Microsoft for Startups Middle East
Highway to 100
Unicorns
Virtual Conference
Helping founders gain insights on
how to scale their startups
in partnership with
Highway to 100 Unicorns Virtual Conference
Our H100 virtual conferences feature daily sessions, fireside chats, panel discussions and workshops covering startup trends and the most pressing issues facing entrepreneurs. Our upcoming season will be focused on themes in AI, featuring experts and successful entrepreneurs sharing key insights and stories.
Highway to 100 Unicorns: AI Edition Virtual Conference
Opening - Keynote
H.E. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs - UAE Ministry of Economy
Sayed Hashish, UAE General Manager at Microsoft
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Opening - Fire side chat
Roberto Croci, Managing Director for Microsoft for Startups MEA
H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General at Abu Dhabi Investment Office
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Opening - Panel
Andrew Macadam, Global Field Lead at Microsoft for Startups
Courtney Powell , Chief Operating Officer at 500 Startups
Salvatore Lavallo, Head of FDI at Abu Dhabi Investment Office
Moderator: Triska Hamid, Editorial Director at Wamda
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Opening - Workshop
Reem Al Jnaibi, Head of Technology & Data at Hub71
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Opening - Workshop
Gordana Ilic, Microsoft GrowthX Program Lead
Ali Samir Oosman, Strategic Partnerships & Deal Flow Manager – MEA
8:00PM (GMT +4)
VC Day - Keynote
Noor Sweid, General Partner at Global Ventures
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
VC Day - Fire side chat
Priya Rajan, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank
Salvatore Lavallo, Head of FDI at Abu Dhabi Investment Office
Nader Museitif, Product & Business Development at Hub71
5:00PM (GMT +4)
VC Day - Panel
Shane Shin, Founding Partner at Shorooq Ventures
Tamara Steffens, MD at M12
Sharif Al Badawi, Founding Managing Partner at Plus VC
Omar AlMajdouie, Partner at Raed Ventures
Moderator: Loulou Khazen-Baz, Founder at Nebbesh, Conversations with Loulou
6:00PM (GMT +4)
VC Day - Workshop
Amal Dokhan, Partner, 500 Startups MENA at 500 Startups
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Accessibility - Keynote
Ihsan Anabtawi, COO and CMO - Microsoft UAE
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Accessibility - Fire side chat
Dona Sarkar, Director Of Technology - Accessibility at Microsoft
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Accessibility - Panel
Paula Newby, CEO at Predixa
Dr. Sara Saeed, Khurram CEO at Sehat Kahani
Mohammad Kilany, CEO at MindRockets
Jose Rubinger, CCO & Co-founder at Key2enable
Moderator: Richie Santosdiaz, Head of Middle East and Africa at The Fintech Times
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Tech Day - Keynote
Iba Masood, Co-founder and CEO at Tara.AI
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Tech Day - Fire side chat
Bassem Asseh, Vice President, EMEA GitHub
Vinayak Hegde, CTO-in-Residence at Microsoft for Startups
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Tech Day - Panel
Sergii Marchenko, Chief Information Officer at Securrency
Mossab Hussein, Co-founder & Chief Security Officer at spiderSilk
Gonca Gulcer, Co-founder & CTO at QuinAI
Moderator: Sania Kaddoura, Cloud Architect at Microsoft
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Tech Day - Workshop
Sania Kaddoura, Cloud Architect at Microsoft
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Founders Day - Keynote
Jonathan Labin, President at Unifonic
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Founders Day - Fire side chat
Faisal Toukan, Co-Founder & CEO at Ziina
Zach Finkelstein, Managing Partner at Class 5 Global
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Founders Day - Panel
Carolin-Carmen Neubauer, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder FERO.Ai
Shamsher Singh, Founder & CEO at BLUELIGHT SYSTEMS
Patrick Rogers, Co-Founder @ Clara Technologies + Support Legal
Reem Khouri, Co-Founder and CEO Whyise
Moderator: Eleanor Slinger, Regional Director, New Statesman Media Group & Lead Monitor
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Founders Day - Workshop
Suraya Turk, Managing Partner at Legal Circle
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Corporate Day - Keynote
Xavier Anglada, Managing Director - Strategy & Consulting lead, Innovation Lead - Middle East
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Corporate Day - Fire side chat
Bakari Brock, Senior Director of Global Partnerships at Microsoft for Startups
Céline Brémaud, Sales, Marketing and Operations VP, Microsoft Middle East and Africa
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Corporate Day - Panel
Maria Paula Oliveira, Chief Innovation Officer, MENA at EY
Asad ur Rehman, Director Media & Digital Transformation, North Africa & Middle East at Unilever
Suryanka Jatain, Director - Digital & Innovation @KPMG Management Consulting
Kai Ling Ting, Innovation Lead at Etihad
Moderator: Ali Samir Oosman, Strategic Partnerships & Dealflow Manager at Microsoft for Startups MEA
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Corporate Day - Workshop
Gordon Suttie, EY Director | EY Consulting | Digital Transformation and Startup Coach
Alex Collins, EY Partner | EY Consulting | Transformation & Innovation
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Go-to-Market Day - Keynote
Akhtar Badshah, Founder and Chief Catalyst at Catalytic Innovators Group.
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Go-to-Market Day - Fire side chat
Elie Habib, Anghami Co-Founder
Hosam Arab, Co-Founder and CEO at Tabby
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Go-to-Market Day - Panel
Rami Khoury, CEO at Auxi
Anuscha Iqbal, Chief Executive Officer at Spotii.me
Suna Zoabi - Othman, Founder & CEO – Tawazon
Alaa Bakhit, Founder of B12 for Digital Services and Professor of Practice at HTU
Philipp Pabst - Moderator, Strategic Partnerships & Dealflow Manager at Microsoft for Startups MEA
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Go-to-Market Day - Workshop
Ghadah Alawami, Enterprise Account Director for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Government Day - Keynote
Juma Alhamli , Senior Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Government Day - Fire side chat
Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Associate Director - Financial Centre Development at ADGM
Miriam Kiwan, Executive Chairman's Office at ADGM
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Government Day - Panel
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Government Day - Workshop
Gordana Ilic, Microsoft GrowthX Program Lead
Ali Samir Oosman, Strategic Partnerships & Deal Flow Manager – MEA
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Ecosystem Building Day – FC
Jeff Ma, VP, Startups at Microsoft
Lynn Chouman, News Editor at LinkedIn
4:30 PM (GMT +4)
Best Practices for B2B Startups working with Corporates
Elodie Robin, Aerospace and defence start up accelerator - Hub 71 - Gothams
Shereen Abdulla, Podcast Host and Producer at Spark! With Shereen
Mia Jafari, Managing Director, Intelak Hub & Programmes Manager
5:00PM (GMT +4)
Accelerating & Building the Future of Venture
Marie-Therese Fam, Managing Partner at Flat6Labs‬
Babak Ahmadzadeh, Managing Director, Plug and Play Abu Dhabi
Kareem Elsirafy, Managing Partner at Modus Capital
Hana Barakat, Associate Director at startAD
Selma BAHÇİVANOĞLU, Manager, Incubation and Acceleration Programs at İTÜ ARI Teknokent A.Ş.‬
Mehvish Arifeen, CEO at I2I Accelerator
Moderator: Noor Salama, Community & Program Manager at Microsoft for Startups MEA
6:00PM (GMT +4)
Ecosystem Building Day - Workshop
Hussam Mohsineh, Program Manager | Microsoft Reactor ‬
7:00PM (GMT +4)
Sallyann Della Casa, Chief Identity Hacker and Founder - Gleac
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Roberto Croci, Managing Director - Microsoft for Startups
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Melda Akin, CEO/ Founder - D14.AI
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Joy Ajlouny, Former, CMO & Founder of Fetchr and Former COO & founder of Bonfaire - fetchr and Bonfaire
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Sarah Toukan, Chief Product Officer - Ziina
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Mark Chahwan, Co-founder & CEO - Sarwa
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Yehia Badawy, Co-Founder - Rain
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Brian Habibi, Chief Marketing Officer - Bayzat
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Hamdi Tabbaa, Co-founder & CEO - Abwaab
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Dany El Zein, Sr. Enterprise Account Director - Tech & Telco - LinkedIn
2:30PM (GMT +4)
Sonali Goila, Head of Venture Capital & Private Equity at Panthera Capital Investments
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Tammer Qaddumi, Partner at VentureSouq
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Peter Abou Hachem, Product & Business Development at Hub71
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Gabrielle Inzirillo, Head of Market Development, Financial Technology, FSRA
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Noor Salama, Community & Program Manager
Sania Kaddoura, Cloud Solution Architect
Asad-Sheikh, Marketing Manager
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Roberto Croci, Managing Director
Laura Mansour, Program Manager
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Sarah Al Saleh, Partner at Outliers VC
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Irina Albanese, Head of Innovation at DHL Middle East & Africa
1:30PM (GMT +4)
Hasan Haider, Founder & Managing Partner - Plus Venture Capital
1:00PM (GMT +4)
Sania Kaddoura, Partner Development Manager - Microsoft Gulf
1:00PM (GMT +4)
Nazam Akram, Talent Practice Manager - AstroLabs
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Michael Schroeck & Serene Shalan, Strategic Partnerships Lead - Microsoft for Startups & Head of Strategic Partnerships - ADIO
1:00PM (GMT +4)
Nadine Hajj & Ayser Yousef, PhD, Artificial Intelligence Expert & Consultant, Azure Data & AI Solution Lead - FSI & Aviation - Microsoft Gulf
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Mahmoud Adi, Founding Partner - Shorooq Partners
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Michael Schroeck, Noga Tal & Cameron Collins, Strategic Partnerships Lead - Microsoft for Startups, Managing Director - Microsoft for Startups & CEO and Founder - Workfam
1:00PM (GMT +4)
Asad Sheikh & Nelio Leone, Marketing Manager - Microsoft for Startups & Founder - Urbanmonks
1:00PM (GMT +4)
Rona Shedidd, Senior Specialist, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, COP28 Presidency
Sherif Tawfik, Chief Sustainability Commercial Officer - Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Microsoft
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Brittany McDonough, Head of Innovation and Ecosystem, Abu Dhabi Investment Office
3:00 PM (GMT +4)
Jay Sadiq, CEO, FortyGuard
Lincoln Payne, International Sales Director and Consultancy, Splitch
Olga Habre, Microsoft
12:00 PM (GMT +4)
Jonathan Dotan, Founder, EQTY Lab
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer and EVP, First Abu Dhabi Bank
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Dr. Adam Durant, CEO, Satavia
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Kushal Shah, General Manager, Corporate Venture Capital, e&
12:30 PM (GMT +4)
Gihan Hyde, Founder and CEO, CommUnique
Sherif Tawfik, Chief Sustainability Commercial Officer - Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Microsoft
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Khaled Dassouki, CEO and Co-Founder, Ubility
Sania Kaddoura, Senior Partner Development Manager, Microsoft
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Tony Verb, Founding Partner, Carbonless Asia
Maitha Alsuwaidi, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft UAE
Sara Albarguthi, Partner GTM Manager and Startup Engagement Lead,Microsoft
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Wassim Merheby, CEO and Co-Founder, Verofax
Elham Parsayan, Marketing Manager at Microsoft UAE
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Andrew Mackay, Data, AI and Apps Leader for Customer Success, Microsoft
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
James Lockyer, Director, Portfolio Management, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Coming Soon
Rona Shedidd, Senior Specialist, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, COP28 Presidency
Sherif Tawfik, Chief Sustainability Commercial Officer - Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Microsoft
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Brittany McDonough, Head of Innovation and Ecosystem, Abu Dhabi Investment Office
3:00 PM (GMT +4)
Jay Sadiq, CEO, FortyGuard
Lincoln Payne, International Sales Director and Consultancy, Splitch
Olga Habre, Microsoft
12:00 PM (GMT +4)
Jonathan Dotan, Founder, EQTY Lab
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer and EVP, First Abu Dhabi Bank
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Dr. Adam Durant, CEO, Satavia
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Kushal Shah, General Manager, Corporate Venture Capital, e&
12:30 PM (GMT +4)
Gihan Hyde, Founder and CEO, CommUnique
Sherif Tawfik, Chief Sustainability Commercial Officer - Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Microsoft
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Khaled Dassouki, CEO and Co-Founder, Ubility
Sania Kaddoura, Senior Partner Development Manager, Microsoft
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Tony Verb, Founding Partner, Carbonless Asia
Maitha Alsuwaidi, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft UAE
Sara Albarguthi, Partner GTM Manager and Startup Engagement Lead,Microsoft
1:00 PM (GMT +4)
Wassim Merheby, CEO and Co-Founder, Verofax
Elham Parsayan, Marketing Manager at Microsoft UAE
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
Andrew Mackay, Data, AI and Apps Leader for Customer Success, Microsoft
2:00 PM (GMT +4)
James Lockyer, Director, Portfolio Management, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund
1:00 PM (GMT +4)