It’s refreshing being around well versed entrepreneurs and fresh faced business men and women. In a region and especially a country like Egypt where everyone is gripping onto any hope they have to get the economy moving again, RiseUp Summit has done just that.
It’s even more of a perk when smart people are HOT as well. Check out our picks for the five hottest brains (and looks) at this year’s summit:
Steve Haley:
Steve partnered with Mercy Corps in 2011 to found MC Egypt LLC, a for-profit social business development investment company seeking to catalyze improvements to the existing entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt. Steve holds a master’s degree in theoretical mathematics from the University of Padova, Italy.
Company: MC Egypt
Short Bio: General Manager
Website: mcegypt.me
Twitter: @stevenmhaley
Omar Samra:
Omar Samra quit his uninspiring job and started a company during the world financial crisis and named it after an exotic fruit. He also specializes in dragging himself and heavy objects to high and cold places.
When he’s not working 12 hours a day, he’s on a mountain somewhere, climbing something snowy and stunning or hanging out with the remote tribes of West Papua. When he is working, he’s playing ping pong, foozball or designing some of the most fun journeys to the world’s most inspiring places for anyone out there looking for the extraordinary!
Company: Wild Guanabana
Short Bio: Adventurer, Mountaineer, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker
Website: wildguanabana.com/
Twitter: @omarsamra
Heather Henyon:
Heather Henyon is the founder and managing partner of Balthazar Capital, a microfinance investment advisory firm for the Arab region. Prior to launching Balthazar Capital, Heather was the founding general manager of Grameen-Jameel, a social business jointly owned by Grameen Foundation and Abdul LatifJameel Group. Under Heather’s leadership, Grameen-Jameel originated, structured and closed $44 million in leveraged commercial debt financing for microfinance institutions in Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Heather recently founded and chairs the Women’s Angel Investment Network (WAIN), the first women’s angel investment group in the Middle East. WAIN supports women entrepreneurs through a unique collaborative investment process.
Company: Women’s Angel Investment Network
Short Bio: Founder and Chair
Website: http://www.balthazarcapital.co.uk/
Twitter: @BalCap
Hala Fadel:
Hala is currently a portfolio manager for European Equities at Comgest, a 16 billion euro fund based in Paris, Dublin, Hong-Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Mumbai. She joined Comgest in 2002 and became a portfolio manager for European equities.
Hala graduated from HEC in France in 1997 with a Master’s in Financial Economics and attended the Berkeley Haas School of Business; she holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Company: MIT Enterprise Forum of the pan Arab region
Short Bio: Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan-Arab Region
Website: www.mitarabcompetition.com/
Twitter: @halafrangie
Karim Ragab:
Currently the Managing Director of Tabibi 24/7, Karim Ragab earned his degree in Engineering from the American University Cairo. He then went on to complete his MBA at INSEAD. Continuing his scholastic passage, Karim also enrolled in the Private Equity & Venture Capital Program at Harvard Business School.
Prior to beginning his entrepreneurial journey, Karim gained experience at the school of Procter & Gamble working on Brand Management, Consulting for Booz & Company and handling Private Equity at Citadel Capital. Karim Ragab was also selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.
Company: Tabibi 24/7
Short Bio: Co-Founder
Website: http://www.tabibi247.com
WE SAID THIS: They seem to have the full package!