INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
SAMER CHOUCAIR
Samer has more than 18 years of experience in start-ups across a variety of industries spanning entertainment, F&B, e-commerce, media, and healthcare in Canada, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Singapore. In his current role heading CE-Ventures, Samer’s responsible for conceiving, incubating, and growing innovative and sustainable start-ups in various industries.
DANA NOUEIHED
Dana Noueihed is an Investment Associate at Emaar Industries and Investments (EII) and represents EII on the Investment Committee.
Dana works closely with the Chief Executive Officer of EII in managing the existing portfolio of investments and plays a key role in implementing EII’s business propositions of turn-around strategies and growth catalysts to unlock and maximize value in preparation for exit.
Dana holds a Master of Finance degree from Cambridge University and has served in corporate finance, M&A, private equity and principal investing positions with institutions such as PwC, Gulf Capital Barclays Investment Bank. She is passionate about the start-up ecosystem in MENA and is excited to be contributing to the DAI journey.
BASIL MOFTAH
Basil started his career in the venture capital arm of Reuters PLC. He managed to complete 16 investments over 4 years in the fund, including leading rounds in Advertising.com (acquired by AOL), Visible World (acquired by comcast), Medsite.com (acquired by WebMD), and many others. The portfolio of Reuters had an IRR of over 33% in-spite of the difficult years of 2001/2 for the markets. He later went on to become President of the Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters before it was sold to private equity for $3.55B in 2016. Since then, he has been based in the region focusing exclusively on startups, the local technology scene and most importantly investments and advisory work. He has built up a personal portfolio of 10 companies not just in MENA but also in the UK and China.
HANA BESBES
Hana has 6+ years of consulting experience with Roland Berger, BCG, and industry experience, shaping the tech & digital agenda for European and Middle Eastern clients, driving innovative and futuristic national and business transformations, and building entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Hana has a background in engineering and telecommunications and a passion for technology, innovation and investing. She is currently engaged with several startup ecosystems in the UAE and Tunisia, and has access to her own pipeline of DAI-fit startups.
Hana is also a hands-on entrepreneur and investor, started building her own business in Tunisia and running a successful family-and-friends investment portfolio.
MOHAMMED EL SAADI
Mohammad is the co-founder and CEO OF Mamo Pay, an innovative fintech platform based in Dubai. Prior to establishing Mamo Pay, Mohammad led Google Play Apps & Games in MENA and Turkey and prior to that was the CIO of Telly, a social video network, founder of Sha-Sha Entertainment, and a Senior Consultant at Booz & Company. Mohammad holds a BE from AUB, an MSECE from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Stanford GSB.
EDDY FARHAT
Eddy currently works at Google where he looks after direct sales and ecosystem development for DoubleClick in MENA. He was previously the Chief Strategy Officer at MarkaVIP. Prior to that Eddy worked as a management consultant at Booz&Co focusing on enterprise tech and corporate finance. Eddy studied software engineering.
ANNELIESE REINHOLD
Anneliese is a veteran of two highly successful Middle East telco start-up launch teams and is a seasoned & globally networked lawyer & corporate executive. She has 25+ years’ experience spanning executive and non-executive roles in legal/regulatory/public policy across listed & non-listed ICT organizations in developed & emerging markets.
Anneliese holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Economics) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne. She is also a graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors International Company Directors Program and holds a Diploma of Management Accounting, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
KAMAL SHEHADI
Kamal is a highly committed member of DAI and is passionate about the startups and the entrepreneurs he encounters both through DAI and through his professional work.
Kamal brings twenty years’ experience in the telecommunications industry – as consultant, regulator, and executive- and in negotiating partnerships between telecom operators and tech firms.
Kamal holds a Bachelor of Arts Cum Laude in Economics from Harvard and was a Harvard Doctoral Fellow in Economics and Strategy for three years following his undergraduate studies.