Ahmad HamzawiHead of Engineering, Middle East/North Africa at Google
Ahmad Hamzawi is the head of engineering at Google for the Middle East and North Africa region. He is currently leading engineering teams focused on building and adapting products for the Arab world. Ahmad joined Google in 2006 from KNOVA Software in Silicon Valley where he was Senior Director of Engineering. At KNOVA, he led the onshore and offshore engineering development and operations of an award-winning enterprise search and knowledge management product. Previously, he managed engineering teams of early stage startup companies as well as large enterprise companies such as Autodesk and Gateway. He has also taught courses in the Department of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science.
Hanan Abdel MeguidCEO of OTVentures
Hanan is the CEO of OTVentures
Hany El SonbatyCo-Founder and Managing Partner Sawari Ventures
Hany is one of the most experienced VC in the MENA region with over 12 years of experience. Prior to co-founding Sawari Ventures, he was a Partner at EFG-Hermes Private Equity heading their TMT and Venture Capital business. Whilst at EFG Hermes, he managed over USD 200 million of TMT related investments and was involved with many of the region’s pioneering technology companies including Maktoob.com, LinkdotNet, ITWorx, Raya and NextMedia Holdings. Hany was also instrumental in the creation of IdeaVelopers – EFG-Hermes’ venture capital arm – and the formation of its Technology Development Funds, which aim to nurture and grow the next generation of TMT companies. Prior to joining EFG-Hermes, Hany was a Development Engineer at Motorola’s distributor in Egypt. Hany holds a B.Eng. and M.Sc. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, London.
Mohamad Khawaja Investment Director for the Seed Startups Program at N2V
Mohamad Khawaja is the Investment Director for the Seed Startups Program at N2V. Before joining N2V, Khawaja worked for several years at the Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship as the Executive Director. He is one of the co-creators of “Business Model Generation”, selected as of one of the top 10 business books on Amazon in 2010. Mohamad holds a Bachelors degree in Communication Engineering from the Hashemite University in Jordan
Walid BakrPrincipal with Riyada Enterprise Development
Walid Bakr is a principal with Riyada Enterprise Development, the small and medium enterprise investment platform of Abraaj Capital (The Middle East and North Africa’s leading PE firm). Now based in Cairo, Mr. Bakr started his career asan information-technology professional and entrepreneur before becoming an investment professional for the last nine years. Given his operational and entrepreneurial background, as well as plenty of exposure to the international business community, Mr. Bakr brings a wealth of experience to his investment activities. Before Abraaj, he was a director of Riyada Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Amman, Jordan – that was before Riyada Ventures was purchased and became part of the Abraaj Group. Whilst at Riyada Ventures, Mr. Bakr advised on numerous investment funds and participated in structuring many early- stage investment transactions in the Middle East and North Africa. Before that, he CEO of IDEAVELOPERS, an EFG- Hermes subsidiary responsible for setting up and advising the Technology Development Fund, Egypt’s first seed and early-stage information and communications technology venture capital fund. During his career, Mr. Bakr has held management positions in the Egyptian ministry of CIT, the Arab Stock Exchange, and Sunbelt Software in Paris, France, amongst others. He holds a B.Sc. in Communications Engineering, with the highest honours, from Alexandria University.
