Louis is Founding Partner of AstroLabs, an organization on a mission to create a thriving tech ecosystem in MENA.AstroLabs launched MENA’s only Google partnered tech hub, hosting tech entrepreneurs from across the world in Dubai and delivers classes focused on teaching digital skills through AstroLabs Academy.Before starting AstroLabs, Louis co-founded Namshi, an e-commerce portal for the Middle East, where he led the marketing, onsite experience, and human resources teams. Before Namshi, Louis was a consultant at the Dubai office of McKinsey & Company, focusing on growth strategy projects. Previously, Louis was part of the general management development program at a US Fortune 200 multinational. He is passionate about economic development, social enterprise, technology, and seeing people succeed beyond their expectations. Louis studied for his electrical engineering degree at North Carolina State University and received his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Muhammed caught the entrepreneurial bug while studying for his MBA at Stanford University and working with the founding team of a Silicon Valley tech startup. As an Iraqi-American, he has always been interested in bridging ideas and people between the US and the Middle East. After relocating to Dubai, Muhammed co-founded Namshi in 2011 and served as Managing Director until 2013. During this time, he helped grow the company from 1 to 150 employees, raise over $20 million in venture capital, and establish a seasoned senior management team. He developed domain expertise in e-commerce operations, directly managing the logistics, production, and service teams. In addition to his current role as founding partner of AstroLabs, Muhammed advises many entrepreneurs in the region and sits on the advisory board of Silicon Valley startups. Muhammed is a former McKinsey consultant with clients across the GCC, and was featured in Gulf Business among Arabia’s most powerful “30 Under 30.” He studied economics at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a Fulbright Scholar with expertise in Islamic Finance. Muhammed is an avid traveler, having visited over 60 countries and is always looking for his next adventure. Guest Interview by Sara Hamdan : an award-winning writer who has resided in Dubai for over a decade, writing regularly for The New York Times, monthly columns for Stylist, and pieces for Fortune, Rolling Stone, Variety and CNN. She mainly writes about culture, beauty & fashion, travel, lifestyle, entrepreneurship and business. She speaks four languages and is a Columbia and Berkeley graduate. She is working on her own fashion startup at the moment - stay tuned. You can find out more about Sara here: www.<wbr />sarahamdan.com and follow her on Twitter @sarahamdan or on Instagram @sarahamdanaw.