Saudi’s Hottest Tech & Startup Festival

Nayef Al-Athel is the Chief of Listing at the Saudi Exchange. His responsibilities include managing the entire listing process across all platforms (Equity, Debt, ETFs and REITs), increasing IPO awareness among family businesses and private companies, and deepening the Capital Market through various tools. Prior to this, Al-Athel worked at Morgan Stanley, Saudi Arabia as the MENA Relationship Manager and the Head of MSIM Sales Saudi. He started his career at MS in the Institutional Equity Department. In 2009, Nayef worked at Venture Capital Bank in the Private Equity and Financial Advisory Department & Treasury Department. In 2016 and 2017, Nayef Al-Athel successfully completed management programs at INSEAD and the London School of Economics, respectively. He graduated from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals in 2010, with a Bachelor of Finance & Economics. Furthermore, Nayef was first in his class of the Industrial Management graduates, with a first honor distinction.

Scientist-turned-entrepreneur, founder and CEO: www.thisistotem.com. Co-founder and product/science lead at Hello Tomo until its acquisition in 2021

Corporate executive, investment banker, and corporate finance professional turned educator, startup advisor, and last but not least, an entrepreneur with a big vision. Over 27 years of a proven record in academics, corporate, capital markets deal making, and high finance, culminated into a daily passion to build startups, advise on startups, and coach impact-driven rising entrepreneurs.

Ibrahim is leading UnifonicX Venture Builder as part of the 100 million spin-off fund to create startups and support the SAAS industry in MENATP

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

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

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A competent and experienced payment technology professional with 20+ years working in FinTech, along with leading businesses. Has firsthand technical record in creating scalable infrastructures for payment systems and ecommerce solutions. Experienced the E-Payment boom and played an integral part in enabling the rise of online transaction processing in the Middle East. Witnessed and participated in the acquiring of 2 major startups in the region by Yahoo and Amazon, where she created high functioning small technical teams that created

Reem Ikram is the Co- Founder and CEO of ThriftPlan, a Saudi FinTech looking to leave a social impact through Workplace Saving Plans and supporting Vision 2030s saving and financial literacy Goals. Over 7 years of experience in E-Commerce, Automation and Private Equity, a serial entrepreneur at heart and a strong believer in combining business with social impact.

Shahad Geoffrey is the founder and CEO of Taffi Inc. A female entrepreneur of a fashion-tech startup. She is building the first VC backed styling platform in the region with a global ambition. She’s on a mission to open doors of opportunity through style. Shahad has expertise in direct-to-consumer brands and working for a top venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. She is passionate about Fashion, Innovation, and building diverse great teams. In 2021, she was selected by Arabian Business as one of the 50 most influential women in Saudi Arabia.

Yasser Alobaidan is a visionary leader connecting industries in the new digital economy and leveraging digital disruption and Web3.0 to transform how government and industry connect. In his current role as Chairman of Jawraa, Yasser directs the company’s operations, including its subsidiaries and each of its five business units. Under his leadership, Jawraa received Saudi Arabia’s first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) license, securing its position as an industry pioneer. Yasser is the architect behind the company’s continuing expansion with long-term projects across the public and private sectors. A prominent regional technology and communications thought leader, Yasser has a strong interest in how the digital economy, Web3.0 and the Metaverse can empower the education sector, creating more engaging distance learning and in-classroom experiences. He has built the foundation for Saudi Arabia’s MVNO industry, propelling the nation’s digital transformation forward as well as creating a new industry. As an entrepreneur, Yasser has co-founded and launched several successful tech start-ups, including Meditari, RUSSAD and Shades House. He is responsible for spearheading revenue growth for a number of companies, transforming them into multi-million dollar enterprises. Able to build effective connections between media, telecoms, and the IT sector, Yasser is a sought- after board member who serves on the board of MeemPlatform and is also Chairman of Edusons and Tharawat Technology.

Latifah Al Essa is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ayadi – an online mental health platform that helps people in need of mental healthcare from the Arab world to improve their emotional fitness and mental wellbeing. Latifah is also a cognitive psychologist with a career that spans over 10 years, working with healthcare institutions and NGOs in the Middle East, U.S. and UK. Before founding Ayadi, Latifah spent six years working as a cognitive psychologist at the Kuwait Center for Mental Health, where she provided individual and group therapy sessions for children and adolescents, and conducted monthly workshops related to eating, mood and neurodegenerative disorders. During her tenure, Latifah founded the first psychoeducation programme for adult patients with depression and bipolar disorders, and introduced group therapy sessions for addiction. In other roles, Latifah also worked at the Fawzia Sultan Healthcare Network and Soor Center for Professional Therapy & Assessment, where she additionally provided individual counselling for autistic children. Prior to these positions, Latifah volunteered for Ataa Relief in Syrian refugee camps, where she delivered group therapy sessions for adolescents and assisted with art therapy for children. She also volunteered for the UK charity Attend, where she coached rehabilitated patients with non-progressive brain injuries on transitioning back into employment. Latifah obtained a B.A. in Psychology from Simmons University in 2012, and M.S. in Cognitive Rehabilitation from the University of Westminster in 2015. She also obtained an International Counselling Certificate from Lehigh University in 2017.

Remo Giovanni-Abbondandolo is VP Commercial MENA at Checkout.com. He has over ten years’ experience supporting entrepreneurs and business leaders to scale their businesses across the MENA, Africa and APAC regions. At Checkout.com, Remo is responsible for expanding the business across the Middle East and North Africa region. Prior to joining Checkout.com, he worked for Africa’s largest online travel agency, Travelstart, where he oversaw the company’s expansion into the Middle Eastern market. He was also part of the founding team of Africa Internet Accelerator (a Naspers’ investment), which launched three of the fastest- growing e-commerce businesses in South Africa. He also worked at Rocket Internet Australia & South East Asia where he was a founding member of the team that launched leading e-commerce companies The Iconic, Zalora and Lazada.

Musaab is a general partner with VentureSouq. Previously, Musaab was the Group CFO of Sary. He is a 3x entrepreneur and an experienced angel investor. Prior to Sary Musaab was the Executive Director of Marketing Strategy at SAGIA and the Director of Global Competitiveness Forum. Musaab brings a wealth of operational experience to the investment team at VentureSouq along with technical skills. Musaab holds a BSc from King Saud University and majored in Computer Engineering.  Musaab holds several board positions.