

Hanin Azzam
Campaigns Manager
Communication Arts graduate from the Lebanese American University in Beirut.
An exceptionally motivated and enthusiastic person with several years’ experience in visual media and communications with a long standing interest in social issues and have produced several documentaries for NGOs, UNICEF, and EU. — Read more
An exceptionally motivated and enthusiastic person with several years’ experience in visual media and communications with a long standing interest in social issues and have produced several documentaries for NGOs, UNICEF, and EU. — Read more


Hivos
Hivos is an international development organization guided by humanist values. Together with local partners we aim to contribute to a free, fair and sustainable world. A world in which all citizens – women and men – have equal access to opportunities, rights and resources for development and can participate actively and equally in decision-making processes that determine their lives, their society and their future. Throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Hivos trusts in the creativity and capacity of all people to come up with innovative solutions that improve their situation and that of society in general. Quality, cooperation and innovation are our core values and the keystone to our development and business philosophies. — Read more
Hivos trusts in the creativity and capacity of all people to come up with innovative solutions that improve their situation and that of society in general. Quality, cooperation and innovation are our core values and the keystone to our development and business philosophies. — Read more

Cairo Angels
Egypt's first formal network of business angels: investors targeting early stage start-ups

Sawari Ventures
Egypt
Sawari Ventures is an international venture capital firm that invests in people turning visionary ideas into market-leading companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Middle East Venture Partners
Lebanon
MEVP is a Middle East-focused venture capital firm that invests in the early and growth stages of innovative companies run by talented entrepreneurs primarily, but not exclusively, in Lebanon and the greater Levant region.

National Net Ventures
Saudi Arabia
N2V is one of the largest Internet holding groups in Arabia, focused on value creation through building and investing in Arabic consumer web & mobile ventures (e-commerce, digital publishing, social media, Games, mobile apps, web forums, and user generated content), with over 200 employees spread in offices around different Arab countries and the USA.
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Wamda
Lebanon
Wamda is a platform designed to empower entrepreneurs in the MENA region. It takes a 360 degree approach to providing the support that entrepreneurs need, filling the gaps in the emerging MENA ecosystem via three primary platforms: The Media Site, The Fund, Programs and products
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Walid Hanna
Managing Partner at Middle East Venture Partners
Walid brings to this role fifteen years of diverse professional experience, in fields ranging from corporate finance to starting up ventures and private equity. Prior to founding MEVP, Walid was the CEO of Dubai International Capital’s venture arm, the Arab Business Angels Network. (“ABAN”). ABAN managed a regional seed venture fund as well as a Business Angels network. Before that Walid was part of the Investment team of Abraaj Capital, a leading Dubai-based investment firm that specializes in private equity investments in the MENASA region. In addition, Walid co-founded and managed several start-up ventures across a range of industries, primarily in Lebanon. In doing so, he drew upon his previous experience in the field of corporate finance in Paris and Beirut. Walid is a founding board member and only Arab representative of the World Business Angels Association and a member of the Young Arab Leaders organization (YAL), Walid holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from McGill University in Montreal, Canada as well as a Masters in Finance from HEC (“Hautes Études Commerciales”) in France.
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Rashid Ballaa
CEO at National Net Ventures
Rashid AlBalaa is the Founder and CEO of N2V, He was leading Business Development and internet initiatives in National Technology Group (NTG) since 1999. AlBalaa is also a board member of NTG , the largest technology group in the Middle East; as well as Mubasher Financial Group, the leading online trading platform and stock broker in the region. Rashid has a B.Sc. of Computer science with Honors from King Saud University.
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Habib Haddad
CEO at Wamda
Habib is the founder Yamli.com the leading Arabic transliteration engine. It has grown to become a household brand in the Middle East and has been praised for empowering and re-energizing the Arabic language online. Yamli has allowed Arabic users to type more than 500 Million words so far with 3.5 Million daily. Yamli also developed Arabic smart search technologies for enterprises and search engines.
The World Economic Forum recently recognized Habib as a Young Global Leader for 2009. He also made it to the 'Thirty under 30' list by the ArabianBusiness. — Read more
The World Economic Forum recently recognized Habib as a Young Global Leader for 2009. He also made it to the 'Thirty under 30' list by the ArabianBusiness. — Read more

Abdallah Absi
CEO at Zoomaal, Head of Board at eClub
A young serial and social entrepreneur that aims at raising new generations of Arab entrepreneurs. He is the CEO of Zoomaal and the President of the Entrepreneurship Club NGO in Lebanon. Abdallah has won various awards in entrepreneurship and computer science.

Elias Ghanem
Chairman at Zoomaal, Former MD of Paypal MENA,
and Chairman of Telr
and Chairman of Telr
Senior executive with a strong entrepreneurial drive and proven success in start-up creation, fund raising, e-Commerce and e-Payments solutions, strategic partnerships, Regulators interactions and customer acquisition leading to top and bottom line growth, market share and shareholder value.
Solid track record of breakthrough results in regional leadership roles at PayPal-eBay Inc, Visa Inc and Accor Group in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Deep knowledge in the fields of Payments, e-Commerce, e-Payments, e-Wallets, loyalty and remittances businesses. Multi-functional experience across strategy, regulatory framework, business development, sales and marketing and successful change agent with a history of leading emerging market entry both in high growth B2B and B2C environments. Recognized as an inspiring leader with solid influencing skills and ability to motivate and lead people in diverse cultural environments.
Founded Telr in Nov 2013 in Singapore, as the Payment Gateway for Emerging markets to offer online, mobile and social media payment processing as well as Cash Management solutions to the exponentially growing eCommerce market across Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa. In collaboration with a highly professional team, raised a significant Series A from iMENA (Jordan-based fund) and Hatcher (Singapore-based fund), acquired a local Payment Gateway in UAE, set up several strategic partnerships with leading Regional Banks, Telecom Operators and Logistics companies. Telr has won the "2014 Start-up of the Year"award by Arabian Business in Nov 2014. — Read more
Solid track record of breakthrough results in regional leadership roles at PayPal-eBay Inc, Visa Inc and Accor Group in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Deep knowledge in the fields of Payments, e-Commerce, e-Payments, e-Wallets, loyalty and remittances businesses. Multi-functional experience across strategy, regulatory framework, business development, sales and marketing and successful change agent with a history of leading emerging market entry both in high growth B2B and B2C environments. Recognized as an inspiring leader with solid influencing skills and ability to motivate and lead people in diverse cultural environments.
Founded Telr in Nov 2013 in Singapore, as the Payment Gateway for Emerging markets to offer online, mobile and social media payment processing as well as Cash Management solutions to the exponentially growing eCommerce market across Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa. In collaboration with a highly professional team, raised a significant Series A from iMENA (Jordan-based fund) and Hatcher (Singapore-based fund), acquired a local Payment Gateway in UAE, set up several strategic partnerships with leading Regional Banks, Telecom Operators and Logistics companies. Telr has won the "2014 Start-up of the Year"award by Arabian Business in Nov 2014. — Read more

Ahmed Sallam
Director at UBS Investment Bank
Ahmed is a Director at UBS Investment Bank in London, advising corporates across Europe on M&A and capital markets transactions. He is a member of CairoAngels and is an investor in a number of start-ups in Europe and the Middle East He holds a Masters in Finance from London London Business School and is fluent in German, Arabic and English.
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Khaled Mokhtar
Cairo, Egypt
For more than 10 years, I have been working intensively with the Civil and Entrepreneurial Society throughout different huge activities and events in Egypt, Arab Region and Worldwide. I am Computer and Systems Engineer, Working in Etisalat Misr Mobile Operator as Program Manager of Innovation, I worked for Google and HP as well. The Egyptian Engineering Day, the biggest activity I worked for more than 10 years in a row, I served as Chairman for year 2010, and now I am in the Board of Advisers. Also, I am part of the Worldwide IEEE Community, I am the Vice Chairman for the IEEE Egypt GOLD, worked as the Region 8 GOLD Committee member (Europe, Middle East, Africa).
On the Arab Level, I managed Made in Arab World Project, which took place in 5 Arab countries. Also I organized Intel Science Competition which took place in Cairo with Participation of 10 Arab Countries. I am part of Startupweekend Cairo Team, intensively working with many start-ups fostering Innovation and Creativity in the Region. I am Certified from the University of California - Berkeley - USA for Mentoring Technology Startups, I also participated in Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in California in the Intel + UCB Technology Startups Challenge. I was the Leader for the Egyptian Delegation in Atlanta, USA FIRST Lego League. Participated in IEEE R8 Meeting in Berlin, Germany and was a Speaker in the Technical University of Madrid, Spain in the Student Branches Congress 2012. — Read more
On the Arab Level, I managed Made in Arab World Project, which took place in 5 Arab countries. Also I organized Intel Science Competition which took place in Cairo with Participation of 10 Arab Countries. I am part of Startupweekend Cairo Team, intensively working with many start-ups fostering Innovation and Creativity in the Region. I am Certified from the University of California - Berkeley - USA for Mentoring Technology Startups, I also participated in Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in California in the Intel + UCB Technology Startups Challenge. I was the Leader for the Egyptian Delegation in Atlanta, USA FIRST Lego League. Participated in IEEE R8 Meeting in Berlin, Germany and was a Speaker in the Technical University of Madrid, Spain in the Student Branches Congress 2012. — Read more

John Hayden
Toronto, Canada
John is a graduate of the University of Toronto (BA, History) and the American University of Beirut (MA, Political Studies). He spent a summer at Birzeit University in Palestine in 2006. He currently works as Manager - Enterprise Programs at Northumberland CFDC (a not-for-profit organization in Canada dedicated to providing strategy and financing for entrepreneurs). Recently, he launched a new startup competition (www.N100.ca) and took part in the Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP 11th - 2013) through the MIT Sloan School of Management's Exec Ed program. He is also dedicated to annual hiking expeditions with an intrepid hydro-metallurgical engineer to places like Quebec's Chic-Choc Mountains, West Virginia's Dolly Sods Wilderness Area and Northern Ontario's Lake Superior Coastal Trail. He'd love to traverse the Lebanon Mountain Trail one day.
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Abdallah Al-Tahrawi
Gaza, Palestine
Mr. Abdallah Altahrawi has worked as a coordinator for many of programs, projects and events for ICT business startups, where he is currently working as a program officer for Business & Innovation center (BIC) - Palestine information and communication technology incubation - (PICTI).
Mr. Altahrawi has conducted number of training courses in the fields of ICT, entrepreneurship and Electrical topics, as he is an active member in number of local and international associations and communities of which are having specialized focus on ICT community developments since 2008.
Mr. Altahrawi graduated in 2011 as an Electrical Engineer at Islamic University in Gaza, as he was the winner of the award of the Islamic University Prize for Scientific Graduation Researches at 2011.
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Marc Atiyeh
Cambridge, United States of America
A junior student at Harvard College, concentrating in Electrical and Computer Engineering and pursuing a secondary field in Applied Math. Over the past couple of years, in my education at Harvard, as well as in summer analyst internship at Rho Ventures, not only have I pursued my passion for start-ups and investment but I have also developed this ability to adapt my engineering skills for business and entrepreneurship purposes while sharpening my problem-solving, analytic, and communicative abilities. I have established and managed “Help Me Get In” an organization and platform to provide college admissions advisory services to prospective college students from developing countries. I am very excited by the possibility of further pursuing this passion for entrepreneurship and broadening my experience while helping fellow peers in Arab countries.
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Aziza Al-Ghafri
Mascat, Oman
Aziza AL Ghafri, from Oman, is a PhD student at Royal institute of Technology at the moment. She has an MBA from Athens University f Economic and Business. Entrepreneurship is her passion. She has her own company Zajil Oasis LLC and she has organized different entrepreneurial activities in Oman like Startup Weekend and Global Entrepreneurship Week. In 2012 she got the Global Entrepreneurship Week award for most activities per capita. She has also worked as a lecturer in the College of Applied Sciences in Oman and as a Deputy Program Director in the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman. She has also worked in Bank Muscat in Oman as Training Administrator in Training & Development Department
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Ashraf Samhouri
Amman, Jordan
Call me ASH, an entrepreneur who masters web development and uses it as a leading tool. Held some entrepreneurial workshops and events; such as 'Webiz Jordan'. Recently established 3erfan.com, the Arabic online knowledge-base with the ambition to make it the hugest one of kind. Have been a moderator for Swalif Soft PHP Section, co-founded some startups: Sa7.at, and Dabberni.com. The current potential in the Arab world would never exist anywhere else at anytime, let's take the lead!
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Sami Farhat
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Previously a financial analyst at Mars Inc, currently setting up my own business in construction equipment rental as an arm of our family business. I am very passionate about cultural diversity, travel, meeting new people and motor biking. I believe that the Arab society has a long way to go towards encouraging and supporting entrepreneurial initiatives and the promotion of the entrepreneurial spirit, and it gives me pleasure to take part of an initiative like Zoomaal.
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Hamza El Fasiki
Fez, Morocco
Hamza El Fasiki is author of two books: 'Social Entrepreneurship: Meaning, Challenges, and Strategies (2011) and ‘The Cultural Identity of Entrepreneurship: When Collectivism Rules’ (2013). He is Head of Research and Studies at the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. His cultural and entrepreneurship experiences stem from Morocco, USA, Algeria, Japan & Turkey. He is now a Musician (Classical Guitar), and independent Trainer and Advisor on social entrepreneurship & culture. He also delivers talks on social entrepreneurship in different national and international conferences and seminars. His research interests are: social businesses, organizational culture, Moroccan culture, Coppersmith - Handicraft, Co-Operatives, cultural tourism and cultural heritage. He lives in Fez Morocco.
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Mehdi Dib
Algeria
Founded an open collaborative production company called OH GROUP where members ( writers, filmmakers, musicians, editors, artists... ) can contribute their work in various forms including music, videos, text and Illustrations . I've been managing projects and providing analytics and software tools while growing my strategic and leadership skills. In addition, I've curated TEDxAnnaba since 2011 and led teams to produce high quality knowledge sharing events and producing TEDx talk videos , I'm also a film maker in 2012 I directed Ya Latif , Ya Latif is Documentery about Beaking the Silence: Lifting the Stigma of HIV/AIDS in Algeria , Despite the risk of social stigma, an increasing number of HIV+ people are telling their own stories in Algeria . Some are becoming active, working to reduce discrimination and secure better services. This film details their stories and profiles groups that provide counseling, income support, community outreach, and preventive education .
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