Saudi’s Hottest Tech & Startup Festival

A dreamer, an entrepreneur, and a proud father of a T1D Angel

Co-founder and CEO of AL JABR MENA, a startup development and corporate innovation venture aiming to unlock MENA’s innovation potential through entrepreneurship. Providing incubation, acceleration and access to funding.

Imad Hammad founded CarSwitch.com in early 2016. A seasoned executive with over 10 years of management consulting and line role experience across +10 developed and emerging markets. A dean’s list graduate of the University of Toronto, Imad holds an undergraduate degree in computer & electrical engineering. He was formerly an Associate Partner in McKinsey & Company where he led multiple teams to deliver tangible top-line impact against the broad commercial agenda of the largest TMT players in the MENA region. His work there primarily focused on strategy, product design and marketing & sales transformations. Imad also held a line role as the Regional Director of Sales & Pricing at OSN where he led product and promotion decisions across 8+ markets and sales operations from footprint optimization to target setting and incentive design. A pragmatic leader with a collaborative approach to problem solving and rigorous analytics, Imad has worked with host of senior leaders and lead diverse teams across 3 continents to deliver tangible results.

Serial entrepreneur with Masters in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Worked with the Japanese army and in Silicon Valley. Owner of multiple patents that range from drones, cookware, hardware, biotech & fintech.

Yousef Shamoun is the Co-founder and CEO of ZenHR, the award-winning and leading Human Resources Management System in MENA that helps HR departments and employees achieve peace of mind. ZenHR completely automates companies’ internal HR processes and procedures, providing a delightful and seamless experience from the 'Acquire' stage to the 'Retire' stage. Before expanding into the HR software space in 2017, Yousef co-founded Akhtaboot, one of MENA's largest online job boards, in 2007. Since ZenHR’s inception in 2017, the company has grown to be the home of more than 160 employees across three regional offices in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Jordan, with its headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As the CEO, Yousef oversees the company's business strategy and ensures the whole team is rowing together. Under his leadership, ZenHR has dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offering while maintaining a strong culture of innovation. Alongside ZenHR, Yousef also co-founded the Arabic card gaming website Jawaker (www.jawaker.com), which was acquired in September 2021 by Stillfront for $205 million. Yousef is also a member of the Endeavor network and Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), collectively serving on the board of ZenHR, Endeavor, and the Bank of Jordan. Yousef frequently attends and speaks at Human Resources and entrepreneurial conferences and events, sharing his passion and experience in the SaaS and HR worlds. Yousef earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University in Canada in 2001 and completed his MBA from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 2006 with a specialization in Entrepreneurship.

A dreamer, an entrepreneur, and a proud father of a T1D Angel

Chris is a co-founder and CCO of Swapp, a Mobility-as-a-Service startup; offering it’s clients a flexible car subscription marketplace that’s an affordable and adaptable alternative to buying or leasing a car. Swapp focuses on clients with a need for personal mobility with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and in Budapest. At Swapp, Chris manages and mentors the supply side of the business, ensuring that all markets have an adequate amount of relevant cars at all times as well as being involved in the fundraising process. This includes co-managing the seed fund initiative with the value of 5m USD. Prior to joining Swapp, Chris managed Deezer in Africa and scaled it to become the leading streaming service on the continent .

A Director and a Computer Science professional with 15+ years of diversified experience in spearheading major projects in Fintech and telecommunications

Sharene Lee is the co-founder of TAKADAO, a shariah-compliant co-op **insurance built on web3 technologies. Previously, she was the co-founder and COO of Melltoo, a peer-to-peer transactional marketplace for second-hand items, which was acquired in 2022. Sharene is a serial entrepreneur with two prior exits in the analog economy and one in web2. She was born and raised in Singapore, but lived in the United States prior to moving to the Middle East. She now lives in Riyadh. Her passions include Islamic finance and the web3; in particular, how blockchains and crypto are a fertile ground for the growth of new financial paradigms. Sharene also enjoys mentoring and working with fellow female entrepreneurs. She is a mother of 7

Nadim is passionate about directly impacting peoples lives by giving them tangible and practical solutions to reconcile healthy living with sustainable growth. Nadim joined Natufia as a co founder to help realize this ambition. At Natufia, he oversees company’s corporate finance, strategic growth and business partnerships. After a successful career in advising tech companies at Deloitte and LD&A (now Drake Star Partners), he started his founder journey and launched an e-commerce company in the Nordics called Ooolala, the company was sold in 2016. Natufia was a natural next step combining his passion for sustainability and his entrepreneurial approach. Nadim holds two Master degrees: in Electronic Engineering from ISEP Paris and in Strategy Management from HEC Paris.

The founder of AETHER a blockchain development firm focused on identifying problems and solving them through decentralized technology Jad has been active in the cryptocurrency scene while pursuing his interest in blockchain development and its real life applications, working on projects from certificate verification on the blockchain , to Solar Energy NFTs and STEM sector research publication on the blockchain. Jad has a avid interest in real life practical applications on a traceable transparent decentralized technology.

Vincent Ghossoub is an innovator of games and virtual worlds in the Middle East and China. He is building Nifty Craft, a 2D MMORPG containing a tech layer to empower the crafting of NFTs in a decentralized way across web3 games. Prior to that he founded Falafel Games, the leading producer and publisher of MMO games in the Middle East, ranked on Forbes Top 30 Innovators in the Middle East for 2017 and 2018. He released the first game with truly Arabic content inspired by the history of the region, and the first MMO Strategy game developed in the MENA, as well as Taqki a global innovation in multiplayer live video. Vincent is a graduate of China Europe International Business School, and is fluent in French, Chinese, English, and Arabic.

Alexandre Allegue has spent 15 years of his career starting and growing ventures across Europe, Middle East and Africa. As an advocate for sustainability, Alexandre accumulated a wealth of experiences in the space of renewable energies (Manufacturing, Contracting, Development/IPP, and Investments), with some of the most prominent players in the region such as Acwa Power. He is currently CEO of Graze it, a recently launched venture tackling food security challenges in the Middle East. Alexandre holds the position of MESIA’s board Vice President (Middle East Solar Industry Association) and sits as Executive Chairman of Pawame, a social impact company that he has founded to provide all Sub Saharan communities affordable access to solar power and financial services. Alexandre is a fellow Alumni of Harvard Business School, ESIA Engineering School, as well as ESSEC Business school.

Naif is the founder of Hakbah. He's a cross-functional leader with achievement-driven experience of over 23 years in different industries (Banking, Technology, Telecom, Energy, Power & Water, Healthcare, Aviation, Logistics, and Tourism) at local and international entities. With a mission to elevate and innovate the financial savings sector in MENA, Hakbah is the spearhead and critical player in achieving that.

Feras Al Safwan is an investment professional with more than 12 years of experience in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Feras is currently an Investment Manager with Wa’ed Ventures, specializing in disruptive innovation and ESG investments. Driven by his passion for sustainability, Feras aims to leverage his experience and deploy capital in startups that will make a positive impact and accelerate the transition toward a 'Green Economy'

Architect by education Agri-preneur by passion who is on a mission to make the future of agriculture accessible to everyone, through innovating highly efficient, modular, profitable and affordable indoor farming solutions.

Aahan Bhojani is the CEO and Founder of Silkhaus, a proptech startup on a mission to power short-term rentals across Asia. He leads Silkhaus’ diverse team of technologists, operators, and business builders, and has raised seed funding / one of the MENA’s largest seed rounds from leading global venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. Aahan has worked in leadership positions across technology platforms, and has experiences across strategy consulting at Bain & Company and investment banking (M&A) at Barclays. He has also served as an advisor to the UAE Prime Minister's Office. Aahan holds an undergraduate degree in Economics and Political Science (Honors) from Yale University, and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Manar Mahmassani is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Stake, the MENA region’s leading digital real estate investment platform. Manar’s career began at Deutsche Bank AG, where he spent 9 years in EM Debt, becoming Head of MENA Structured Credit and Global Head of Islamic Structuring. Following DB, he joined Falcon Group, a leading global alternative finance provider as Managing Director, Head of Corporate Finance. Throughout his career, Manar has executed over USD 6bn worth of transactions for corporates, family offices, quasi-sovereigns and financial institutions. Manar holds a BSc in Mathematics and Economics from the London School of Economics and a CFA Level II certificate.

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.

A former Government Executive in Digital Transformation leading Digital Government and Digital Economy. Unleashing the potential of digitizing government operations and services. Unlocking the power of data to leapfrog the private sector contribution in the digital economy. Started Meila Digital to disrupt the GovTech industry and build in the Government 3.0 era. Moving the concept from Service to Experience and portal to platform. Making Digital Health, Digital Finance and Digital Identity a zero headache journey powered by Data and AI and built around citizen. Ali Hold and executive degree from Harvard Business School in Leadership. And also an MIT graduate in Strategy and Innovation Executive Education. www.meiladigital.com

Ahmad is the founder of Sohoby, IT Consultant & Trainer for Web, Mobile, Al & Blockchain technologies. He founded his company 2 years ago and is successfully servicing Saudi businesses with his agency's innovative IT capabilities.

A recognised IT executive with about 20 years experience in leading edge IT and change implementation in the Middle East in areas of IT, Smart City, Cloud, ERP, DSS, IT Outsourcing & transforming IT into a Profit Centre. Acclaimed as an agent of change with a track record of successfully implementing complex IT and change projects to a reference site standard meeting challenging deadlines on time and in budget. Twice Awarded as one of the Top 10 IT Managers of the Middle East and featured in numerous published articles in IT, Smart City and Project Management in the region's IT publications.

Dr. Mazen Melibari is the Chief Technology Officer & Partner of TAM Development. He previously worked as the Chief Research & Innovation Engineer, General Manager of Research and Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence Advisor at the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE). Dr. Melibari also served as an Advisor and Lead Artificial Intelligence Researcher at MiSK Foundation, Google Developer Expert in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and an Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Melibari is the former Chairman of the Information Research Department at the Hajj Research Institute (HRI) and the founder of the Advance & Creative Technologies Research Unit at HRI. He obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. His research interests revolve around developing machine learning algorithms for reasoning under uncertainty and applying A.I. techniques to tackle challenging real-world problems, especially in the area of Natural Language Processing. Dr. Melibari has published his research in top-tier academic journals and conferences, such as the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), and International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS). He has been an active participant in local and global software developer communities since he was seven years old. He has recently co-founded Lucidya, a high-tech startup that helps businesses and decision-makers to make smarter strategic decisions using A.I. and machine learning technologies.