Abdallah Abu-Sheikh

Abdallah Abu-Sheikh is one of the top serial entrepreneurs in the MENA region and a 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. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Astra Tech, a UAE-based technology investment and development group, Abdallah is spearheading the launch of a revolutionary new ‘ultraplatform’, which will bring together selected consumer technologies, products, and services. It is specifically designed to address the ‘platform fatigue’ many users are experiencing today. Abdallah also leads BARQ, a first-of-its-kind tech-driven network of electric vehicles built to serve the MENA region’s last mile delivery sector. As the Co-Founder and CEO of BARQ, he heads a team that offers ground-breaking solutions to address the transport industry’s much-needed demand for efficiency, comfort, and rider safety. BARQ EV has been wellrecognized as the first-ever licensed drone delivery service in the UAE. Another of his highly successful projects is RIZEK, a localized digital marketplace launched in 2020, later acquired by Astra Tech in 2022. RIZEK aims to meet the lifestyle needs of UAE residents through verified service providers. Securing over $10 million in funds, the application was ranked among the Most-Funded Start-ups in the Middle East by Forbes ME. Abdallah is also passionate about creating an informed youth community. He is often invited to speak at regional and international platforms such as TEDx, delivering keynotes and thought leadership speeches 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. 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 lifechanging incident in 2014 that left him bound to a wheelchair for three months. This further strengthened his resolve to practice mindful leadership.