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.
+VC
Founding Managing Partner
MEVP
Executive Director
Seedstars
Regional Manager for Africa
Sharif is a serial entrepreneur and technology executive, who currently serves as a partner to VCs and startups at Google, In his role, he works with top tier VCs and their most promising startups on a ‘One Google’ approach. Over the last five years, he was the Head of Performance Solutions Activation team where he was responsible for the commercialization of Google’s performance advertising products and solutions which cover Mobile, Search and Display. In his role, he focused on helping the world’s largest advertisers reach their marketing objectives, and worked with Google’s product and engineering teams to provide guidance on the needs of marketers.
Prior to this role, Sharif was focused exclusively on mobile and helped clients plan and execute best-in-class mobile strategies. He joined Google as part of the company's acquisition of AdMob, the world’s largest mobile ad network, where he co-founded their performance sales team and pioneered their mobile syndication product. Before AdMob, Sharif founded or co-founded several start-ups in consumer Internet, social, video and mobile.
Sharif is passionate about helping people and has more than eighteen years of experience in product, marketing, sales and operational functions. He has advised hundreds of companies on their digital go-to-market strategies, and is an active angel investor, advisor and mentor to several start-ups. Sharif currently lives in the Bay Area with his wife and three children. He earned his bachelors degree in Neuroscience and Philosophy from UCLA and an MBA from UC Irvine’s Merage School of Business.
Partner, 500 Startups
Ankit is an investor and for MEVP leads investments in various eCommerce, 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.
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.
Startup Grind
Country Manager
Mo is holding a BA in Business Technology and Diplomas in E-Business, Digital Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. Mohamed has 5+ years of experience in the Digital Industry in Jordan and Egypt in addition to 8+ years of involvement in the Entrepreneurship ecosystem across the MENA region with Startup Grind, TechStars, Seedstars, and many local and international entities.
He has been recognized as a speaker at several events including Startup Grind Pakistan, RiseUp Summit, Startups Without Borders Summit, Digital Arabia Network, and Adobe World Tour. Mo has also been featured on various media channels like; Bloomberg, BBC World, BBC Arabic, Al Jazeera, Sky News, MBC, AJ+, Al Ghad TV, Roya TV, ONTV, BBC Radio, National Newspaper, and Inc. Magazine.
Startup Grind
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