Sumaya Al Hajeri- Lead of Executive Affairs, UAE government
Sumaya Al Hajeri is a leader in the field of technology, telecommunications, and outer space regulations. She is heading the Governance and Data section at the Minister’s Office of AI, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Application. Previously, she was the Head of Space Policies and Regulations at the UAE Space Agency. She contributed to achieving several projects, such as the UAE’s participation in the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs, the Federal Law No. 12 of 2019 regarding the regulation of the UAE Space Sector, and other related strategies and policies. She has also contributed to Women in Space as part of the UNOOSA agenda, increasing Emirati women’s workforce participation and establishing space policies and strategies.
Talha Nasir- Founder of three startups and a successful entrepreneur
Nasir is the overseer of three free organizations right now. Quite possibly of Nasir’s most productive businesses,’ Drive plus to Rent-a-Car”, has assisted the thriving business person with developing his noteworthy portfolio. In the UAE, Drive Plus Rent a Car is one of the main vehicle rental organizations. His organization expects to address the issues of the two inhabitants and guests living all through the district, with many vehicles made accessible at the least expensive market rates. He consolidates his insight and involvement in a huge cluster of hand-crafted vehicle rental choices to make the ideal counterpart for everybody all over the planet who visits UAE. Nasir’s two other beneficial firms, aside from the vehicle rental business, are “the Pipes Shisha Lounge and Café” and “D1 Energy,” which is an assembling organization for caffeinated drinks. Both of his organizations are doing similarly well and presently, his essential spotlight is on extending his business all over the planet. According to Nasir, “With each new business venture I make, I acquire more information, which empowers me to make more canny speculations and in this manner procure benefits.”
Jazeer Jamal-Founder, Grow Valley
GrowValley Ventures is the region’s first & biggest Venture Studio & Fund based in the UAE that partners with influential partners to create extraordinary inorganic growth.
He founded, co-founded, co-invested, and exited multiple ventures in the last two decades. Some of his ventures failed miserably, as they did for many others, some became super successful, and some just sailed to pay the bills. He has been blessed to learn a lot by doing business with many affluent royal family members and billionaires in the Middle East. His experience in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE has been life-changing. Because of his passion for human transformation and entrepreneurship, he regularly speaks at TEDx, startup events, global summits, schools, and universities. And he said he would love to keep doing it.
To continuously learn, he is also active in some of the most prestigious startup ecosystems, including venture capitalists, incubators, and accelerators like Techstars, Virgin Startups, and a few others from across the globe.
Hosam Arab- founder of tabby (UAE)
Hosam Arab is the founder of BNPL startup tabby, possibly one of the most talked about fintech startups in the Middle East this year. The company was founded in 2019 and made the news this year for a number of developments, especially a US $50 million funding round. Before starting tabby, Arab helmed fashion e-commerce company Namshi, another widely discussed company in the region, as co-founder and CEO. The company was majority acquired by Dubai’s Emaar Malls in 2017 for US$151 million, then fully bought out in 2019 for US$129.5 million all cash. Arab, a Harvard alumnus, stepped down from his role of CEO soon after the acquisition, and six months later, founded tabby.
Ola Doudin- Founder of BitOasis
BitOasis is a crypto trading platform in the UAE – one of the earliest local startups of its kind. The company allows users to trade over 20 cryptocurrencies and fiat pairs and has seen trading volumes cross US$3 billion so far. It recently picked up US$30 million in a Series B fundraise. Ola Doudin has spent the last six years building the company as its co-founder and CEO. BitOasis is her first venture, but Doudin is also reported to be a co-founder and advisor to Middle East Bitcoin payment processing company Yellow. Doudin has IT experience with EY in London and also has management experience at Aramex and Arabia 500. Co-founder Daniel Robenek, meanwhile, serves as the CTO of BitOasis. He leads the company’s development team to keep the technical side of the exchange running. Robenek dropped out of his Ph.D., which explored supercomputers for biomedicine DNA analysis, to join BitOasis.
Abdulla Almoayed- Founder of Tarabut Gateway
Abdulla Almoayed is the founder of the first open banking platform (and one of the most closely watched in this space) Tarabut Gateway. Founded in Bahrain in 2018, the company recently shifted its HQ to Dubai. Tarabut Gateway is not Almoayed’s first company. Almoayed has invested in a number of businesses in the Middle East, across healthcare, education, logistics, cybersecurity, and fintech, through his holding company Almoayed Technologies.
Almoayed Technologies is a private venture investment fund focused on large-scale digital infrastructure projects. It is an investor in Tarabut Gateway. Almoayed himself comes from a Bahrain-based business family. Previously Abdulla spent 15 years investing in various sectors, before taking over parts of his family’s investment business. From this, he established his own holding company, Almoayed Technologies – a privately-owned, venture-minded investment vehicle focused on large-scale infrastructure projects aimed at accelerating MENA’s digital transformation. It invests in game-changing companies across Fintech, Healthcare, Education, Logistics, and Cybersecurity – one of which was TG. Abdulla holds an MBA from the London Business School and a BABM with Honours from the University of Westminster, London.
About Author
