 (Companies Creating Change), a UAE-based social enterprise enabling impact-driven entrepreneurs to become active agents of positive impact by providing access to transformative innovation and acceleration programs across the Middle East and Africa. Kevin has previously held senior positions at AW Rostamani Group, OSN, Global Integrated Security, Networkers International Plc, and Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc. He has substantial experience in high growth, fast-paced, innovative environments, with exceptional strengths in strategic development and execution, impact investing, and social entrepreneurship. Kevin is a qualified chartered management accountant (London, UK) and an MBA from Warwick Business school (Warwick, UK).

David
Feuillard

Eat Applications DMCC

David
Feuillard

Eat Applications DMCC

David Feuillard, COO and Co-Founder. David Feuillard is a French national who grew up between Paris and the Caribbean before graduating from Rennes School of Business. Early in his career he co-founded and managed two startups. The first one was one of the first dating websites in Brazil, the second an E-Commerce platform, in the UAE which he co-founded with two Google Directors. David has an international background, he lived and scaled businesses in Mexico, China, Brazil before settling in the UAE where he met his future partner Nezar Kadhem in a co-working space in 2015 before joining Eat App as a co-founder at its early inception. Eat App is the fastest-growing restaurant management software globally. Eat App has raised $8.8m USD to date from prominent investors like 500 Startups and MEVP, and currently operates in over 20 countries. David is also a 4-time IronMan triathlon finisher.

Omar
Al Shaaban

The Space

Omar
Al
Shaaban

The Space

Omar Al-Shabaan is an Entrepreneur, Business Developer, and an angel investor with over 18 years of work experience in major multinational and local companies. he is the co founder and CEO of The Space . He was leading Partnerships at Misk Innovation, a subsidiary of Misk Foundation,as well as serving as a short term consultant with The World Bank group on Innovation and Entrepreneurship , and was an Advisor for the National Digitization Unit. Omar holds an MBA from IE Business school as well as an Executive master in Corporate Communication from the same school.

Maria
Paula Oliveira

EY

Maria
Paula
Oliveira

EY

Maria Paula ‘MP’ Oliveira is the Innovation Leader for EY MENA (Middle East and North Africa). Her mission is to ensure the company has strong ‘innovation muscles’: the right technology, processes and culture to thrive through change. MP has experience in Latin America, USA, Asia Pacific, and Middle East, having been four times a corporate innovation leader and twice an entrepreneur – in the Silicon Valley, where she also graduated from 500 Startups and Plug & Play acceleration programs. Under MP’s leadership, EY MENA was awarded ‘Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise’ in 2019, and MP herself was presented with the ‘Excellence in Innovation’ award by the Women Leadership Awards in the Arab World, in 2020.

Aby
Sam Thomas

Entrepreneur Middle East

Aby
Sam
Thomas

Entrepreneur Middle East

Aby Sam Thomas is the Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Middle East. In this role, Aby is responsible for leading the publication on its editorial front, while also working to build the brand and grow its presence across the MENA region through the development and execution of events and other programming, as well as through representation in conferences, media, etc. Aby has been working in journalism since 2011, prior to which he was an analyst programmer with Accenture, where he worked with J. P. Morgan Chase’s investment banking arm at offices in Mumbai, London, and New York. He holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

Issa
Aghabi

Access Bridge Ventures

Issa
Aghabi

Access Bridge Ventures

Issa’s career has focused on finance and investments for the past 16+ years with a focus on Venture Capital. His track record includes, having invested in 65+ direct and indirect investment deals (from $100K to $25M per transaction), managed over $150m in MENA Venture funds, launched the UAE’s first Accelerator, exited 6+ MENA based deals, supported with 2 IPOs and much more. Issa now the founder and managing partner of Access Bridge Ventures, A leading early state MEPAP focused Venture Fund.

Ayman
Alashkar

overwrite.ai

Ayman
Alashkar

overwrite.ai

An AI Implementation Strategist accredited by the prestigious MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ayman also has a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics from the world-renowned Queen Mary College, University of London, and a Masters in Real Estate Investment and Development from the University of Reading (UK). With 20 years’ experience working in real estate, banking and artificial intelligence, Ayman is the founder and CEO of PropTech platform OVERWRITE.ai.

Elie
Skaf

Right Farm

Elie
Skaf

Right Farm

Elie is co-founder and CEO of Right Farm, a start-up disrupting the food value chain in the MENAPT region. Prior to this, he worked on building an e-commerce venture where he is now a Board Member. He also headed business development and partnerships at Surkus and Careem (Uber). His previous roles include demand planning and pricing at AstraZeneca and management consulting at PWC. Elie holds an MBA from IESE Business School and a BBA from the American University of Beirut.

Mirna
Sleiman

Fintech Galaxy

Mirna
Sleiman

Fintech Galaxy

FMirna leads a regional Open Finance platform, with a vision to redesign financial services with an open API infrastructure that  boosts financial inclusion, revolutionizes financial services and provides a standard integration between Fintechs and institutions. Mirna has an Executive MBA from City University of London in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She is certified from MIT University in Fintech and ecommerce, and in Digital Marketing and Communications from Columbia University. Mirna is also certified in Digital Transformation Strategies from Cambridge University.

Alicia
Sornson

Village Capital

Alicia
Sornson

Village Capital

As the Manager for Programs and Partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Alicia develops strategy and programs that find, train and support entrepreneurs solving problems in the region. Prior to joining Village Capital, Alicia worked with Ashoka in Istanbul, Turkey, where she resided for many years, as well as other non-profit organizations in Washington DC. She is especially passionate about the ability for businesses to foster positive social change, mitigate violence and protect the environment. Alicia holds a MA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University and a BA in International Studies from Susquehanna University.

Marius
Ciavola

Tradeling

Marius
Ciavola

Tradeling

A seasoned operational head with vast experience in the Middle East e-commerce space, Marius Ciavola is Chief Executive Officer at Tradeling.com, the MENA region’s primary B2B e-commerce platform. Before joining Tradeling in 2020 he was Head of Logistics at Amazon Middle East where he built the operations and grew the firm’s regional logistics business from the ground up and led large-scale expansion projects in the region.

Abdullah
Abu Sheikh

Rizek

Abdullah
Abu
Sheikh

Rizek

Abdallah Abu-Sheikh is one of the top tech entrepreneurs in the MENA region, an accomplished serial entrepreneur and global keynote speaker. He is globally renowned for launching ground-breaking future-ready platforms centered on sustainability, mobility and digitalization, led by unconventional strategies and strong business ethics. Among his successful projects is RIZEK, a localized digital marketplace launched in 2020 to meet the lifestyle needs of UAE residents through verified service providers. Securing over $10 million in funds, the super app was ranked among the Most-Funded Start-ups in the Middle East by Forbes ME. Looking ahead, Abdallah’s new venture BARQ is set to be a game-changer, as the first-of-its-kind tech-driven network of electric vehicles built to serve the MENA region’s last mile delivery sector. BARQ will offer ground-breaking solutions to address the transport industry’s much-needed demand for efficiency, comfort, and rider safety. Abdallah is passionate about creating an informed youth community. He is often invited to speak at regional and international platforms such as TEDx, delivering keynotes and thoughts on start-up culture and fundraising, business strategies, growth and diversification, digital transformation and more. Looking back, Abdallah is a global citizen. He spent his younger years between England and China, with a family presence in The Gambia in West Africa. Abdallah’s earlier projects were focused on renewable energy and achieved $700 million in assets within three years of entering sub-Saharan Africa, and he studied at Dalhousie University in Canada, where he acquired a degree in Accounting and Finance. Abdallah has always steered clear from the culture of “founder fever”, where leaders talk big but take no action. His approach to business took on a renewed perspective after life-changing incident in 2014 that left him bound to a wheelchair for three months. This further strengthened his resolve to practice mindful leadership. On a personal note, Abdallah is passionate about literature and poetry with a keen interest in fund-raising, technology, and nurturing talents of Arab youth. He further integrates human elements across his business models and strives to create a conscious start-up community that continues to inspire and evolve.

Rayan
Dawud

Outliers Venture Capital

Rayan
Dawud

Outliers Venture Capital

Rayan is an Investment Partner at Outliers Venture Capital. Prior to joining Outliers, Rayan was responsible for acquisitions and integrations as a member of the Careem Corporate Development Team and launched new products as the Assistant General Manager of the UAE. Rayan’s career in the regional tech ecosystem began at Wamda Capital, where he spent two years sourcing, analyzing, and executing investments. Before moving to the region, he spent five years in strategy and operations consulting in the US and EU with Accenture Strategy, helping Fortune 100 clients plan and execute their digital and M&A strategies. Rayan holds an MBA from INSEAD, as well as a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts.

Chaymae
Samir

madebysunday.com

Chaymae
Samir

madebysunday.com

Chaymae is a successful entrepreneur shaking up the overpriced, overcomplicated skincare world with MADEBYSUNDAY.COM. In less than two years, and with no external funding, the brand has amassed a great number of die hard fans who are now shopping highly concentrated, clean and effective formulas, at accessible prices, through their website and 800 stockists around the world. madebySUNDAY was also recognised as one of the fastest growing businesses in the UK by NatWest (leading bank in the UK) and was awarded the Best E-Commerce Award in England. madebySUNDAY has now set up another HQ in Dubai and is expanding its warehouse operations in the region. Prior to starting madebySUNDAY, Chaymae exited two businesses and has spoken to and advised Fortune 500 and heads of states on matters related to entrepreneurship and marketing. Chaymae’s inspiring narrative led to her ranking as one of the most influential women behind brands in the Middle East by Forbes and one of the most powerful women in business in Morocco. With a personal global reach of 200,000 followers, Chaymae is obsessed with bringing high quality, accessible and sustainable brands for all, while inspiring others to achieve their goals and settle for nothing short of extraordinary.

Philip
Bahoshy

MAGNiTT

Philip
Bahoshy

MAGNiTT

Philip Bahoshy is the founder and CEO of MAGNiTT, the first startup data platform serving founders and investors across emerging venture markets. Raised in the UK with Iraqi origins, Philip obtained an MBA from INSEAD in 2013 and a BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. During his time in Dubai, Philip worked at Oliver Wyman in the Financial Services practice for three years, followed by nearly three years at Barclays Wealth working as Chief of Staff to the CEO, advising on strategic initiatives. Philip has lived in the UAE for more than 13 years and is passionate about cross-pollinating entrepreneurship ecosystems across emerging venture markets. Philip is a firm believer that data should drive decisions.
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