Samar is an online editor, covering the latest on celebrities and the business of fashion, music and media. She has a Master's degree in Journalism from The University of Melbourne.

Jayda is a content producer at Forbes Middle East; her experience ranges from writing and editing to video production across radio and television. As a member of the multimedia team, Jayda has conducted many interviews with experts in various fields and frequently covers macroeconomic, tech, and energy news. Jayda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Monash University and is currently pursuing her Masters in TV & Digital Journalism at the American University in Cairo.

Jamila is a senior reporter at Forbes Middle East, where she leads the content strategy vertical across the English and Arabic editorial teams. From the world's wealthiest individuals to the sustainability champions and economic meltdowns in between, Jamila covers industry-wide regional and global issues.

Omar A. is an entrepreneur, public speaker and TV show personality who’s best known for his ability to engage and entertain any audience with his communications and public speaking skills bringing life to any event and creating a memorable occasion. Omar's proven track record has made him the go-to Event Host & Emcee for many local and global organizations from Forbes Middle East, Emaar, Binance, Bayut, Great Place to Work, Louis Vuitton and many more, his ability to work closely with the client and events management companies combined with his hands-on approach in all aspects of pre-planning from lighting, audio, video, event running order, and rehearsals has proven to be instrumental to the success in every event. Over the past 14 years in Dubai, Omar has established further credibility for his clients through his direct Television appearances with global entrepreneurs and celebrities including Tony Robins, Steve Harvey, Grant Cardone, Huda Beauty, Kevin O'leary and many more.

Chief at Forbes Middle East & CEO of Arab Publisher House. She leads a team of creative expertise and capabilities that produce distinguished lists, rankings, reports, and stories celebrating the region. She has studied media at Yarmouk University in Jordan and began her career in media at Jordan Radio and Television Corporation. She worked there as a news editor and then moved to CNBC Arabia as a Senior Producer. In 2010, she established Arab Publisher House, after obtaining a license from Forbes Media Magazine to publish the magazine and website in both Arabic and English.

Dr. Rascha Ragheb, is the Executive Director of the National Training Academy of Egypt (NTA) since 2018. NTA was established in August 2017 in accordance to a Presidential Decree, its Board of trustees is chaired by His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El- Sisi. NTA was founded to be the catalyst and intellectual stimulant and incubator for transformative advancement of human development through providing innovative multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary solutions. Dr. Ragheb is the Executive Director of the World Youth Forum (WYF) since 2018. The WYF was a response from His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to an initiative presented by a group of Egyptian youth while The National Youth Conference in 2017. WYF first edition was in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2017, it engaged youth globally in an enriching set-up, allowing them to exchange views and recommend initiatives to decisionmakers and influential figures. WYF is an initiative that is made by the youth for a better tomorrow to the world.

Jamil Abu-Wardeh is an award-winning bilingual business and media executive who has worked in digital assets - from content to commerce to crypto. He was a founding member of the Dubai Executive Office Blockchain Council in 2015. He writes and presents Crypto Bytes for Forbes Middle East. He also writes Technology & Metaverse White papers for Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He is the Director and co-founder of METKAF.com, a crypto and NFT advisory, and has launched a YouTube channel, JAMILIST, as a bridge to understanding web 3.0 in English and Arabic. He has spoken at Harvard University and his talk on TED.com about cultural change has over 1 million views.

Mohamed Amer joined Orascom Development in May 2022 as the CEO of El Gouna, one of Orascom Development’s fully integrated, sustainable towns in the Red Sea, Egypt. With his extensive executive experience in managing complex organizations across multiple geographies and achieving stellar results, Amer is taking El Gouna into a new chapter of the town’s iconic and successful journey. He is responsible for steering El Gouna’s master-planned community to ensure its Real Estate, Hotels and Town Management operations come together to provide a world-class customer experience for living, staying, working and well-being. Additionally, Amer works closely with Orascom Development leadership to ensure that its flagship, El Gouna, is a pivotal contributor to the company’s ambition to become the international benchmark for developing successful, integrated destinations. Previously, Amer was with Xerox for 22 years, where he built an impressive career path. Most recently, Amer was VP and Regional General Manager at Xerox Middle East and Africa based in Uxbridge, UK. Before that, he was responsible for managing the region’s operations, business and profitability growth and overall strategy development and execution across all 85 countries. Prior the aforementioned roles, Amer was Regional General Manager for Xerox Distributor Group in Miami, Florida, United States, and responsible for 34 countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. He began his career in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1999 and held several management and leadership roles in Xerox Distributor Group, Middle East and Africa Operations, and Xerox in Egypt. Mohamed holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Alexandria University in Egypt. About EL Gouna: El Gouna, is one of Orascom Development’s fully integrated towns and is the most prominent destination nestled on the Red Sea. The Town is a multicultural community for over 25,000 residents and a regional hub for international arts, culture and sports events with more than 9,000 delivered residential units, 18 hotels with approximately 3,000 hotel rooms, schools, a sports club, a hospital, three marinas, two world-class golf courses, a culture & conference center, and an array of restaurants and services.

Josh Wilson is a genuine disruptor in the TV and journalism industry. Both running a TV production company and being a regular contributor for Forbes. As Managing Director of Wilson Worldwide, an award winning film and TV production company, based in Dubai and London, Josh has steered his company to winning many commissions against the larger and more established production houses that dominate UK television. He has worked with the BBC, National Geographic, Disney, Channel 4, Sky, ESPN, Ximalaya, and many others. His work has been watched in over 150 countries and he has worked with several major brands including Jeep and Lucozade. Forbes 30 Under 30, Lambeth Life, The Times, Forbes, Broadcast, Metro, BBC News, Management Today, I, Hollywood Reporter, Real Business, Press Association, The Guardian, Beast London, China Daily, The Sun, and Elite Business Josh's meteoric rise was reflected in 2018 with his inclusion in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list. The next year, Josh was asked to be a judge for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in entertainment alongside musician Rita Ora and producer Stephen Garrett.

Dorra was born in Tunis, her father was Ibrahim Zarrouk and her maternal grandfather, Ali Zouaoui, was an economist and politician. Dorra had a Bachelor of Law at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of Tunis in 2001, then she had a Master of Advanced Studies in Political Science from the Saint Joseph University in Lebanon in 2003. Despite her academic background, Dorra started performing in 1997, then acting on the Tunisian theater. The Tunisian actress is now one of Arab cinema’s most successful stars.

Stephanie Saliba was born in Miziara, in the north of Lebanon, to Adolphe Saliba and Yola Makari and has three sisters. She realized from a young age and it was obvious to anyone who knew Stephanie, that she enjoyed being in the limelight. She attended USJ University at Rue Huvelin Beirut where she graduated with a degree in "Master en sciences de l'assurance". But she began a career in a different field and made her screen debut on MTV as a host. She was competent and it seemed she had found her niche in life until the film producers came calling because she loved the camera, and it loved her just as much. Stephanie worked diligently and challenged herself by developing her acting talents through intensive acting courses. She gained immediate prominence with her first role in 2016 in the series called "Metel el Amar” produced by Marwa Group, directed by Cesar El Hajj Khalil and screened on MTV and it was a turning point in her career. Her role as a poor innocent young girl touched people's hearts, propelled her to fame and opened doors for other roles. It also turned her from a Fashion Cover to a Trend Setter as she succeeded the transition from her role as Amar the humble girl to that of Zalfa the aristocratic lady not only through her acting but also through her physical appearance and the particular style she adopted for each character. -“Sarkhet Rouh”: A Syrian Ramadan drama series produced by Golden Line directed by Naji Tohme and Bassem El Salka where she starred next to Tony Issa.(2016) -“Chababik”: A Syrian drama series produced by Sama Al Fan ,directed by Samer El Barqawi where she starred next to Mahmoud Nasser.(2017) -“Foq el-Sahab”: An Egyptian Ramadan drama series produced by Synergy, directed by Raouf Abd El Aziz where she starred next to Hany Salama. This role that was partly in Lebanese Arabic and partly in Russian was praised by the critics and brought her immediate fame in Egypt. (2018) -“Karma”: A Lebanese Drama series produced by Indie Minds Entertainment, directed by Rodney El Haddad where she starred next to Rodney. (2018) Stephanie won the Murex D’Or award for her role in this series and was described as a chameleon because of her great ability of portraying the two characters simultaneously with great ease, be it through her acting or through her looks. -“Dakikit Samet”: An Arabic Drama series produced by Sabbah Brothers, directed by the late Chawki Al Majri where she played a leading role next to the renowned Arabic star Abed Fahd. (2019) -“Al Saher” An Arabic Drama series produced by “I See Media services”, directed by Mohamad Lotfi and Abed Fahd where she starred once again next to the renowned Abed Fahd. (2220) -“Downtown”: An Arabic Drama series produced by Falcon Films, directed by Zuhair Kanouh where she starred next to Samer Esmaiil, Amal Bouchoucha and Abed Al Miniim Omeiri.(2021) - “Sanawat Al Jarish”: A khaleeji Ramadan Drama series produced by Al Fahad for Art Production &Distribution, directed by Manaf Abdal where she starred next to Hayat Al Fahad , the wonderful lady of the Gulf screen. (2022) - “Altahaddi” : An Arabic Drama series produced by Media House Pictures, directed by Marwan Barakat where she starred next to Bassam Koussa, the legendary Syrian actor.(2022) “There is a responsibility that comes with celebrity and I am grateful that I can use the spotlight I have to raise awareness about good causes such as women’s empowerment and to support human and animals’ rights”. Said Stephanie

Mahira soared as an architect. Her thesis won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal for Excellency. Started as a Business news correspondent for CNBC Arabiya to having her own real estate show and then hosting the Morning Show on AlArabiya TV. Hosted a women’s show and then her own talk show on MBC. Received Best Economic Show Award in the GCC and was chosen by Mohammad Bin Rashid Foundation to host the annual Arab Hope Makers event. Worked closely with the UN on several initiatives, like visiting a Syrian Refugee Camp in Lebanon. Worked with several international fashion, beauty, and luxury brands. In 2020, Mahira became a very promising actress in the acclaimed series “The Platform” on Netflix. She then starred in the biggest Arab production “The Ambush” movie. Chosen by Tiktok as the first presenter ever to host an educational show under the global initiative #LearnOnTikTok

Ahmad Yousry is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Rabbit. Yousry’s 16-year career saw him build and manage various businesses in the tech and telecommunications industries, in 9 different countries and 3 continents across EMEA and APAC. His richly diverse experience underpins his approach of building global strategic excellence that comes to life through local relevant execution. Prior to founding Rabbit, Yousry held several leadership roles at Vodafone and Uber. most recently serving as the General Manager for Uber Eats in Egypt. Yousry is a deeply experienced people leader and team builder. His leadership style is built around trust, open communication and valuing ideas over hierarchy.

Alaa is an early retired engineer, retired before even working at the field, he started exploring his creative passion just after graduating from industrial engineering to make his debut as stand-up comedian back in 2010 climbing up the latter of this field to be one of the most well known Arab stand-up comedians, he mad his debut as in a content creator in 2012 as "el mowaten el masry", since then he never looked back to his graduation certificate, he joined the creative field as a copywriter back in 2013 till that very moment he's Creative Director at Fp7Mccan Cairo, contributing to the advertising scene in the Middle East with some iconic Ads.

Ayman Essawy is a Co-founder and Managing Director of Lucky, a leading credit-enabled consumer commerce network for underbanked users in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Founded in 2019, Lucky deploys innovative efforts to enable its users to have access to the most ubiquitous credit experience via its ‘save now, pay later’ approach. Before taking on the challenge of tackling the accessibility and usability problems of financial products with Lucky, Ayman co-founded Dsquares, one of the leading loyalty solutions providers in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region for over a decade. Prior to co-founding DSquares, Ayman held a senior marketing role at Vodafone Egypt where he led the brand’s digital and VAS functions. He also has held different operational roles in the financial services sector. Ayman has extensive experience in developing operational businesses in emerging markets and has a proven business management track record in technology, product, and business development. Recognized by Forbes Middle East in 2020 & 2022, as a cofounder of one of the Top 50 Most-Funded Startups in the Middle East. Essawy was selected to join the Global Endeavor network aims to increase long-term economic growth and supports entrepreneurs that have passed through the startup phase and indicate the potential for rapid expansion and scale. This network is specifically dedicated to High Impact Entrepreneurs. Ayman is certified for entrepreneurship competitiveness executive program from Columbia business school, an endeavor entrepreneur & board member.

Aline Azour Murr, Lebanese public figure, social media personality and TV presenter. Lebanese American university graduate in communication art , she started her career as a TV producer in MTV , the leading media station in lebanon. she started presenting and producing her first tv show in 2019, a weekly tv show on MTV lebanon and on MTV social media platforms , “All access” where Aline interviewed many public figures from lebanon and abroad. She also had a weekly magazine on Beirut city platform, Which included interviews, fashion segments , beauty , cooking, etc. On social media , Aline had a weekly segment “tips with Aline” where she shared her tips in fashion and lifestyle with experts from all fields . In addition to her tv activities , Aline Azour ElMurr is supportive and active in many NGOs such as DAFA BASMA UNICEF LEBANON and CANDLE OF HOPE . Aline was selected to represent lebanon in one of the widest magazine in the world , vogue Arabia.

In 1999, Gomaa became one of the earliest VC’s in the MENA region, with early investments in renowned brands such as Otlob, Masrawy, Itworx and Mazzika, as well as IPOs like Fawry and Raya. As part of the catalyst group who first supported entrepreneurship in the region, he ran the first regional Technology Fund in 2005. Gomaa has had AUM of over $180 million in tech startups, while building a career at American Express Bank, CIIC, EFG Hermes, Ideavelopers, Grofin and today, leading Egypt Ventures. Gomaa graduated with a BA from Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand.

"Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move money around the world. With the Wise account people and businesses can hold more than 50 currencies, move money between countries and spend money abroad. Large companies and banks use Wise technology too; an entirely new cross-border payments network that will one-day power money without borders for everyone, everywhere. 13 million people and businesses use Wise, which processes over £8 billion in cross-border transactions every month, saving customers over £1 billion a year. Prior to Wise Anna held positions at Deposit Solutions as a Senior Manager Funding Strategy. Before that she held positions at J.P. Morgan and Ripple.

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.

Audrey Nakad is the co-founder and CEO of Ostaz (www.Ostaz.com), the #1 online private tutoring platform in the MENA that provides you with the right teacher to help you achieve your learning needs. Her vision is to build the largest online school in the world to enhance the academic performance of every learner. At the age of 18, she was already an entrepreneur and sold her 1st startup while being a university student. In parallel, she was also a private tutor during her free time and a teacher assistant at Concordia University. She graduated and then joined Accenture and later worked at Sunlife Financials in an investment management fund with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in several countries. Audrey is also one of Forbes 30 under 30.

Ahmad Wadi is the founder and CEO of Moneyfellows, He studied computer engineering during his university years, and in 2007 he used his knowledge to become an entrepreneur. Ahmed caught the attention of market giants such as Microsoft and Daimler when he first established his first project, an object-tracking software, and worked on several projects for Microsoft and Daimler. Ahmed traveled to Germany to complete his studies and graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree from the Technical University of Munich; In 2013, he established an online supermarket platform. In early 2016, Ahmed traveled to the United Kingdom and launched MoneyFellows, which was inspired by the models of traditional money circles (associations) in his country. Ahmed eventually returned to Egypt to complete his journey with Moneyfellows, which has now gained more than 3 million users.

Ahmed Elsayed, Co-Founder of FoxPush, I'm Working with my team to innovate and enhance the Ad-Tech Eco-system. We noticed that the current Ad-Tech solutions could not deal with the Arabic language/audience correctly and decided to innovate solutions that fill market gaps. Today, our network helps every 1 out of 3 people living in the MENA region, And we are working day and night to give them a better experience.

Abdelrahman Ayman has a strong educational background and years of leadership development experience having served as the past Global president of AIESEC, the world’s largest youth run organization, he was also awarded a Schwarzman Scholarship and is an aspiring serial entrepreneur with a portfolio of three startups in EdTech and Healthtech. After experiences as the Chief Growth Officer of RISEUP, Lead Business Coach for META's community accelerator, today he is the Co-founder and COO of Educatly.

Aboudy is the founder and CEO of Blue Terra, tasked with making sustainable consumer goods affordable to the wider global conscious consumer. He is responsible for driving the day-to-day operations, product development and marketing across the cities that Blue Terra operates in. Prior to Blue Terra, Aboudy had founded Aura Labs, a retail tech startup for beauty FMCG after spending a few years with Procter & Gamble. Aboudy joined Procter & Gamble after having pulled out from the NBA draft after sustaining a series of injuries during his professional basketball career that started at the age of 15. Besides working 7 days a week, Aboudy spends his time reading books that help him solve challenges that he faces within, at work, and with the world at large. He’s passionate about history, markets, philosophy and design. Aboudy is the humble receiver of the 30 under 30 award in 2021, the future business stars award by Arabian Business in 2018 & best GCC & MENA startup award at GITEX in 2018.

Bassem joined A15 in 2022. Prior to A15, Bassem was an investment professional at Helios Investment Partners, the largest Africa-focused private investment firm that manages funds totaling $3.6 billion. Before joining Helios, Bassem was part of the Telecoms, Media and Technology Investment Banking team at J.P. Morgan in London. Bassem started his career with KPMG as part of the Advisory function. Bassem holds a Masters in Finance from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors in Business Management from the Aston Business School.

Amy Mowafi is the co-founder and CEO of the MO4 Network, one of the Middle East's leading media companies and digital creative agencies with a portfolio that includes a diverse array of impactful news and lifestyle digital publications in both English and Arabic including CairoScene, ElFasla, CairoZoom, SceneNoise, StartupScene, SceneEats, SceneHome, SceneStyled, SceneTraveller, NFTY Scene, NFTY Arabia as well as the SceneNow content app. Spotlighting the people, places and movements shaping the region today, the stories produced and published by MO4’s portfolio of new media publications reach millions of readers per day across the Arab world and Arab diaspora. Meanwhile MO4 works with hundreds of the world’s leading brands including the likes of Coca-Cola, P&G, Nestle, General Electric, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (and the list goes on!) to shape their digital strategies while creating engaging, exciting and innovative market-leading content for global distribution. A mother of two, Amy was born and raised in the UK where she graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Business Administration from the University of Bath before moving to Egypt in 2002. She spent the first decade of her career as a writer and eventually managing editor of a leading lifestyle publication before publishing two regionally bestselling books detailing the trials and tribulations of being a young (back then!) third culture woman straddling the cultural, social and religious divide between East and West. Amy was motivated to move to Egypt from the UK out of a desire to tell the stories she wasn’t privy to growing up, inspiring stories that showcases and represent a side of the Middle East beyond Western-mediation. Her passion evolved into a media company whose main mission is to provide a platform for the extraordinary people and developments that are shaping the future of the region from arts, culture, music and design to entrepreneurship and tech (and most recently the possibilities unleashed by Web3 with MO4 already working to create media for and build creative spaces in the metaverse). In doing so she’s created a uniquely inclusive company (of over 200 people) that celebrates differences often stigmatized in region (a company in which 8 out of the 10 departments are led by women) and one that provides an empowering space for all to realize their creative potential.

Courtney Powell is tasked with helping venture capital firm 500 Global scale globally and explore new opportunities across both new and existing markets. She is responsible for driving day-to-day operations across the team to pursue 500’s mission of uplifting people and economies through entrepreneurship. Her ties to 500 Global goes back to 2012, when she founded PublikDemand, a member of Batch 4 in 500’s Seed Accelerator. She went on to become CEO of Agent Pronto, one of the largest real estate agent referral services in North America, which was ultimately acquired by Fidelity National Title Group. Most recently, Courtney was the Head of Corporate Development at Keller Williams, the largest real estate franchise in the world. During her tenure, she established the company’s first corporate innovation program, and worked with Keller Capital to invest and acquire tech companies in the real estate space. Courtney was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2012, received the Twilio Doer Award in 2013, and became a Google Business Leader in 2015. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and studied French and Corporate Communication"

Nezar is an Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology Management expert Nezar is currently serve as Program Officer for the Inclusive Growth and Innovation Portfolio, UNDP He served in private, academic government and semi government organizations for the last 25 years. He was the former deputy executive director of the Egyptian Banking Institute Nezar is a certified Innovation Coach helping organizations to develop their new innovation management systems Nezar is the founder of Nilepreneurs initiative that supports entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt.Nezar is a facilitator, mentor and judge in world-class entrepreneurship competitions.

Dr Khalil is currently the “Executive Director” of Rowad 2030 project, a national entrepreneurship initiative created under the umbrella of Egypt's Sustainable Development Strategy for 2030 that aims to create a scientific community capable of adopting innovative thinking and supporting Egyptian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Under her leadership, Rowad 2030 was successfully awarded and been recognized with several prominent international, regional and national awards like the UN Best Practice recognition. Also, it was able to export its practices to several regional countries, and act as a regional hub to entrepreneurship. Prior to joining MOP, Dr. Khalil worked at UNWTO for more than 5 years at the Regional Program for the Middle East (based in Madrid) supporting UN sustainable development agenda and increasing the recognition of the transformative power of tourism in combating global challenges. In addition, she was the Head of External Relations and Communication unit at Nexos Alianza (UNAOC- Madrid) for more than 8 years. During her years of work, Dr. Khalil established a respectable experience in planning and project implementation, along with keeping an immense attention to sustainable development’s role in building civilizations and engaging it in her scope of work. Not only that, she was nominated as member of board of directors of the international Union for Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue and Peace Education (ADIC), for its notable support to cultural integration. Besides, her outstanding experience in strategic planning and implementation for more than 12 years, Dr. Khalil holds a PhD degree from Complutense University, Madrid, in International Relations.

Head of Financial Inclusion and Business Development and a member of the Executive Committee at Banque Misr, Arab Republic of Egypt. She is a member of the board of directors of both the International Company for Financial Leasing “Incolise” representing the same bank since November 12, 2020, and “Misr Lebanon Bank.

Dan Bryant became Chief Technology Officer of RedSea following the acquisition of iyris, a start-up focused on developing intelligent and sustainable energy solutions that are suitable and adaptable for harsh climates. Dan has an engineering doctorate from Swansea University in the UK. Prior to joining RedSea, Dan held several leadership roles in advanced R+D startups. He also worked as a postdoc researcher for both Imperial College London and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. He is a multiple patent holder and has a holistic approach to technology development, combining expertise in several disciplines into a fully integrated approach. Dan's mission is to deliver cutting-edge AgTech solutions through a rigorous process of needs-based design for people living in hot environments globally.

Dr. Sreejit Chakrabarty is the Director for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at GEMS Dubai American Academy, the flagship academy of GEMS Education, one of the world's largest independent K – 12 education providers. He is also the director of the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, a world's first. He is from Mumbai, India. Before joining GEMS, Sreejit worked as an external consultant supporting schools in implementing Robotics and STEM-based solutions; including curriculum development, research, training, and Professional Development. He has also worked extensively with the Ministry of Education in UAE, Oman, Qatar, and India in developing strategies for incorporating STEM and Robotics in their respective curriculums, and has trained ministry teachers across the region. Sreejit holds a PhD in Artificial intelligence, an MBA in systems and Bachelor of Electronics Engineering, and several professional recognitions from Harvard, IIT (Mumbai), and Carnegie Mellon University in Robotics and Maker-Centered Learning. His passion for researching emerging technologies and finding ways of extracting educational benefits from them is what gets him excited. Sreejit is also working closely with TMRW (the R&D edtech wing of the company) and is the Network Leader across GEMS for Robotics, STEAM, and AI. Sreejit has received multiple honors and recognition for his work in Innovation. CIO of the year, Innovative Education Leader of the year, Titan of the year.

Dr. Sara Al Madani is an Emirati Multi Award-Winning Serial Entrepreneur, Honored Public Speaker, and former Board Member, selected by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, for the UAE SME Council, under the patronage of the Dubai Ministry of Economy, as well as the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Sara started her very first business venture at fifteen years old and became a successful Entrepreneur, receiving an Honorary PHD in Leadership and Women Empowerment for inspiring women all over the world to become business owners. Strong from her outstanding Public Speaking skills, Sara has delivered over 250 keynote speeches for GCC-based and international corporate and educational organisations, while being an active member of the community, encouraging the younger generation to thrive in their academic and business careers. As a global Influencer, Sara has collaborated with major brands such as L'Oréal, Apple, Cartier, Bentley, Dubai Tourism, Samsung, Braun, just to name a few, while dedicating time to charities work as the UAE Global Good-will Ambassador for “Smile Train” as well as for the “United Nations”.

Ms. el-Shenoufy has over 15 years of financial services experience managing venture capital and investment portfolios in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Prior to joining Flat6Labs- the leading startup accelerator and seed funding organization in MENA, from 2009-2011 Ms. el-Shenoufy worked as a Senior Analyst for Al-Ahly Capital Holding, where she was responsible for managing the Oil and Gas portfolio valued at over $200 million, as well as representing the company on the board of Egypt’s biggest producer of essential mineral oils, AMOC. Before that, Ms. El-Shenoufy held the position of Portfolio Manager at Beltone Asset Management, where she co-managed the MENA regional portfolio, valued at $28 million, acquiring great insight into the GCC, Levant and North African markets and business habits.

Dina Ayman, Egyptian-American Program Manager leading Software Engineering programs at Microsoft Headquarters and Professor of Computer & Electrical Engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology. She graduated with both her Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in the same year in Computer Engineering with honors. Dina is a Forbes Under 30 Honoree for North America 2022 in Enterprise Technology and have received a Presidential Award from the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Abdelfattah Elsisi for being one of the most influential world youth at the World Youth Forum 2022.

Dr. Waleed Sadek is the Founder & CEO of PaySky, the leading digital payment solutions provider founded in 2017. With a forward-looking vision and ambitions to redefine and democratize the digital payment ecosystem. PaySky fostered partnerships with different entities as central banks, banks, financial institutions, and telecom operators to provide them with its latest technology in the Middle East and Africa. The company has presence in more than 10 countries namely, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Pakistan, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, Botswana. As a serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in digitizing the financial services sector in Egypt and the Middle East, Dr. Sadek established and led several fintech startups. Prior to setting out on his entrepreneurial journey, Dr. Sadek has been sought after for his strategic vision, process-oriented finesse, and his ability to drive innovation within both young and mature businesses. He joined Visa from 2004 to 2008, where he held multiple leadership positions, including the position of Head of the Innovation and New Technologies Department for the Middle East and North Africa. He was also appointed the manager of Visa Global Strategy for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA). Moreover, Dr. Sadek established several companies and served as a Board Member of BITEL EMEA, as well as of Wind Technologies. He is a renowned subject matter expert in the domain of digital financial services & payment systems, and has shared in developing technology standards and market regulations in electronic payments domain. Despite graduating from Ain Shams University's Faculty of Medicine in the year 2009, Sadek chose to pursue his passion in the field of information technology. Where he would develop innovative solutions in the fintech industry and enable everyone to use it to facilitate their lives and help the economy to grow and prosper.

Eman is the Accreditation Program in Charge Officer at National Training Academy, responsible for reviewing, editing, amending written policies, procedures, and processes to comply with accrediting body standards. she is also responsible for ensuring that National Training Academy is properly and adequately prepared to demonstrate its compliance documentation during the on-site assessment visit of accrediting body. And successfully she led the institution to get a Five years accreditation with no identified weakness. She is honored to be appointed as the Head of Speakers’ Selection and Communication Committee at the world youth forum. The World Youth Forum has been internationally acknowledged and praised on several occasions by several international entities. It was endorsed and recognized by the United Nations Human Rights at its 41st session for its valuable contributions in addressing global youth issues. Furthermore, it was recognized as an international platform for youth empowerment at the United Nations Economic and Social Council in its 59th session, as well as the Union for the Mediterranean. She is a PhD. holder and Associate professor at Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Helwan University where she teaches third-year students in the field of women’s Health and obstetric emergencies. Eman’s research interests focus on women’s Health research field. She has published a book and a scientific paper entitling the topic of cervical cancer prevention and early detection She currently serves as a co-editor of Helwan International Journal of Nursing Research and Practices responsible for overseeing the entire editorial review process ensure the integrity and fairness, and selecting scientific papers that provide new, original, and important contributions to knowledge in alignment with scope and policy of the journal. She served as part of Consultancy Steering Team at National Training Academy, the team is offering consultation services in different areas including strategic Planning, Organizational Restructure, Media and Marketing strategies, Training and curriculum mapping, E-Learning and Information Technology. She is responsible for the part in relevance to organizational restructuring, training policies and curriculum mapping. EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS Wharton Strategic Management, edx: Business Strategy from Wharton” Competitive Advantage”, Current. National Human Resources Development Institute, Korea: Conducting Needs Analysis, 2022 National Human Resources Development Institute, Korea: Embedding Innovation in the Organizational Culture and Services of a Training Institute Provide, 2022 Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, United Arab Emirates: The impact of Innovation and Digital Transformation in Government Services Sector, 2022. École Nationale D’Administration (ENA), Paris: Evaluation of training Effectiveness,2019. École Nationale D’Administration (ENA), Paris: Delivering Online Training and E-learning Activities, 2019. Measurement and Assessment Center, Egypt: Student Assessment Methodology and preparing Exams specifications and rubric, 2020 P.H.D., (Obstetric Emergency), University of Helwan, 2021 M.S., (Women’s Health), University of Helwan, 2018 B.A., (Nursing), University of Helwan, 2012

Frans has a track record in launching new and innovative payments solutions in emerging and frontier markets. He is the CEO and founder of dopay, a fintech company that offers a virtual banking platform allowing companies in frontier markets to offer financial services to (unbanked) employees and contractors. He founded dopay because he believes that a bank account is a basic human need in today’s connected world. As a serial fintech entrepreneur, he built the automated clearing house platform of Egypt, which handles the country’s interbank payment transactions. He advised several Central Banks and postal organizations in frontier markets regarding their payments and financial inclusion strategies. Before Frans became an entrepreneur, he worked at ACI Worldwide and ING. He holds a master’s degree in Strategic and International Management. About dopay: Over 200 million businesses in emerging and frontier markets still rely on cash payments to employees, contractors and other beneficiaries. Over 1.7 billion people do not even have a bank account despite having a job. Dopay breaks this cash cycle. Dopay is a B2B2C virtual banking platform that allows companies to pay all workers electronically at the push of a button. A business can instantly open personal accounts for their workers. The personal account comes with a debit card and a mobile app. Egypt is Dopay’s first operating market.

“George was one of Sequoia’s first partners in Europe where he focuses on FinTech and Consumer. The companies he partners with include Mos, Pennylane, Telda, Trade Republic, Two, Xentral and Zefir. Prior to Sequoia, George worked at Revolut for three years as the Product Owner for Revolut's Retail subscription business; Revolut Premium and Revolut Metal. George previously worked in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and co-founded Kickstart Global, a London based accelerator, while studying at the London School of Economics."

Hadia Ghaleb is a marketing, events, and brand influencer with 2.4 million followers on Instagram. In April 2022, she launched her own eponymous modest swimwear line. As of September 2022, the U.A.E- based company had 240,000 followers on Instagram. Hadia Ghaleb products are available worldwide and sold in 32 countries, with 25% of sales coming from Saudi Arabia, 15% from the U.A.E, 7% from the U.S., and 5% from Europe. Ghaleb is also the founder and CEO of Ghaleb Production House, a digital public relations agency that works with over 100 international and local brands on communication and marketing strategies in the Middle East.

Vice President of North Africa for Anghami, Hossam El-Gamal is a mechatronics engineer and MBA holder with over 21 years of senior management and consultancy experience in strategic planning, marketing, brand management, and business development with highly regarded organizations. Entrepreneur with 3 businesses who has contributed to the establishment and strengthening of numerous well-recognized brands in a variety of sectors, and an early pioneer in the digital industry specializing in digital platforms and mobile apps.

Hisham is a result driven executive with a passion for creating value by focusing on the end user and adopting a customer-centric mindset. He comes with over 25 years of cross-functional experience in the consumer goods and technology industries across the MENA region with particular focus on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions with The Gillette Company, Mars Incorporated and Google. Hisham brings a variety of breadth and depth experiences with a focus on General Management and a functional background in Marketing & Sales. He has a track record of delivering consistent results in various business challenges ranging from accelerated growth to strategic realignment and turnaround. In his current capacity as Country Director for Google in Egypt, his main responsibilities include partnering with customers and government stakeholders to unlock the full potential of the internet to drive user and business growth and building a high performing team. He also leads Google’s efforts in developing the startups ecosystem and expansion strategy into new markets in MENA.

Hoda is a highly experienced, creative and self-motivated executive; with more than 25 years of experience in delivering innovation and driving business value for customers in their respective industries. She worked for leading multinational software companies including SAP, Oracle & Microsoft in regional and global capacities, where she lived and worked in three different continents (Europe, Asia and Africa), which gave her a well-rounded experience in dealing with different cultures, challenges and business models. Hoda joined SAP in Dubai in 2013 where she held various positions last of which was the Managing Director for SAP Egypt & Frontier Countries before being promoted in September 2021 as the Head of Business Process Intelligence (BPI) for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, a region that covers 75 countries. In her capacity as Managing Director, Hoda was responsible for SAP’s in country presence and growth strategies including driving sales, marketing and operations. This in addition to her role in leading global education and training platforms to expand the respective countries digital ecosystem and workforce. Given her impact in transforming SAP business, Forbes acknowledged her leadership by recognizing her as one of Forbes Top 5 Women in Technology in the Middle East in March 2022, in addition 50 Power Businesswomen for 2022 and 2021 which was on the back of the previous selection by Forbes as one of Top 100 Power Businesswomen in the Middle East in 2020 & Forbes Top 100 most Influential Women in the Middle East for 2018. She was also recognized as one of the Top50 women in Egypt in 2019 and awarded the Best Distinguished Women Award in the field of Digital Transformation by the Arab Council for Social Responsibility in 2021. Hoda was nominated by SAP Middle East South cluster employees and awarded the “Diversity & Inclusion Champion” for her leadership and significant impact in that area & was also selected to be on the Women to Watch Program at SAP in early 2020 (a newly established global program focused on small group of around 70 top talented women worldwide within SAP – a company of 100,000+ Employees). Hoda is one of the Middle East’s leading technology innovators and pioneers – supporting public and private sector customers to advance their digital transformation agendas, drive new business models, and transform citizen and customer experiences. Upon her appointment as Managing Director of SAP Egypt, she made strong progress on Egypt’s investment plan, expanding the breadth and depth of the SAP Channel Partner Program, and is continuing to enhance the partnerships with the academic sector to support young talent development and job creation. Under her leadership, SAP Egypt had its best performance ever since the company establishment (more than 10 years ago) for both revenue and contribution, with a significant growth for all business KPIs lead by the significant triple digit growth for the Cloud business. SAP Egypt was recognized as a Top Employer for the first time under her leadership. She also managed to secure significant in country investments from SAP board to expand the company presence in the country including the establishment of a new office to reflect the aspired growth plan of tripling the presence in the country within three years. Being the first ever female to be appointed by SAP as a Managing Director in the whole of Middle East & Africa region in addition to being the first ever female to be appointed to lead a Multinational Software company in Egypt, Hoda capitalized on her international experience and succeeded to overachieve all her KPIs Since joining SAP in 2013, Hoda played a pivotal role in supporting the company’s growth strategy to transform the United Arab Emirates Market. During her role as Chief Operating Officer in 2017, the UAE & Oman won the Market Unit of the Year award for the first time ever and Hoda was recognized as The Top COO for Southern Europe, Middle East & Africa region (EMEA South) where she acted as the local executive sponsor for several strategic digital transformation engagements including Expo2020 Dubai. Hoda represents women in leadership as part of SAP’s Women Leadership Excellence Acceleration Program (LEAP) across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She regularly speaks at global and regional forums. Hoda is a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce since June 2021. She is also the elected vice-president and board member of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce since September 2020. Hoda holds a B.Sc. with Distinction & Honors in Engineering from Alexandria University in addition to Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with Distinction from Maastricht School of Management.

Islam is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paymob. While earning his BSc. in Engineering at the American University in Cairo (AUC), Islam co-founded Paymob in 2015 as an omni-channel payments gateway to fill the gap in digital payments infrastructure in Egypt at that time. Under Islam's leadership, Paymob has grown to process millions of transactions worth billions of dollars each year. Islam is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) and is passionate about building innovative, enterprise technologies that drive financial inclusion in the MENA region. Islam was recognized as a game changer on Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2021 and named an Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2022. Paymob was recognized as a one of the Middle East's Top 25 Fintechs in 2022 by Forbes.

Jad Soda grew up between the needles and threads of his father’s atelier, Basil Soda. In the summer of 2018, Jad launched his first ready‐to‐wear capsule collection under the label JAD SODA, targeting a young demographic. The eponymous label features a variety of mix‐and‐match pieces, as well as more informal, light evening dresses designed for young women who are budget‐conscious and on trend.

Karima El Hakim is the Country Director for Plug & Play in Egypt, the global leader in corporate innovation and one of the top early-stage Venture Capital investors in the world. Karima's work revolves around ecosystem building, VC investment and startup acceleration/incubation which was duly recognized throughout her previous work at Fawry, Falak Startups and Orascom Development Holding. She holds a BSc. in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo and a MSc in Market Intelligence and Research from Sciences-Po Paris (IEP)

Kareem is a serial entrepreneur and an angel investor who strives to connect education and entrepreneurship. He holds a BSc in Computer Engineering, an MBA degree, and he's currently pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration degree from University of Bradford (UK) with an entrepreneurship and informal economy focus. His experience over the past decade has been in the field of human capital development, mainly through graduate education. One of his main interests is penetrating blue oceans; with graduate education and technology management. Throughout his career he has cofounded several companies in Egypt, France and Uganda.

Khaled is the Founder & Managing Director of Grass Roots LTD, a new start up established in 2020 aiming to invest in technology based “On Demand & User Generated Content”. Currently working with Netflix and Al Arabiya in producing regional content, along with launching their own “Phlog” application and community platform for photographers and image buyers in the region. Khaled cofounded Influence Communications in 2007, one of the leading Marketing and Communications agencies in Egypt, holding the position of Managing Director till 2021. Influence Communications transformed throughout the years of dedication and team work to five subsidiaries (Influence Public Relations, Influence Public Affairs, Influence X, Mention and 925). With over 120 diligent professionals Influence Communications has delivered some of Egypt’s most pivotal and impactful campaigns that helped shape the public’s opinion and influenced consumers’ minds and beliefs. Serving over 100 multinational, regional, and local clients such as: adidas, Etisalat, BP, BG, Shell, Tetra Pak, Juhayna, Lamar, L’Oréal, Unilever, P&G, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds, DHL, Siemens, Attijari Wafa Bank, Arab International Bank, MID Bank, African Development Bank, Orascom Construction, Orascom Development, UNICEF etc.… Khaled is still an active partner and board member building on the success accomplished and the working on future growth plans. Previously, Khaled held the position of the Visual Merchandising Manager for Omar Effendi during the re-launch post its acquisition. Khaled started his career as a Senior Client Relations Executive in Promoseven Weber Shandwick where he managed several clients on top of which are: NSGB, BAT, HC, McDonalds etc... Khaled holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and Business Administration from MSA University.

Kyane Kassiri is a partner at RaliCap, a fintech fund for emerging markets backed by top global VC firms. RaliCap also runs one of the most active fintech collectives across emerging markets, with 170+ operators from Square, Stripe, Plaid, Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, Shopify, Paypal, Ledger, Flutterwave and others. The firm made 60+ investments so far and is on track to do another 50.

Muatasam is a Co-founder at NomuHub, sustainable travel company that aims to make the tourism industry sustainable, impactful, and more enjoyable. NomuHub has supported more than 10,000 kids to have access to school and assisted more than 30,000 patients while raising company revenues more than $5mln. He has a background with Bachelor and Master in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, received British Alumni Award and he has been featured in AlArabiya, CNN, PwC, The Independent.

Mounir Nakhla is a successful serial entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of MNT-Halan, Egypt’s fastest growing Fintech for the unbanked. Mr. Nakhla is known for his entrepreneurial drive, shrewd management style and hands-on, bias-for-action approach to problem-solving. Nakhla holds a Master of Science in Environment& Development from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Science in International Business Studies from the European Business School.

Mohamad Hosam is the Executive Director of “the Post Office” production company. He studied Business & IT but got caught up in the media business, starting his professional career and company at the age of 18, after an amateur career in screenwriting at the age of 14. Hosam is the executive producer of El Daheeh, a show that has been viewed 1.5 Billion times! He also produced many advertisements and shows with a particular interest in Digital content, a content which went viral and got very successful with millions of views and followers. Aside from producing shows, he takes great pleasure in stories.

Michael Gord is a serial entrepreneur and investor focused on the mainstream adoption of digital assets. Michael is the co-founder & CEO of GDA Capital, which is focused across the digital asset capital market, Metaverse Group, which is focused on Metaverse real estate, and NFT BAZL, which is focused on investment grade NFTs. Previously, Michael was the Managing Director of the XDB Foundation, a leading protocol focused on branded stablecoins, and the CEO of MLG Blockchain, focused on enterprise and government consulting and development. Michael has been involved in digital asset offerings with a total market capitalization in the billions, was one of the first advocates for digital assets in Canada, built the first Canadian university communities for blockchains and was the first enterprise blockchain developer that TD Bank hired. Michael holds a B Comm from McGill University.

Through her experience as Co-Founder & Chief Commercial officer of CBC TV Network - one of the leading TV networks in the Middle East, Manar El-Amin succeeded in introducing and profiling the network as one of Egypt’s media scene leaders. During her tenure, El-Amin acted as a market leader in content strategy, creating attractive advertising opportunities for different brands through tailored product integration and commercial strategies that fit the nature of each brand. In addition, El-Amin led some of the top ranked media organizations in the MENA region over the past 10 years, boasting a successful track record in brand power, eventually bolstering an iron clad on constructing and optimizing commercial and communication strategies. Believing in the power of the social impact of corporates and brands, Manar El-Amin moved on to become the CEO of RIZEK Egypt. which was the starting point for a great exposure to the Tech-Scene and start-up field. This loaded career, with all the experiences of each and every challenge in different fields, has put her in the right position, leading the commercial development of top ranked companies.

Mohamed Shelbaya is the CEO of PepsiCo Egypt, one of the world’s leading convenient foods and beverages companies. PepsiCo products are enjoyed by more than one billion person a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. Product portfolio—including Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream—consists of many iconic brands. Shelbaya is a PepsiCo veteran with over 28 years of experience across Middle East and North Africa’s business models and markets. Since the start of his role in Egypt, Shelbaya has took the business front to great milestones by exemplifying PepsiCo’s Faster, Stronger and Better strategy in the Egyptian market. He led the business to become Faster by winning in the marketplace, being more consumer-centric with unique campaigns like Mohamed Salah “Stay Thirsty” & “Chipsy Joy”, while accelerating investment for top line growth. In terms of Stronger, he led the digital transformation and go to market strategy to have better customer visibility. While on the Better front, Shelbaya has been committed towards giving back to the community, keen on integrating purpose into the business strategy, and doing even more for the planet and for the people. He has made great strides in PepsiCo Egypt’s CSR agenda and led a unique sustainability model that doesn’t only focus on supporting social initiatives but it relies to a great extent on enabling the overall industry. Shelbaya was able to do this through strong and diverse CSR programs in line with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), an end-to-end strategic business transformation with sustainability at the center of how PepsiCo will create growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries to drive positive action for the planet and people. He launched “Recycle for Tomorrow” one of the biggest waste management platforms in Egypt, “She Feeds the World” that aims to empower Egyptian female farmers, “She Works Wonders” that aims to increase female representation in male-dominated jobs, and finally “Egypt 2030 Hackathon” that empowers and enables young entrepreneurs and startups. Prior to this, Shelbaya was the Vice President of MENA Snacks Category where he played a critical role in driving the snacks business growth and leading the MENA snacks innovation revenue to unprecedented levels. Shelbaya was also the General Manager, Egypt Snacks where he grew the business double digit year on year, achieving break-through results on market share and equity metrics. Shelbaya has held a wide range of roles since joining the company back in 1994. He was the Vice President of PepsiCo’s bottling operations for Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and had previously served as Sales and Customer Development Director for the Middle East & Africa. He also held other leading positions in Marketing and Sales. Going back through his thread of success before joining PepsiCo, Shelbaya set off his career in advertising working for Saatchi & Saatchi in Egypt and the GCC.

Claudius Boller is Spotify’s Managing Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (excluding India). Since joining Spotify in 2017, Claudius has been instrumental in planning the audio streaming platform’s entry into the region. Claudius boasts 20 years of strategy, commercial, and music industry experience covering various sectors, including technology, digital media, and entertainment. Previously, he was Vice President of Digital and Business Development at Universal Music Group, where he helped develop the company's strategy in MENA and brought Dubai’s operation and business to life.

Mahmoud El-Said is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wasla Browser, the regions first E-commerce SuperApp that helps users save money, pay securely, build their credit profiles and gain access to flexible and convenient financing. He graduated from the American University in Paris with a double major in International Finance and Entrepreneurship Management, and went on to pursue a career in Investment Banking prior to launching Wasla Browser.

Nadim Nagui graduated from Virginia Tech in Industrial Engineering. He started his early career at family business specializing in laboratory equipment. Then he joined Uber as being one of the first members in Cairo to set up and launch the business in Egypt. He has a 7-year career between Cairo and Amsterdam (Uber EMEA HQ) assuming various leadership positions across Operations and Business Development.

Gohar is currently ranked the world’s number one female squash player, winning eight out of 12 finals in the 2021/22 season. She won her first tour title at the Prague Open in December 2013 when she was 16 years old. In 2022, Gohar made the finals of all eight events she played in. The athlete became world number one for the first time in July 2020 while graduating in construction engineering from the American University in Cairo.

Nameer Khan is one of the Top leading Fintech Influencers and Thought Leader. Chairman of MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) and advisor to leading fintechs. Awarded as MENA's Future Fintech Leader by Central Bank of UAE & Abu Dhabi Global Market. Strategically partnered with the regional regulators and central banks to establish a robust fintech framework . 1- Appointed as an Executive Advisor Fintech for key regulatory authorities, establishing with the central banks of the Arab world to establish a Fintech landscape and framework. 2- Advisory to leading fintechs for strategic development of product and market expansion 3- Transformation of top tier banks in the Middle East 4- Established and delivered AI and Digital Transformation programs for Leading Financial Centers

Omar El Hamamsy is the Group CEO of Orascom Development Holding (ODH), which creates destinations and builds vibrant communities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa that are soulful places inspiring people to find better ways to live, work and play. He is also the CEO of Orascom Development Egypt, ODH’s largest subsidiary, and a member of its Board of Directors. Since becoming Group CEO of ODH in 2020, El Hamamsy has led the company’s strategic and cultural transformation to build a preeminent, multinational master developer of integrated destinations powered by an ambitious and resourceful team. Under El Hamamsy’s leadership, the company has adopted a new vision: to be the international benchmark for developing successful, integrated destinations. El Hamamsy joined ODH from McKinsey & Company, where he was a Senior Partner in the Middle East office and was previously in the Belgium office. In his 18 years at McKinsey, he led several practices and worked with clients across many sectors to support them on topics ranging from strategy, organization, sales and marketing, operations, and finance. He was primarily responsible for leading comprehensive transformations of multinational companies in the Middle East and Europe. He also worked on several cross-border acquisitions and integrations for these companies. Before joining McKinsey, El Hamamsy worked at AT&T’s Bell Labs in the US for six years, where he managed a global engineering team for wireless product development. El Hamamsy is a member of the regional Board of Directors of “Injaz Al-Arab” and a member of Junior Achievements Worldwide, a non-profit organization focused on youth education. El Hamamsy holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He is an avid pilot in his free time.

Nyla Khan, Founder of the Casa Da Louisa Group, under which she is the co-founder of Mirai Partners, founder of Louisa and co-founder of Kids World Nurseries. Nyla Khan is a Forbes 30 Under 30 millennial educator and the co-founder for Mirai Partners, Louisa, and Kids World Nurseries. Over the past 10 years & more Nyla lived, worked and pursued the same dream of wanting to create sustainable & scalable change for those most vulnerable. Today Mirai Partners works with 20+ governments and Ministries of Education having launched it’s three products built to transform education on a national scale. Over the past four years, Nyla has brought Artificial intelligence and literacy assessment, machine-learning enabled School Improvement and Digital Teacher Training to governments across MENA, Sub-Sharan Africa, South & Central Asia impacting millions of students, teachers and future generations. On the other hand, Nyla has pioneered a first-ever digital ecosystem for parents of the early years. In the next two years she plans on renting a magical school bus to bring resources to children in the most remote areas in the world.

Philip Johnston, is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Opontia, a company that acquires and grows e-commerce brands in CEEMEA. Opontia was launched in early 2021 and was the fastest company ever in MENA to raise >$45M in under 9 months making them the only newcomer to feature on the Forbes Top 50 Most Funded Startups list in 2021 at number 12. They now have >100 employees split between Dubai, Riyadh, Istanbul, and Warsaw and have bought 10 e-commerce brands with plans to double in the next year. Philip previously spent two years at McKinsey, Dubai working on e-commerce strategy, private equity, and post-merger integration. Before this, he spent two years doing venture capital investing across Southern Africa, and five years in banking split between London, New York, and Singapore. Philip holds an MPA from Harvard University, an MBA from The Wharton School, an MA from Columbia University, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ramzi Mallat is a Lebanese multidisciplinary visual artist currently pursuing a Masters in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Lancaster University and has recently been appointed a trustee for the IMOS Foundation in the United Kingdom. His practice revolves around the concept of origins through a continuous exploration of cultural identity in a globalized society and its effects on heritage and ubiquitous truths. By adopting theological and folkloric knowledge into his work, the artist aims to reveal tradition not as civilizational legacy but rather as invented by a society’s cultural vanguard in the course of a struggle. Mallat has also participated in various solo and group exhibitions internationally, notably at the UNESCO Palace (2017) and the Cervantes Institute (2018) in Beirut, Lebanon. He is currently finalizing a short film/ documentary in relation to the socio-economic crisis which has hit Lebanon and will be releasing his first publication with Dergham publishing in January 2023 consisting of an Artist Book, which includes his works ranging from as early as 2013 to 2023, as well as interviews and critical essays with collaborators and curators, where his practice is discussed further in detail. Also the artist has been selected for an upcoming artist residency with the Villa-Legodi Center for Sculpture in affiliation with the Nirox Foundation located in Johannesburg, South Africa in July 2023 and will have two upcoming solo exhibitions in London with Danuser & Ramirez gallery later this month and P21 gallery in October 2023.

Rami has spent the last 15 years playing an instrumental role in Dubai’s property sector with some of the most notable real estate developers. After quickly learning the tricks of the trade, he became responsible for raking in over AED 28 billion in property sales. One of the first employees at The First Group in 2006, Rami helped grow the company from a small team of 5 to over 800 people. He then moved on to assume a key position at Damac Properties as Senior Vice President, overseeing all direct sales operations for the company. In his roles, Rami has managed real estate sales internationally in multiple markets including the UK, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Nigeria, and Russia. During his tenure in top-tier real estate firms, Rami realized there is still much to improve in the industry to offer investors and end users a better way to buy, sell, and invest in properties. Motivated to redefine real estate investing for all and empower novice and professional investors alike, he joined forces with Manar Mahmassani, an experienced investment banker, and Ricardo Brizido, a seasoned CTO to found Stake.

Stefano Fallaha is the founder & CEO of Podeo بوديو, a venture-backed tech company which has become the largest and fastest-growing podcast platform in the Middle East & North Africa. Podeo is on a mission to unlock the potential of the human voice by amplifying content to billions of ears, through unique products built for creators, listeners and advertisers. Stefano was on the list of Forbes 30 Under 30 at 19 years old, and has attracted recognition from global press publications and investors backing Podeo's vision of enabling the global podcast ecosystem.

Said is currently a Partner at Global Ventures. Prior to joining Global Ventures, Said was COO of the e-commerce platform, Jamalon, where he led the company’s operational efforts and played a pivotal role in helping the company raise its Series B round. Prior to that, Said was COO at EFS Facilities Services leading the security services business and EFS's activities in Jordan. Said also previously held the position of CEO of Groupon UAE, where he was responsible for managing and sustainably growing Groupon’s Local, Goods and Travel business lines’ revenue across the UAE through the acquisition of new merchants. Before Groupon, Said worked with Deloitte; Touche's strategy consulting team, as well as SHUAA Capital as an AVP in the CEO's Office, in addition to previously working in private equity at the firms Dubai International Capital (including Jordan Dubai Capital), and Abraaj Capital. Said holds an MBA from INSEAD, France.

Shadman Sakib’s entrepreneurial talents were evident at a very early age, when his peers were just beginning to learn the basics of business, Shadman was already building his portfolio of innovative concepts while still pursuing his formal education in the US and UK. His passion for cutting edge tech, combined with his business intuition has made him a prolific investor in various sectors reaping huge financial gains at such an early age As a 27-year-old, Shadman’s roster of current and up-coming tech ventures read like an almanac. With teams based across five continents, Shadman’s vision is to become one of this generation’s most prolific tech entrepreneurs and more so a disruptor, bringing new ideas to the table at every turn. Besides his various financial investments, Shadman Sakib’s company, Vurse, based between USA, UK, UAE and across the Asian continent, is gearing up for several new app product launches, scheduled in the course of 2022 and 2023. With AI and Metaverse at the core of their technology, Vurse, will be announcing its latest products during H2 this year – closely under-wraps till then. “All I can say is that the first app will offer an interactive experience on a social video sharing platform incorporating AI, NFT and machine learning combined to deliver an unforgettable experience to the users,” said Shadman Sakib on the upcoming product launch. For him it’s the perfect combination of aesthetics and technology that excites him and guides his investments on mass scale projects. Balancing his business activities out is the upcoming Shadman Sakib Philanthropic Foundation which will be announced later this year and will focus on impact investing supporting young IT entrepreneurs from impoverished backgrounds. This foundation will afford opportunities to many talented up and coming individuals and give them a platform to build their own legacy just as Shadman is doing himself.

Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering with a Bachelor's degree in Calo Rios in Architecture and also holds a Master's degree in Business Administration, Diploma Project Management from the University of Cambridge. Shady Samir heads a group of companies Select International which is the position that he occupied since 2016 until now, and during this position, Samir was able to participate in the establishment of three different companies supplying Europe and the Middle East and Africa with an advanced series of information technology systems and data solutions. Prior to that, Samir held several positions in leading companies in the field of project management and engineering commercial. Samir's career developed, as he started his life as a commercial engineer at the Arab International Company and many successful projects. Sameer joined AIC Steel Construction, supervised and contributed to the project To DMS, which specializes in document management systems and the first for software solutions, as a manager for projects.After that, Samir turned, using his long experience in this field, to build important partnerships and alliances; A strategy with the largest ICT companies in the world, to achieve profitable results for both parties and to provide a unified and unique model that brings together the same goal.

Tarek is a veteran investment banker with diverse experience across both mature companies and late-stage startups covering clients in both the Middle East and Africa. In addition to Beltone, Tarek held previous roles at JP Morgan and HSBC in both London and Cairo. Within his career, he assumed executive roles in newly developed ventures & startups that focused on utilities, alternative gold-backed financial assets and athlete-based investment products. Tarek holds a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Economics from Cairo University and a Master’s Degree in Investment and Risk Finance from Westminster Business School. He is also a CFA holder.

Having joined dentsu in March 2018, Tarek is responsible for accelerating strategic growth by leveraging dentsu’s capabilities to design integrated solutions for clients that are focused on the seamless merging of technology, media, creative content and advanced analytics – with the ultimate aim of delivering better business and societal outcomes. With over 20 years of industry experience, Tarek has well-grounded experience in managing client-agency relationships for some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated advertisers. Prior to joining dentsu, Tarek spent much of his career at Starcom Mediavest Group, working across various leadership roles. Outside of work, Tarek is a member of The Board of Advisors for the American University of Beirut and a Strategic Advisor for the early-stage technology venture fund Quest Ventures. He is also an active member of the global YPO leadership community

Thaddaeus Koroma is President of the family-owned wealth management & business accelerating Company Limit Breakers which has its main office located in Dubai. Thaddaeus turns Celebrities into powerful investors and entrepreneurs. He connects the right businesses with the right Celebrities and public personalities. Thaddaeus Koroma is an ultimate Specialist when it comes to Guerilla Marketing, product development, sales strategies and Brand creation. He is a Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Business Consultant and Philanthropist. Thaddaeus Koroma is known to build and have built strong relationships with international power players.

Founder of Mindvalley, an award-winning education movement with over 10 million students worldwide. New York Times bestselling author of The Code of the Extraordinary Mind, now translated into 25+ languages. Founder of A-Fest and Mindvalley University, two major global events in the field of personal transformation. Speaker and activist working to evolve the core systems that shape our lives - including education, work, politics, parenting & spirituality.

In his role as Senior Vice President of Q-Commerce, Wassim is spearheading talabat's q-commerce efforts in the region. He specializes in aligning business practices in order to drive and maintain innovation & change within talabat's various markets. While previously being VP of q-commerce, Wassim has been instrumental in building teams throughout the region, which has led to incredible success in terms of growth, profitability and customer experience and prior to that leading talabat Kuwait towards continued growth. Wassim has a BS in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut and an MBA from Maastricht University.

Yasser Shaker has been playing a significant role in the technology sector for more than 25 years. Before heading back from Paris to assume the role of Orange Egypt’s CEO in the summer of 2018, he was Senior VP, CTIO Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) where he contributed to the successful execution of Orange Group Strategy in the development and evolution of digitalization in 19 countries. Yasser Shaker holds a MBA from ESC Rennes and actively supports start-ups and educational youth development through the Orange Digital Center (ODC), and through his role as Chairman of Enactus Egypt as well as his role as Board Member in various educational institutes like the French University in Egypt

"Ziyaad Ahmed is currently the COO and Co-Founder of Spotii, a leading Buy Now Pay Later in the GCC region. Spotii is focused on empowering consumers to help budget monthly payments in a transparent and no cost manner. Spotii allows customers to split a payment at POS in equal instalments at absolutely zero cost to the consumer. Ziyaad leads the team’s in-house Data, Risk and Analytics. He designed Spotii’s tech infrastructure around the use of Big Data. Spotii’s proprietary Machine Learning Algorithms uses alternative data sources to not provide immediate and personalized credit decisioning for consumers at POS, a metric known as the “Spotii Score”, but also allows its recommender systems to match consumers with brands based on their real time needs or preferences. Spotii’s differentiator has been using data and analytics to maximize merchant revenue, while ensuring responsible customer debt burdens. Ziyaad was previously an early employee at Afterpay US in San Francisco, a leading Global BNPL, which was bought out by Block Inc for $29Bn in January 2022. Prior to his time in tech, he was a quant hedge fund investor at Citadel, using Big Data to invest in US consumer, technology, and retail stocks. Ziyaad received his undergraduate degree in Arts and Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, his MBA in Behavioral Psychology, Statistics and Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his Graduate Degree in Advanced Data Science from the University of Berkeley. "

Ramia is a Senior Producer and Presenter at Forbes Middle East, as well as a Moderator with a long history of hosting a variety of public and private sector events. At Forbes, Ramia hosts the Daily Brief, an online twice daily show focusing on breaking business news. She also conducts interviews with international business and world leaders. From its launch in 2007 until 2021, Ramia led the Emirates News broadcast on Dubai One TV as the Presenter and News Bulletin Editor. Previous to her role at Emirates News, from 2002 to 2007, Ramia presented and produced the program Business Arabia, which aired internationally on CNBC. Ramia has interviewed several world leaders including General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, Mohammed Khatami, President of Iran, Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of Germany and Jimmy Carter, US President. She is a moderator at major events including the World Government Summit in Dubai, the Middle East Investment Forum, and the Forbes 30/50 Summit, to name a few. Ramia holds a MA in Global Diplomacy-International Relations from the University of London, SOAS, as well as a BA in Communications from the University of Winnipeg and an associate degree in Journalism from Red River College.

Chantal Srour is a certified expert trainer specialized in customized designs for public speaking courses and media training for companies and individuals, she has also designed and presented an online training course for almentor.net about public speech and communication skill improvement . Chantal joined the media world as a T.V presenter and scriptwriter on LBCI channel where she projected her first TV show. She moved to indulge in talk shows, prepared and presented major shows for LBCI /ARAB RADIO TV /OSN/ALNAHAR TV /MTV/FORBES MIDDLE EAST. She graduated from Notre Dame University where she majored in English literature and communication arts. She has been awarded a bachelor in advertising and media from Macleay College Australia and a John Maxwell Team certificate for public speaking training as-well as attended training courses in cinematography and media psychology. She launched her own production company, EyeScreen Media in 2007 for short films TVCS and TV production and events.

Suraya Turk is a Forbes member, legal advisor and the Managing Partner of Legal Circle a UAE based law firm uniquely positioning itself as a front runner in the area of Technology in the vital sectors. As a former Managing Director of International and Local law firms in the UAE and prior to that an Australian qualified lawyer, Suraya has led law firms and legal specialist teams. She is currently leading and cementing Legal Circle’s strong reputation for being an agile, nimble, adaptive and innovative law firm which provides practical legal and innovative commercial solutions for clients.

Laurice is the Digital Managing Editor for Forbes Middle East, with long experience in business media (TV, print and online). At Forbes Middle East Laurice is leading the online team, writing articles, and hosting live debates, interviews (video or Twitter spaces). Laurice was a main player and pillar in establishing CNBC Arabia TV since 2003 to 2017 in which she created several major daily live shows related to business and economic firsthand news. Additionally, Laurice helped in implementing the organization chart for launching CNBC Africa in Johannesburg. During her instrumental role in CNBC Arabia, Laurice created a wide range of connections in the Middle East and GCC countries. Laurice also founded a pan Arab online platform specialized in architecture and decoration (casadar.com). Before that Laurice worked in several Business Magazines and Newspapers in Lebanon.

Nadin is a Reporter at Forbes Middle East, where she reports and writes business and economic news with the English editorial team covering the latest financial news, breakdowns and issues.