BIOGRAPHY

- Dr. Antonio Avitabile is the Managing Director at Sony Venture Capital (EMEA). He is running the CVC activities of Sony in EMEA and is running the corporate development division of Sony Semiconductor. Prior to joining Sony he was working for Philips Semiconductor in Holland as an IC design engineer. He has 25 years of experience in deal-making and deep tech ecosystems. He serves as a board member in a number ofcompanies. He has an MBA from London Business School and a doctorate degree from Politecnico di Torino. He speaks English, Italian and Spanish. 

BIOGRAPHY

Mohammed is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Positive Zero, an energy transition company that builds, finances and operates clean decentralized energy infrastructure across the GCC.<br> Mohammed has been involved in ventures across multiple sectors in the region and sat on the boards of several companies and institutions, including the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

BIOGRAPHY

Gregor is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Future Partners, a Germany-based Fund of Funds backing Emerging Managers focusing on tech investments globally. Prior to starting BFP in 2015, Gregor spent 5 years at an EU Family Office investing in VC and Real Estate. He also gained operational experience as Co-Founder and CEO of Open Publishing, one of Germany’s leading digital publishing software companies.

BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY

Mina Samaan is a General Partner at MMC Ventures and joined in 2017. He specialises in enterprise software, and has led deals such as Synthesia, Botguard, Red Sift, C TWO and SenseOn. Before joining MMC, Mina worked at Lazard, advising companies on equity capital markets and M&A transactions. He was previously an aerodynamics engineer for Williams Formula 1 team, working on race car design & development as well as control software and testing. At MMC, Mina leads enterprise software investments and has deep expertise in software infrastructure and AI-led businesses.

BIOGRAPHY

His Excellency Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah is the President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, one of the largest economic development arms in Dubai. In his current role, he oversees the implementation of Dubai Chambers’ strategic initiatives and plans, which aim to improve the ease of doing business in Dubai, support businesses expanding globally, attract foreign companies and investment, and advance the digital economy.

In addition to his current role at Dubai Chambers, His Excellency serves as a member of the board at the Dubai Free Zones Council and Emirati Human Resources Development Council and is a member of the University of Dubai Board of Trustees and a member of the board of Union Coop.

Previously, he served as CEO of the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection for Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, where he was responsible for overseeing consumer protection, business protection, intellectual property protection, and commercial compliance.

His Excellency also held several other leadership positions at the Department of Economic Development, namely Deputy CEO of the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Sector, Deputy CEO of the Dubai Export Development Corporation, Executive Director of Corporate Quality and Excellence, and Deputy Director of the Information Technology Department at Dubai Land Department.

H.E. Lootah earned a bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering from Arizona State University in the United States and an executive MBA in strategic management from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai.

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Victor Riparbelli is the CEO and Co-founder of Synthesia, the world’s leading AI video communications platform for enterprises. More than 55,000 businesses, including half of the Fortune 100, use it to communicate efficiently and share knowledge at scale using AI avatars. Synthesia is headquartered in London and makes video creation, collaboration and sharing easy for everyone.

Victor has been involved in technology entrepreneurship for the past 10 years and co-founded Synthesia in 2017 together with prof. Matthias Niessner, prof. Lourdes Agapito, and Steffen Tjerrild. Combining technical, academic, and entrepreneurial excellence, Victor and his team are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible using AI, while striving to pioneer the field in an ethical and responsible way.

BIOGRAPHY

Isabelle Bébéar est Directrice des affaires internationales et européennes de Bpifrance depuis 2019. Son équipe développe les relations internationales de Bpifrance pour faire rayonner la banque et servir la croissance des entreprises françaises. Elle s’investit dans le monde pour servir l‘avenir.

A ce titre, Isabelle supervise les relations avec les institutions européennes et internationales et les partenariats avec les fonds souverains et les investisseurs de long terme. Elle accompagne les gouvernements étrangers dans le développement de leurs écosystèmes entrepreneuriaux. Elle a la responsabilité d'EuroQuity, la plateforme digitale de mise en relation des entreprises innovantes avec les opportunités d'affaires et les investisseurs internationaux. Elle gère également Averroès Africa, un fonds de fonds dédié à l'investissement dans les entreprises africaines.

Isabelle est par ailleurs administrateur de Proparco (groupe Agence Française de Développement) et membre de son comité d'audit et des risques. Elle est également vice-présidente du conseil d'administration de HDBI, la Banque hellénique de développement pour les investissements et membre du conseil d'administration d’Attijariwafa Bank Europe. Elle est administratrice du Forum international des fonds souverains (IFSWF) et co-préside le forum international des banques de développement, The Montreal Group.

Isabelle est Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite depuis 2014.

Bpifrance

Bpifrance est la banque publique de développement et le fonds souverain français, en charge du financement des entreprises, de l’amorçage jusqu’à la cotation en bourse. Avec un total bilan de 80 milliards d’euros et 50,3 milliards sous gestion, Bpifrance a injecté 63 milliards d’euros dans l’économie française en 2023. Son résultat net s’est élevé à 1,1 milliard d’euros. Elle est détenue à parité par l’Etat et la Caisse des Dépôts.

Pour plus d’informations : www.bpifrance.fr

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Yousef Yousef is the Founder and CEO of LG Sonic, a global leader in green technology innovation focused on improving water quality. Under his leadership, LG Sonic has transformed into a multinational enterprise impacting over 50 million people across 96 countries, reducing chemical dependency in sectors like water utilities and nuclear plants. In addition to his role at LG Sonic, Yousef is an investor in innovative companies such as Hydrovolta, Globe to Cloud, and Licesonic, further extending his commitment to sustainable technologies. Yousef serves as a Board Member of the European Innovation Council (EIC), contributing to a €10.1 billion EU program supporting groundbreaking innovations. Recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, he is dedicated to fostering a sustainable future through collaborative efforts. He also chairs the Groene Groeiers Network, uniting over 550 scale-up companies accelerating the transition to a green economy, and serves on advisory boards for organizations like the Economic Board Zuid-Holland and Leiden University. His mission is to drive real change through multi-stakeholder alliances, aiming not just for business success but for a sustainable future.

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A credentialed and experienced investor with a successful track record, Ekta Tolani is the Chief Investment Officer of KBW Ventures. Shehas deployed over +$1B worldwide into direct deals during her career. Her investment work includes portfolio activity such as clean energy and sustainability, health care, education, technology, and innovation.<br> Over her 15 years of experience, Ekta has driven investment strategy and process for sourcing, selecting, and winning direct Private Equity ($100M+) and Venture Capital ($1M – $5M) style deals across a variety of high-growth sectors.<br> Ekta has cultivated a solid network of both family offices and institutional investors across the Middle East, North America, and Asia. She currently manages a broad network of such active relationships; a global network of LPs, Family Offices, and GPs recording top quartile returns. She brings in a plethora of great opportunities and co-investors with her. <br> She holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is the ambassador for the school’s MBA program and Booth Women. She is a member of the Private Equity Women Investor Network, and an ardent champion for women empowerment.

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Stephanie Nour is partner at Nuwa Capital where she leads on Network, LP engagement and operations. She works closely with Nuwa’s investors and portfolio companies. Prior to Nuwa, she was Wamda’s Director of Communications and Outreach, working on outreach and partnerships with multiple stakeholders in the MENA startup ecosystem. At Wamda, she focused on building the brand and community since joining in 2012, and led on programs such as the MIT Media Lab workshop Dubai, the American University of Beirut’s Reboot Beirut Hackathon, and the Crown Prince Court’s Minds on a Mission Design Thinking workshop among other programs and deal sourcing activities. She has a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Creative Writing from the American University of Beirut.

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Walid is the co-founder and co-CEO of MEVP. Walid’s deep involvement in the VC & Technology ecosystem in the MENA region dates to the mid2000s. Since 2006, Walid has been intimately involved in this transformational entrepreneurial story by participating in the setup, scale up and exit of several VC Funds and Technology companies and serves as a board member and advisor to many successful internet and technology companies regionally and globally.
Prior to MEVP, Walid has previously worked in Public Policy (UAE Prime Ministry Office), Strategy Consulting (Booz Allen Hamilton) and Industrial & Software engineering in France. Walid holds a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the “Institut National des Science Appliquées” INSA de Lyon (France) and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (USA).