The first of 2019 Speaker Lineup

Amr Talaat has been appointed the Minister of Communications and Information

Technology since June 2018, to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Dr. MostafaMadbouly.

Talaat possesses over 30 years of solid experience in communications and information technology areas, with a wide experience in developing and implementing strategies across a vast spectrum of activities in Egypt.

Talaat joined IBM-Egypt in August 1988 and held various managerial positions. On May 23 rd , 2010, Amr Talaat held the position of the Country General Manager of IBM, and also served as IBM Egypt Territory Manager since 2005.

He held various managerial positions within IBM Egypt including Business Partner Organization (BPO) Manager as well as Systems and Technology Group Manager.

During his tenure, his scope transcended financial goals to strategic and operational elements such as building human capital, fortifying customer loyalty, corporate social responsibility and employees’ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

He also sought to establish relationships with key officials and executives of various sectors, both at the national and international levels, to attract major investments, and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) deals.

In addition, Talaat was an adjunct professor at Cairo University; teaching marketing and & sales strategies and tactics, organizational behavior and strategic management. He was, also, an honorary member at the ICT Board at Cairo University and member of the ICT Board of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) and the Chairman of ICT Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).

Talaat graduated in 1983 from the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, completing his undergraduate studies in Electrical Engineering at Cairo University.

He earned his PhD or doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Paris - Paris School of Business (PSB) and Masters of Science in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), in addition to an MBA from Paris ESLSCA Business School, France.

Ambassador Jan Thesleff has been serving as the

Ambassador of Sweden to the Arab Republic of Egypt since September 2017.

From 2014 to 2017, Thesleff served as Sweden’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, residing in Abu Dhabi. In June 2015 and in October 2016, respectively, he was accredited as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait.

Thesleff has previously been Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the Republic of Yemen and the State of Kuwait (2006-2011) and to Libya and Tunisia (2011-14). He also served as Sweden’s Special Representative for the Syria Crisis (2012-2014).

His previous diplomatic posts include serving in Brussels (Deputy to the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process at the Council of Ministers, as well as at the Swedish Permanent Representation to the EU) and at the Swedish embassies in Cairo, Tokyo and Damascus.

Ambassador Thesleff is a frequent speaker in international fora and has contributed to a number of publications, including on art and architecture.

Lauren Maillian is the Founder and CEO of LMB Group, a strategic marketing and brand advisory company; was a Founding Partner at Gen Y Capital Partners, an early stage venture firm focused on investments in mobile and consumer facing technology enabled companies; and is the author of the instant bestselling business memoir, The Path Redefined: Getting To the Top On Your Own Terms. Lauren’s passion for innovation-through-entrepreneurship and her unique ability to story-tell, brought her talents as an expert onto television as the Master Marketer and co-star of the startup focused docu-series, Quit Your Day Job, on Oxygen (NBCU).

At age 19, Lauren cofounded a boutique winery that quickly became an internationally recognized award-winning wine brand, making her the youngest self-made winery owner in the country. She served as the Chief Operating Officer of the company from inception through the brand’s acquisition in 2011.

As a change agent, connector, influencer and media spokesperson, Lauren has demonstrated her ability to create messaging that resonates with brands, millennials and women. Lauren has worked with brands such as J.P. Morgan Chase, DeVry, Cover Girl, Bumble and Bumble, and Secret Deodorant to humanize their brands and better tell their stories to more authentically connect with the consumer. 

Her multi-dimensional expertise has catapulted Lauren into a new type of marketer who has global influence as both a brand strategist and ambassador.

Lauren’s experience is both vast and distinctive given the roles and responsibilities she’s had ranging from entrepreneur, investor, advisor, talent, client focused strategist and brand marketing thought leader.

Lauren’s global market leadership leverages media, culture, strategy and technology to grow brands. Lauren is an innovative marketer, who is passionate about deeply understanding people and products to create an emotional connection through storytelling.

She is driven by the belief that there is always an impactful solution to every problem. She develops marketing initiatives with a concentration on the creation and implementation of dynamic yet strategic plans that are rooted in authenticity to build brand identity, influence and notoriety.

She is a detail-oriented strategist with a deep understanding of business operations, management, and formation across various industries. Having traveled the world to more than 40 countries, Lauren has a global perspective and a fresh forward-looking approach to content creation that is sensitive to the cultural nuances faced in global media and the highly-engaged digital consumer landscape.

Maillian has sustained and deepened her influence internationally through speaking engagements to address topics that include marketing, branding, business development, venture capital, women’s leadership, innovation and technology.

She has spoken at prestigious institutions including Harvard University, Columbia University, Cornell University; Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Shell, Dell, Ernst and Young (EY), Prudential, Ogilvy, Weber Shandwick, L’Oréal and Bloomberg; and at industry leading conferences and events such as Social Media Week, ColorComm and AdWeek.

She has invested in several startups and serves on the advisory board of Digital Undivided, a social enterprise that increases the active participation of minority women in the digital space; CoSign, a technology company that allows you to monetize your social media and shareable content; LIQS, a brand of pre-mixed single serve cocktail shots; Levo League, a career content community for Gen-Y women; and Pipeline Angels.

Lauren’s work has been featured in national media outlets including Forbes, American Express OPEN Forum, Interactive ONE, Sirius XM Radio, 1010 WIN’s, HuffPost LIVE, AOL Build, Inc. Magazine, Mashable, UPTOWN Magazine, Jet Magazine, CNBC’s Nightly Business Report, MSNBC, FOX 5, CBS New York, Business Insider, Fast Company, and Black Enterprise. In 2011 she was recognized at The White House by the Kauffman Foundation as an Empact100 Award honoree which lists the top 100 entrepreneurs under 30 and in 2013, Essence Magazine named Lauren a “Shot Caller” to watch in business.

In 2014, the New York Urban League’s Young Professionals awarded Lauren the honor of Philanthropist of the Year for her charitable involvement and dedication to giving back, in 2015 Kia Motors and UPTOWN Magazine awarded Lauren for being Inspirationally Crafted for her leadership and fearless entrepreneurial journey and in 2015, Smart CEO Magazine named Lauren as a Smart CEO Brava Award Winner.

In 2016, Walker’s Legacy named Lauren to their WL50Power List that honors women making strides in the business and philanthropic community.

Lauren is involved in various philanthropic organizations that affect youth, poverty, education, and the arts. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Multicultural Audience Development Initiative (MADI) Committee, as Vice Chair of The Apollo Theater Foundation Young Patrons Steering Committee, New York Urban League’s Development Committee, is a founding member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, and a Lifetime Member of the Children’s Aid Society. Lauren has a Bachelors of Science, Magna Cum Laude, in International Trade and Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She currently resides in New York City with her two children, Jayden and Chloe.

Ahmed A. Mansour Head of Digital Channels,Integration & Blockchain Expert at the Central Bank of Egypt. With 20 years of solid experience in the field of IT & Payment Systems. Fintech & Blockchain Speaker & Trainer providing top quality “Fintech” training for Bankers and Financial sector members. Among his professional milestones; Head of Integration, PM for the RTGS, ACH, CCH, ATM systems, Administration, Design and implementation of Middleware Solution, Digital Financial Services, Blockchain Expert at the Central Bank of Egypt. He is the Head of the Blockchain Taskforce in Financial Sector, Member of the FinTech task force group, Cryptocurrency task force group, DFC task force group, National FinTech Strategy taskforce group. His professional trainings and accreditations are Certified from Hong Kong University for Fintech , Certified Blockchain Expert, MBA in Financial Management, Project Management, TOGAF, ITIL, Leadership & Decision Making (Frankfurt School Of Finance & Management), System Admin, System Solution Design, Future Leaders Program (FLP Alumni of 2016). Ahmed is a professional trainer and instructor at the AUC , Egyptian Banking Institute in Cairo, Egyptian Universities, IBM, Al Mentor, Global Knowledge , Jupiter, Education, PST. He works as an independent FinTech ,Blockchain, Service Integration & Digital Transformation consultant.

Keith Wallace is a Scotsman with a passion for entrepreneurs and deal-making.  Having founded the Dutch Investors Club (DeInvesteerdersClub) he put his vision of joint investments within the Netherlands and further afield into effect.

With deals in Africa and Asia, as well as Europe, this small group of active investors has striven from the beginning to make impact as well as financial returns.

Working with the Hivos Foundation, he was part of the team that founded Hivos Impact Investments, where he sits in the investment team and manages the portfolio companies of the Hivos Food and Lifestyle Fund (Southern Africa) and the Hivos Mideast Creatives Fund (MENA).

Keith is also Global Ringmaster of Get In The Ring, an international entrepreneurial competition that takes place in over 100 countries and allows him to wear top hat and tails, even in the tropics.

Dr. Ayman Ismail is the Assistant Professor and Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at the American University in Cairo School of Business.

His research focuses on entrepreneurship venture capital and private equity in emerging markets economic development in the Middle East industrial strategy international technology diffusion and knowledge transfer to developing countries technology policy and innovation energy and food security and political economy of development.

Dr. Ismail is a former Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University.

He received his PhD in International Economic Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He also holds a bachelor degree in engineering and an MBA from the American University in Cairo, and a master in city planning and geographic information systems from MIT.

He is also a co-founder and Managing Partner in Enovio, a management & strategy consulting firm operating in the US and the Middle East. Prior to that, he was a consultant in McKinsey & Company Business Technology Office, based in New York for several years.

Dr. Ismail has advised senior management in leading Fortune 100 companies, fast-growing startups, government agencies, and non-profits on key organization, operations and technology issues.

He has also consulted and conducted research for international organizations such as the World Bank and UNCTAD, as well as multiple US government agencies.

Dr. Ismail has a broad multidisciplinary experience in economic development, business strategy, city planning and technology based on professional practice and academic research.

Dr. Ismail is a co-founder and member the Board of Directors of Nahdet El-Mahrousa, a leading NGO incubating social entrepreneurs and social ventures targeting economic and social development issues in Egypt. He is also an Endeavor VentureCorps Mentor, advising entrepreneurs.

In 2015 Ajlouny co-founded Fetchr, the Silicon Valley-backed tech company that was created to tackle the Middle East’s “no address” issue, which has been long been a hindrance to growth in emerging markets. She facilitated $11 million in initial investments in Fetchr, as well as $41 million in a series B round in 2017. Having raised over $72 million,the company now successfully operates in five countries with a 4500-person staff, and was dubbed the number one startup in the Middle East by Forbes. In 2019, Ajlouny demonstrated that she was beholden to nobody when she resigned from her position at Fetchr, with plans to launch her third Silicon Valley-backed company later this year. Ahead of founding Fetchr, Ajlouny was the driving force and sole entity behind the e-commerce luxury fashion platform Bonfaire. Acquired by Moda Operandi––a fashion e-commerce giant owned by LVMH and Condé Nast––in 2013, just two years after its launch, this was only the start of what would develop into a long-lasting relationship between Ajlouny and the fashion industry. Ajlouny is regularly hired as a consultant for fashion startups, as well as for venture capitalists. Over the last decade, her unmatched knowledge and expertise in funding and investment, startups and marketing strategies has compounded into what’s known as the “Joy effect,” a term that refers to the ripple of her influence on a multitude of new and once suffering companies. Considered an expert in emotional marketing, she follows the rule of thumb that in order to be successful, you have to “fall in love with your customer.” With less than three percent of venture capital funding raised by women, Ajlouny has successfully raised multiple rounds of funding for her two startups, acquiring investments from prestigious Silicon Valley venture capital firms. As a self-made woman in the industry, Ajlouny is passionate about encouraging and investing knowledge into the young women of tomorrow. Ajlouny is regularly invited to speak at forums and events across the world and most recently took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Jordan and BoF VOICES in the UK. Her talks are not only centered upon her businesses, but on the realities of being a female entrepreneur, the double bind and the relentlessness it takes to secure a position that counters the traditional roles allocated for women. Businesswoman, motivational speaker ,serial entrepreneur and advisor, Joy Ajlouny is a flash-bang grenade thrown into the Middle East. Born and raised in California to Palestinian refugees, Ajlouny has built a reputation for her success in startups and ventures worldwide, all the while disrupting the status quo of women in buisness. Belonging to the top one percent of female entrepreneurs, the self-made entrepreneur has “gamified rejection” and carved her space in the business world.

A Business Transformation, Technology Innovation and R&D professional, AI-driven Design evangelist. Since 2010 a startup entrepreneur, while in the past operated as a strategy & technology consultant, specializing in the Design, Development, and Launch of innovative Smart Products and Services. As of Entrepreneur, his best expertise and the main focus is concentrated on the Luxury Fashion Retail and Mass Customization, ideas and projects towards Luxury 3.0 philosophy. Currently is co-founder and CEO of ELSE Corp, a startup startup developing “Virtual Retail” and “Real Time Fashion System” concepts, which is a new business model and a set of technologies and processes for a complete Digital Transformation of fashion retail chains.

Founder of the Strategy School - a company that helps small and medium enterprises to develop and implement marketing strategies in Russia. Got Masters degree in strategy, London. Have working experience in Argentina, the UAE, London. Passionate about self-development and making a difference.

Ziad Mokhtar is Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, Egypt’s leading VC fund. Ziad is also Managing Partner at Ideavelopers. Ziad has been an active VC investor since 2010. He has invested in many transformative technology companies in Egypt and the Middle East, including vezeeta, siware, elmenus, trella, dsquares, and posrocket. Before becoming a venture investor, Ziad served as a Consultant at McKinsey & Company where he worked on topics related to economic development, healthcare reform, and education. Prior to McKinsey, he co-founded eSpace in 2000 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2006. While at eSpace, he led the development of the number one mobile salesforce solution in the region, and spearheaded eSpace’s international services business. Ziad is a member of the board of directors of Elmenus, Iqraaly, SiWare, and Vezeeta. Ziad holds an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Alexandria University.

Mohamed Okasha Managing Director Mohamed Okasha is a co-Founder, member of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director of Fawry. With over 20 years of experience in the corporate retail sales, marketing and operations management of both IT and telecom Industries, Okasha launched the retail operation of Fawry across Egypt and built the strong client base of Fawry billers. Before joining Fawry, Okasha held top executive roles at Raya and Vodafone, where he contributed to the launch and establishment of various successful initiatives in the IT and Telecom sectors. Okasha holds a BSC in Computer Science from AUC, and an International MBA from the graduate school of ESCLSCA.

Mohamed is the entrepreneur who had several successful exits (including Fatakat). His day to day work is co-managing Endure Capital and managing Internet Plus, his 22 years old software company. He writes about business and startups and enjoys mentoring founders and entrepreneurs.

Ramy always liked taking on big problems head on, which is why he spent two years working for Google in the MENA region as the Public Relations & Communications Manager during the testing time of the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Seeing his growing passion for more challenges, he took on the route of private PR and worked with global brands including Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Barclays and many more. Fast forward a few more years and Ramy has finally found the love of his life in the form of digital media where he now leads as the Head of Planning at hug digital's - a regional advertising agency owned by WPP - Cairo & Rigadh offices following a two-year stint as the Cairo office General Manager which saw its expansion from 15 to 100+ employees and the acquisition of more than 70 clients. Not one to shy away from challenges, Ramy is currently working on many exciting brands and taking their digital strategies to the next level including Google, Vodafone, Emaar Misr, Shell, Americana Group, Mondelez, Orascom, Edita, Travco, Corona, and others! When he isn't in the gym, Ramy is probably trying to coerce his cat into taking a selfie with him.

Walid Mansour Partner and Chief Investment Officer Walid has more than 15 years of experience in Venture Capital, strategy, corporate finance and engineering within the digital, telecom, software and new media industries. Prior to joining MEVP in 2010, Walid was a lead associate at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and before that he worked as a strategy manager at the UAE’s Prime Ministry Executive Office focusing on public policy initiatives. During his stay in Dubai, he worked on setting-up entrepreneurship related programs and developing incubation in the Arab World through several Dubai based initiatives such as the Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation. Prior to that, Walid worked at Booz & Company as a consultant covering telecom & media. Prior to Booz & Company, Walid worked as an industrial engineer in France. In 2009, he completed Morgan Stanley's summer associate program within their investment banking M&A division in London. Walid holds an industrial and urban planning engineering degree from Institut National des Science Appliquées de Lyon (INSA de Lyon) and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Growth Studio specialise in delivering measurable change through startup-led innovation. As experts in startup methodology and technology commercialisation, they have worked with 30 corporations, governments and over 400 startups globally to create, launch and commercialise disruptive new solutions into industry.

Egyptian Thinker in Economic Development and Visiting Professor of Managerial Sciences. 

Member of The Board of Trustees for the National Training Academy (www.nta.eg)  chaired by the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. 

Sherif Delawar born in 30 July 1940 has a B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering in 1962.  He is a practitioner with extensive business experience as a senior executive in various sectors (oil and petrochemicals manufacturing industries, construction). He also possesses a strong academic background and has been involved as “consultant” for the United Nations Industrial Organization in a number of industrial feasibility studies in Africa, Latin America and the Arab world.

Sherif Delawar was a member of  the , the “High Council for Culture” and the “Academy for Scientific Research & Technology”. He was a member of the Board of the Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center (Alex Med- Bibliotheca Alexandrina) 

Delawar has been awarded the highest academic French award "Chevalier dans l Ordre des Palmes Academiques" from the French republic for his academic achievements. 

Khaled Ismail, Ph.D. Founder and Managing Partner of HIMangel , an angel investment fund focused on early-stage startups in Egypt (2017 -present). HIMangel invested in 11 startups starting June 2017, and supported more than 30 other startups. Founder and Chairman of Kiangel, a not-for-profit angel investment fund investing in early-stage startups in Egypt (2011 - 2017). Kiangel invested in 11 startups between 2012 and 2017, and supported more than 50 other startups. Chairman of Endeavor Egypt (2011-2014) Managing Director of Intel Mobile Communications (2011 -2014) Founder of SySDSoft (2003-2011), an Egyptian engineering company that ranked among the top in the world in the design and development of the protocol stack of 4G cellular technology, which has been acquired by Intel in March 2011. Senior Advisor of the Egyptian Minister of CIT (2004 and 2007) VP of Engineering at Ellipsis Digital Systems (2000-2002) Research Staff Member at IBM’ s T J Watson Research Center (1989-1997) Ph.D. from MIT in 1989 IEEE Fellow since 1997. Published over 160 papers in international journals and holds 22 US patents. Recipient of the Eta Kappa Nu “ Best Young Electrical Engineer in the US” award in 1994, and the Shuman Award for the “ Young Arab Engineer” in 1995.

Dalia Ibrahim is what we can confidently name as a true AUC alumni; being a holder of a B.A. in Business administration (with Honors), then a Master’s Degree of Public Administration (1999) and later an Executive MBA (2014) all from the American University in Cairo.

Upon her graduation she started working in Nahdet Misr for Publishing. With perseverance and diligence she moved on in her career path to be chosen among her uncles and siblings to hold the position of the Vice President in 2004, setting up two sister companies; one dedicated to periodicals, such as Disney and National Geographic magazines- and another for software and animation; managed each of them for several years and then later handed them to a family member. She also assisted in the establishment of Nahdet Misr for Trade to be managed from the start by another family member.

On the grounds of her business achievements, Dalia was nominated to be the CEO of Nahdet Misr for Publishing in July 2011. Deservedly, Dalia’s efforts earned several awards in the field of publishing, whether it be educational or cultural.

Driven by a sense of commitment to the society, Dalia volunteers to serve as a mentor or a judge to start-up projects of young entrepreneurs which triggered her to later initiate the establishment of EdVenture, the first corporate venture capital specialized in education in the MENA region.

Ambition, advancement, perfection and communication are key drivers for the publisher; Dalia Ibrahim, who seeks, through Nahdet Misr, to assert a system of values including a sincere sense of belonging to the Arab culture and society as well as efficient connectivity to the ever changing contemporary world and worthy groundwork of the future.

Ramzi Halaby is the CEO and Founder of The Online Project, the leading digital media agency in the Middle East. And the Middle East and North Africa representative for the SVVI. Ramzi spent the last 2 decades introducing new technologies to regulators, governments, and large scale organization in the Middle East and North Africa. Ramzi has capitalized on innovation waves one after the other. As a founding team member of the first regional SMS Value Added Services Provider in MENA, the founder of the first privately owned and run Radio network, and the founder of the first Social Media services provider in the region, Ramzi mastered the craft of new media and technology large enterprise business and partnership development. Having set up offices and presence in KSA, UAE, Jordan, Oman, and Egypt. And served clients in 12 of the region’s leading markets. Ramzi’s on the ground execution experience is an asset and an advantage. The genuine partnerships he has created throughout the years, combined with his astute business instinct, have generated tens of millions of dollars in sales for the companies he has built and partnered with. His attention to detail and attentiveness to clients ensures that promises are always met and expectations are always exceeded.

Tarun is a quintessential maker who strongly believes "Making is better than consuming". It's this belief that led him to start Avishkaar in India when no-one had heard the term of "Making" in the country. He has single-handedly created a market for Robotics, Tinkering and Making Products in India. However, what keeps him most excited is his status as an engaged Father of two beautiful girls, a thoughtful Maker, a Vipassana Meditator and an avid traveler. Before Avishkaar, Tarun worked at Real Networks, Expedia in Seattle, US and Wipro Technologies, Aplion Networks in India. Tarun has a BS in Computer Science from University of Delhi and Masters from University of Washington, Seattle.

Growth Studio specialise in delivering measurable change through startup-led innovation. As experts in startup methodology and technology commercialisation, they have worked with 30 corporations, governments and over 400 startups globally to create, launch and commercialise disruptive new solutions into industry.

Board certified in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine, Ramzi graduated from New York Medical College, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency Program at California Pacific Medical Center. His education continued with the completion of an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. In addition, Dr. Asfour has completed the Institute of Functional Medicine’s certification program and when working with Chris Kresser, studied from the ADAPT Training Program. Dr. Asfour has worked for the World Health Organization (WHO), Colombia University in South Africa, and the University of California, San Diego. Prior to attending medical school, Ramzi majored in genetics at the University of California, Davis. He is currently Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Asfour is also an associate clinician at the California Center for Functional Medicine.

Mohamed Hamza is the associate director of the American University in Cairo’s business accelerator, the AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab). Hamza joined the Venture lab as a program Manager mid 2015. Under his management he was able to scale the Venture lab from a program graduating 12 startups a year into a Center graduating 45 to 50 startups a year and adding value to more than 400 students and entrepreneurs to be yearly. Over the years Hamza co-Founded three new programs under the V-Lab; the Fintech Accelerator, DeepTech Lab and AUC Angels. As an Impact driven individual, Hamza’s efforts were crowned by receiving the High Impact Incubation Program award for the Middle East & North Africa by University Based Incubator Index (UBI). To date the Venture lab has graduated128 startups, maintaining quality for the first 3 years represented in maintaining a survival rate of 80% where 48% of graduates received investments. Hamza’s endeavors at the managerial level could only be successful by maintaining a strong and impactful content, especially as the Venture lab is a non-profit accelerator that does not do seed investments in its graduate startups. V-Lab receives 800-1000 applications yearly and remain to be competitive among different programs with attractive ticket sizes for its commitment to an innovative startup centric program capitalizing on the Evidence Based Entrepreneurship mindset. Before joining the V-Lab, Hamza worked at Nahdet el Mahrousa, one of Egypt’s top social entrepreneurship incubators. Hamza’s work with NM allowed him to be exposed to entrepreneurship at the micro level in different development programs and accumulating impact assessment knowledge through assisting in laying the the foundation for a monitoring and evaluation system to assess the overall impact of their social startup incubator. Hamza graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Minor in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo and is currently pursuing his Masters degree in Public Policy and its direct effects on the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Ahmed Hussien is the Co-founder and CEO of Go-V, a Creative company developing in Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR) applications for ( Real estates, Hotels and Tourism ), that serves more than 2 Million people & more Than 20 Company around Egypt providing pathways for people to create a positive impact in this world. Being a Google Maps 360 Trusted Photographers and a Trusted Verifier working in Egypt for more than 2 years Go-V had been selected by the united nation world tourism organization, as one of the top 12 Companies In MENA region that Merges VR technology in the tourism industry. A seasoned executive with a background in architecture and business development, Ahmed established Go- Archi an Architecture Design Studios, that uses Virtual Reality VR as a presentation and Visualization tool to help people imagine their future with immersive technology. Ahmed grew up in Abha, Saudi Arabia and received this bachelor degree in Architecture Engineering from Cairo University, and studying marketing and business development nowadays.

Mohamed Abdelmottaleb: founder and managing partner of XPay. Serial entrepreneur with three previous startups. Over 25 years of management and technology experience. PhD. in Nanotechnology from KU Leuven, Belgium in 2002. 2003-2006, research and teaching postings in Germany. 2009-2014, Associate professor, Director and founder of Nanotechnology Center at Nile University, Cairo Egypt. Founder and CEO of Trendak, an Arabic big data analytics and AI company. Managed multiple tech 30+ member teams. Raised over $5M in funding for research and business.

Industrial Director of GS Egypt and Zahran Group.

Managing Director of Zahran Furniture and Decoration

Vice President of ABA Youth Committe 

Founding Member of ALEX Angels

Leading social media content and influencer marketing for the biggest African e-commerce, Hadeer was able to launch pan-African social media campaigns for brands such as Daniel Wellington, Mac Cosmetics and Xiaomi. Keeping up with the pan-African social media landscape, she believes that true brand love and customer engagement comes from storytelling and relevant profiling. The 27-year-old is in a constant quest to create a sustainable pipeline of e-commerce driven social media experts around Africa.

Adel is a growth hacker at Mintrics. a leading social video analytics + intelligence platform. He manages the user acquisitions and retention channels; social media, Ads, Email marketing, SEO & PR He has worked directly with Youtube, Discovery Network, The Emirati Government and Udacity amongst others on behalf of Mintrics. He worked on publishing The first-of-a-kind Social Video Analysis Reports in Egypt and UAE; analyzing more than 800 brands in Egypt only and their video performance and behavior online.

2014 – Present: Chairman of Egyptian / Russian Business Council 

2014: Member of the Committee of 50 for drafting the new Egyptian Constitution

2010-present: Chairman, ASCAME (Union of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce & Industry)

2010 – Present: Chairman, Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce.

2010 – Present: Chairman, Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Agriculture, Industry and Professions.

2010- Present: Senior vice chairman, Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

2010- Present: Board Member, Arab Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.

2010- Present: Member, Board of Trustees, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, «GAFI»

2010- Present: Board member, the National Organization for Social Insurance.

2008- present: Board member, Internal Trade Development Authority.

2006-2010: 1st Deputy Chairman, Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce.

2006- Present: Board member, Alexandria Ports Authority.

2006-2011: Board member, Arab-Belgium-Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce, Brussels.

2006- Present: Chairman, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.

2002-2011: Board member, Arab French Chamber of Commerce, Paris.

2002- Present: Chairman, Egyptian-Syrian Business Council.

1988-2006: Vice chairman, Alexandria Chamber.

1984- Present: Elected board member, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.

2009- Present: Chairman Wakalex for Industry & Trade.

2008- Present: Board member Fast Bus Transport.

2004- Present: Board Member Antoniadis for the Civilized &Touristy Development Co.

1972- Present: Chairman and Founder, Wakalex Group.

•Board Member, Federation of the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), since 2015

•Chairman, Digital Economy and Technology General Division, Federation of the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (DET-FEDCOC), since 2001

•Chairman, IT Division, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, 1992-2006

•Board Member, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, 2002-2015

•Board Member, Food Industries Chamber, Federation of the Egyptian Industries (FEI), 1986

•Head of Development Committee, FEDCOC

•Member of the Head Committee, PC4Egypt

•Member of the IPR Head Committee

•Chairman, Winner Trade for Imports and Agencies

•Managing Director, Winner Brands

Major Public Activities

•e-Alexandria Project for eradicating digital illiteracy in Alexandria

•PC4EachHome National Initiative with Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT)

•Economic GIS Project, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce    

•Articulation of Tax system for the IT industry

•Tanweer National Initiative with Ministry of Education (MoE), for availing technology for Educators and Students