Streams of Progress

Majed Al Suwaidi, Board Member at Young Arab Leaders, is the Managing Director of Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, and Dubai Production City as well as Head of in5 – members of TECOM Group.

He provides strategic direction and ensures steady growth of the Media business communities, home to thousands of media companies, and tens of thousands of creative professionals. As the Managing Director of this integrated creative ecosystem which is home to many Fortune 500 companies from around the world, entrepreneurs and startups alike, Majed plays a key role in positioning Dubai as an international media hub.

Prior to this role, Majed was Managing Director of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource City. Under his leadership, the integrated ICT hub became a strategic partner of the Smart Dubai initiative that is driving Dubai’s transformation into one of the smartest cities in the world.

In a previous role as Director of Business Development for Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource City, he was part of the team that launched in5, a dedicated platform for emerging talent that supports innovation and entrepreneurship across TECOM’s business parks.

Majed has also served as Director Commercial Operations and Director of Sales at Dubai Internet City and prior to that gained invaluable experience with Dubai International Financial Centre and Emirates Airlines.

Amongst his other responsibilities, Majed is a member of the Dubai Future Council for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystems and a Board Director of SmartCity Malta. He also leads in5, TECOM Group’s incubator and enabling platform for technology, media, and design startups.

Enjoy the show!

• 00:30 – Growing up in Dubai
• 02:00 – Pursuing MBA while being out-stationed with Emirates (in Africa).
• 03:00 – “Emirates is a school itself”
• 05:45 – Dubai’s many cities and what they are?  Majed shares the history of His Highness’ grand vision to shift away from oil dependency.
• 13:30 – On building government services on the basis of a customer experience program.
• 15:00 – How they are supporting businesses within the leading creative zones of Dubai.
• 19:30 – The role of In5 in Dubai’s startup ecosystem.
• 24:30 – In5 flying talent from across the globe come to offer expert workshops to the community.
• 29:00 – Majed’s role on the Dubai Future Council for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
• 32:00 – YAL as a platform has shown there are a variety of people to learn from and interact with and the benefits he sees.
• 34:00 – On attending YAL events and the network “has provided me with an angle I didn’t see before”
• 36:15 – The importance of keeping things interesting.
• 38:15 – “There are a lot of opportunities lying ahead, keep your head up and work hard”
• 41:30 – Majed’s dream initiative to create a creator’s ecosystem to enable and empower creators of all types.
• 44:00 – “Opportunities might be hidden but they are there”

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Helen Al Uzaizi is an established businesswoman and an active community member. With over 17 years of experience spanning marketing, non-profit management, and entrepreneurship, Helen has been supporting major brands, non-profit organizations, and startups across the region as a mentor and Board member and advisor. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of PACES Charity working with Palestinian refugee children through sports, and an Advisor and Brand Ambassador for SEP, The Social Enterprise Project working on empowering Palestinian & Syrian refugee women.

Helen is the CEO of BizWorld UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, social enterprises that teach kids entrepreneurship skills. She is also the Founder of Future Entrepreneurs, a platform that aims to empower youth entrepreneurs in MENA. Most recently, she also took on the role of Director of Entrepreneurs hip & Youth Start up, Innovation & Social Impact with GEMS Education. She was recently named one of the UAE’s 100 Smartest People and one of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World. She was also a TedX Speaker on the topic of entrepreneurship education. She is also one of the founding Co-Leads of the Founder Institute, Dubai Chapter launching in summer 2020.

Helen studied Law & Government at the University of Manchester, UK and completed her executive education at Columbia University. As a believer in life long learning, she is currently enrolled at the London School of Economics reading International Development. On a personal level, Helen is a mother of 2, runner, triathlete and adventurer who believes in making dreams come to life and that anything is possible.

Enjoy the show!

Posted on September 3rd, 2020

• 01:15 – Helen’s background and upbringing.
• 02:15 – Pushing the boundary since a very early age.
• 03:00 – Her childhood and education background.
• 04:00 – Helen’s continuing education through out her life.
• 07:30 – How everything in her life occurred by random chance and luck.
• 13:45 – Her first venture into entrepreneurship as CEO.
• 14:45 – What is the Future Entrepreneurs Platform?
• 19:00 – Entrepreneurship is a learning tool for children of all backgrounds.
• 23:00 – “Education is primarily delivered by educators”, the work they are doing to train teachers.
• 25:00 – Giving back is in grained in everything she does.
• 32:15 – The power of social enterprise vs. charity
• 34:00 – One of her best decisions was joining Young Arab Leaders and getting access to its network.
• 37:30 – On the opportunities to meet power players from corporates to government officials as part of YAL
• 40:00 – Opportunities that exist within experimentation.
• 42:00 – Adapting her own business to the pandemic.
• 44:45 – On having multiple role models and not a specific role model to look to.
• 46:15 – How she sets her goals at the end of the year for the following year.
• 51:00 – The importance of dreaming big
• 54:15 – Her triathlon and baking dual hobby
• 55:45 – Helen’s dream initiative for Emirates Airlines to pursue.

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Farah Al Qaissieh is a mother of three boys and social entrepreneur and motivational speaker; she holds a Bachelors of Finance from Zayed University.

Farah launched Stutter UAE in 2013 to raise awareness and support people who stutter through various workshops and events.

In 2016, Farah was featured in a book chapter titled “Game Changers: How Women in the Arab World Are Changing the Rules and Shaping the Future”.

In 2017, a short film documentary ‘Just Another Accent’ premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner and Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden; shedding light on Farah’s journey with Stutter UAE.

In 2018, Farah was awarded the Abu Dhabi Award; the highest civilian medal and recognition granted by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for her positive impact in the community.

In 2020, Farah launched iStutter Center in partnership with SpeechCare Center in Portugal, an online speech therapy center focusing on treatments for stuttering.

Also in 2020, Farah co-founded Guiding Stars, an online platform guiding mothers to a more mindful way of raising twins.

Show Notes:

• 01:45 – Farah’s Emirati background
• 05:45 – What is Stutter UAE?
• 07:15 – How she overcame her own stutter.
• 10:15 – Stuttering more in our mother tongue and her struggles with Arabic.
• 12:15 – iStutter Center launched in collaboration with Speech Care Center in Portugal.
• 15:15 – Farah being awarded the Abu Dhabi Award.
• 19:15 – Launching her next venture, Guiding Stars
• 22:30 – Going through the Ma’an Social Incubator program.
• 23:30 – Why Farah decided to join Young Arab Leaders.
• 24:45 – Access to mentorship and providing guidance to the next generation.
• 26:15 – The role of Young Arab Leaders in empowering women entrepreneurs
• 29:45 – Farah’s role models; she’s even met and interacted with them
• 33:00 – Farah’s routine of reading to her children before bed every night.
• 34:45 – “What would you want to be remembered for?”
• 36:15 – How testing out the theories in a book actually started to manifest for her
• 37:45 – Her joy of writing and painting.
• 39:45 – Focusing on the fact that happiness starts from within.
• 41:45 – “Do not be afraid to take risks” and how the calculated risks she took, brought her to where she is today.

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Muna Easa Al Gurg is the Director of Retail of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, a multidivisional conglomerate with 27 companies. The Group is active in several industry sectors that include retail, building and construction, industrial, real estate and joint ventures.

Since 2008, Al Gurg has been Chairwoman of Young Arab Leaders UAE, where she promotes education, entrepreneurship and youth development.

Al Gurg has been advocating a greater role for women in business. In 2015 she launched the Muna Al Gurg Scholarship at London Business School, supporting female students studying in the school’s MBA and Executive MBA programme.

Al Gurg is on the board of several non-profit organisations, such as the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development where she works closely with its Chairman, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. At the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation, she is responsible for strategy and initiatives both in the UAE and internationally. She is a member of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sustainability Board, which is mandated to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to refugees in the MENA region. Finally, she is a founding board member of Endeavor UAE, a non-profit organisation promoting high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging and growth markets.

Muna Al Gurg is an active investor; one of her most publicized successes was the $3.1 billion exit from the Middle East's largest technology startup Careem which was acquired by Uber in March 2019. Al Gurg was one of the only female investors and the sole Emirati.

She started her career with Saatchi & Saatchi in Dubai, and consequently joined the family business in 2001. She holds an MBA from London Business School in the UK and is also a Fellow of the Middle East Leadership Initiative of The Aspen Institute.

• 01:45 - Muna’s background and growing up in Deira.
• 3:45 - The Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group’s wide-ranging portfolio of companies.
• 5:00 - Becoming the head of retail during the last recession.
• 6:45 - Having a presence online and dealing with the current Pandemic
• 8:45 - Being part of the UN Refugees Sustainability Board
• 10:45 - Her learnings from Saatchi & Saatchi
• 12:15 - Expressing herself on her blog and writing for Gulf News
• 16:15 - Her ‘baby project’ in Zanzibar.
• 18:45 - About the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Foundation and various initiatives it supports.
• 20:15 - The Young Arab Leaders network.
• 21:45 - The launching of Young Arab Leaders at the Dead Sea.
• 22:15 - Young Arab Leaders’ Power Lunches and meeting prominent figures.
• 24:15 - Giving back to the community as a YAL member and impacting the youth of the region.
• 25:45 - The role of mentorship in a youth’s learning.
• 26:30 - The learnings and ‘mentorship’ she received from her own father.
• 27:15 - Her tea party at Buckingham Palace.
• 28:45 - Being a Founding Member of Endeavor UAE.
• 30:00 - “It’s a small world”
• 31:15 - The need for entrepreneurs to solve problems that aren’t as capitally intensive in the current climate.
• 33:30 - Her mentor at the time when she got started.
• 36:15 - “Change begins with you”.
• 39:15 - The Acumen Academy and it’s global network of fellows creating a domino effect of impact.
• 40:45 - Her travels exploring the continent of Africa.
• 41:30 - Her weekend passion at Al Serkal Avenue and Jameel Arts Centre.
• 43:00 - Muna’s wish for the UAE to become a leader in Intellectual Property and Research.
• 44:30 - How to make it happen by supporting the growing talent within local institutions and by having the private sector contribute.
• 47:00 - Muna’s advice on envisioning your end goals.

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Najla Ahmed Al-Midfa, Vice-Chairwoman of Young Arab Leaders, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), a government-supported entity launched in January 2016, with a mandate to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sharjah, and support entrepreneurs as they build and grow innovative startups that will contribute positively to the region’s economy. To date, Sheraa has built a portfolio of over 100 startups, which have raised over $50m in investment, created over 600 jobs, and generated over $35m in cumulative revenue. Sheraa also hosts the annual Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SharjahEF), a gathering of over 3000 entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and ecosystem supporters.

In her previous role as Senior Manager at Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Najla led a team of business counselors through the due diligence process of selecting ventures for financing. She also set up and operated the Northern Emirate branch of Khalifa Fund, covering Ajman, Dubai, and Sharjah.

Najla holds an MBA from Stanford University. Prior to joining Khalifa Fund, Najla was a senior associate at McKinsey and Company’s New York office, primarily serving clients across the financial institutions sector. Her experience also includes roles within PricewaterhouseCoopers and Shell.

Najla is also founder of Khayarat, a platform that empowers young, high-potential Emiratis to make informed career choices, and enables them to succeed in the private sector. With a community of over one thousand young Emiratis, and over 100 placements in leading international private sector companies, the platform is influencing the next generation of Emiratis to raise their ambitions and fulfill their potential.

Najla is a board member of United Arab Bank, where she chairs the Board Audit Committee, and a board member of Endeavor UAE. She is also a fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Leadership Initiative. In 2019, she was selected to be an Eisenhower Global Fellow.

Enjoy the show!

• 01:30 - Najla’s beginnings and travels.
• 02:45 - Describing her first job at PWC.
• 05:45 - The genesis of Sheraa, born from an idea.
• 07:45 - Continuous cohort improvement at Sheraa.
• 08:45 - Her entrepreneurial venture with Khayarat.
• 12:30 - The bridge for Emirati graduates and the private sector.
• 14:15 - Her McKinsey story and what happened at her first interview.
• 17:00 - Endeavor’s UAE Chapter and supporting scale-ups of the region.
• 19:00 - Sheraa’s iterations, from seed to grants
• 20:30 - Access Sharjah program and thematic competitions
• 21:30 - On disbursing over$700k, Equity-free, non-dilutive grant funding
• 22:45 - Different tracks with multiple corporate partnerships for startups.
• 24:00 - Three ways you can support entrepreneurs as an entity
• 25:00 - On being the only female board member of a bank
• 26:30 - Being a part of the Aspen Institute, beyond reflection it inspires leaders to act.
• 27:30 - The regional focus of Middle East Leadership Initiative of the Aspen Institute
• 29:00 - The network effect of the Aspen Institute, the Resnick Action Forum
• 31:15 - How she manages her time with so many initiatives and organizations on her team // the importance of building a team you can trust
• 33:15 - “The first step on your entrepreneurial journey”
• 37:00 - Entrepreneurship is inter-disciplinary and Sheraa is democratizing access to entrepreneurship.
• 38:15 - On the false narratives around entrepreneurship.
• 40:45 - The COVID-19 solidarity fund.
• 41:45 - Revealing Sheraa’s yet to-be-announced initiative!
• 43:30 - The move of Sheraa’s HQ to SRTIP (Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park)
• 44:00 - What is Young Arab Leaders, in the Vice-Chairwoman’s words
• 45:15 - Supporting young Arabs to become the next generation of leaders
• 45:45 - Disheartened entrepreneurs, remember as all previous crises, it will eventually pass.
• 47:30 - “With every crisis comes new opportunities” and how 3Dinova, a Sheraa supported startup, pivoted during pandemic.
• 49:45 - “Don’t die with your music still in you”
• 51:15 - Rarely gifting business books, but instead of novels and stories that will resonate with the recipient.
• 55:45 - The UAE itself is an incubator for dreams, whether those are dreams and hopes of individuals, or organizations or even nations.
• 57:30 - The COVID19 situation and remembering that life is short and we are all interdependent.

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This week on Streams of Progress, while at the 2020 Step Conference we sat down with various speakers who were in Dubai for this occasion.

This episode’s guest is Robert Scoble from Infinite Retina, where he shared some highlights from his keynote talk about Spatial Computing.

These mini episodes offer insights into the trends they are seeing from their respective roles as well as their thoughts on the MENA startup ecosystem and their takeaways from the 2020 Step Conference.

Please enjoy this discussion with one of our guest speakers and be sure to check out more episodes from the 2020 Step Conference.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Streams of Progress, while at the 2020 Step Conference we sat down with various speakers who were in Dubai for this occasion.

This episode’s guest is Hasan Haider from 500 Startups, where as a regional venture capitalist, provides us some insights into the 500 Falcons Fund.

These mini episodes offer insights into the trends they are seeing from their respective roles as well as their thoughts on the MENA startup ecosystem and their takeaways from the 2020 Step Conference.

Please enjoy this discussion with one of our guest speakers and be sure to check out more episodes from the 2020 Step Conference.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Streams of Progress, while at the 2020 Step Conference we sat down with various speakers who were in Dubai for this occasion.

This episode’s guest is Alicia Sornson from Village Capital, where she gives us some highlights into their recent Finance Forward initiative in the MENA region.

These mini episodes offer insights into the trends they are seeing from their respective roles as well as their thoughts on the MENA startup ecosystem and their takeaways from the 2020 Step Conference.

Please enjoy this discussion with one of our guest speakers and be sure to check out more episodes from the 2020 Step Conference.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Streams of Progress, while at the 2020 Step Conference we sat down with various speakers who were in Dubai for this occasion.

This episode’s guest is Jeremiah Owyang from Kaleido Insights, where he provides some highlights from his keynote talk about the six digital eras.

These mini episodes offer insights into the trends they are seeing from their respective roles as well as their thoughts on the MENA startup ecosystem and their takeaways from the 2020 Step Conference.

Please enjoy this discussion with one of our guest speakers and be sure to check out more episodes from the 2020 Step Conference.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stuart Oda is an investment banker turned urban farmer with a passion for innovation and sustainability. In 2013, Stuart founded Alesca Life, an agricultural technology company that builds indoor, vertical farms and farm management software to make food production more localized and data driven.

Stuart is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and Alesca has been part of multiple prestigious accelerator programs including Stanford StartX, Thrive Agtech, Unreasonable Impact, Pearse Lyons, BitsxBites, and Dubai Future Accelerator as an innovator in the field of controlled environment agriculture, hyper-local urban farming, and Farming-as-a-Service.

Alesca’s focus on emerging markets and re-framing our conversation around food and agriculture is making positive changes on a global scale for all of humanity.

Stuart is an UCLA alumni and previously worked in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch Japan Securities in Tokyo and the emerging market business strategy team at Dell China in Beijing.

Enjoy the show!

• 01:15 – On being a second generation Japanese American, born in Colorado.
• 02:30 – Exposure to finance and technology through Merrill Lynch.
• 4:00 – Impacting the lives of many through finance mechanisms.
• 9:00 – Maintaining a healthy level of disrespect for things that are legacy.
• 9:30 – Growing up in Singapore and what life was back then.
• 13:00 – The challenge and thrill of starting over and rebuilding.
• 16:30 – On moving to China to work for DELL China.
• 20:30 – On Lenovo’s strategy of exporting China’s roadmap.
• 22:45 – Some of the major trends across every geography the research looked at, from income to technology trends.
• 25:30 – Alesca Life, an agriculture technology company, building indoor farms and farm management solutions.
• 25:35 – Bundling and unbundling of the software and hardware.
• 29:00 – If only one form of transportation, we would be severely limited to inefficient modes depending on the situation.
• 30:45 – Difference between indoor vertical farms and greenhouses.
• 35:15 – Alesca Life’s two business models – Producer & Enabler.
• 38:00 – Simulating four natural disasters to adapt taste.
• 40:00 – Defining fleets in 4s and 5s for efficiency (per Urban Grower).
• 45:00 – Everything they do is hydroponic.
• 48:15 – Fiber optics, lasers and the future of AgriTech is ambitious.
• 50:00 – Looking to cloud server management for best practices in the future of AgriTech.
• 56:00 – “We have a lot of opinions, as consumers of food, of what agriculture should look like…”
• 60:00 – On using the term agriculture and foods.
• 61:45 – The emerging market focus of Alesca Life.
• 65:45 – Showcasing the Alesca Life ‘farm’ and the Mercedes Benz cafe case.
• 66:45 – The fun things they are planning to do in R&D.
• 69:15 – Personalized customizations for growing.
• 71:45 – Exposure to new innovative business models due to his exposure to the Chinese market.
• 73:30 – Alesca’s moonshot of ‘Free Food’.
• 77:30 – Thoughts on giving food (or even money) away to people and finding life fulfillment.
• 80:30 – On never using the word ‘farmer’.
• 82:00 – Alesca’s experience with various startup accelerators and Stuart’s takeaways.
• 87:30 – On his lack of time to watch movies or TV shows since founding Alesca Life.
• 92:00 – His current role as a ‘Bible salesman’
• 95:45 – On having a VR/AR enabled pitch deck.
• 97:30 – His thoughts on colonizing the moon and growing food on Mars.
• 101:30 – The coincidence in his family name and finding his life purpose.
• 102:30 – Hard work is superior to talent.
• 110:45 – “Constellating” in R&D projects.

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