Startup Grind and Startups Without Borders Summit are teaming up for a panel discussion on "Investing During a Global Pandemic”, the panel is hosting Ankit Sarawahi of MEVP, Sharif El-Badawi of +VC, Claudia Makadristo of Seedstars, and Priya Rajan of Silicon Valley Bank. The panel will be moderated by our very own Mo Salah. Sharif El-Badawi, Founding Managing Partner at +VC: Sharif El-Badawi is a founding Managing Partner of Plus Venture Capital (+VC), the leading seed-stage investment firm in the Middle East and North Africa region, where he invests across sectors from seed to growth within the region and diaspora. Previously, he co-founded and managed the first US-based venture capital firm with a dedicated fund for the MENA region and was the most active venture capital investor in the region during its investment period from 2017-2020. In his role, he manages the 500 Startups MENA fund, 500 Falcons, which invested in over 180 startups across 15 countries. In addition, Sharif serves on the board of San Francisco Bay Area-based non-profit TechWadi where he was the chairman of the board from 2015-2019 helping build meaningful bridges between MENA startups and Silicon Valley. Claudia Makadristo, Regional Manager for Africa at Seedstars: Claudia Makadristo is the Regional Manager for Africa at Seedstars, a global tech entrepreneurship education company and impact investment firm focused on emerging markets with a presence in over 90+ countries globally and 30+ in Africa. Her activities with Seedstars bring her to over 25+ Sub Saharan African countries every year. Seedstars has an investment portfolio of 50+ companies, has an active network of over 3000+ investors globally, and has organized 2000+ investor meetings. Ankit Sarwahi, Executive Director at Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP): Executive Director at MEVP. Ankit is an investor and for MEVP leads investments in various e-commerce, fintech, and food tech startups all over MENA. He is an active participant in the tech ecosystem and hosts ‘The Sharp Left’, a coming of age webinar series about tech founders. He has experience in Indian, UK, and MENA markets and at MEVP manages investments in nana, The Luxury Closet, Rise among others.
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