INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
Our Investment Committee is an Exceptionally diverse and talented team of senior executives drawn from the DAI membership. Our IC members come from a highly diverse but complimentary set of disciplines and career experiences and are involved both in the vetting and selection of potential investments. Their unique blend of skills and experience make our IC arguably one of the strongest venture finance investment committees in the MENA region.
In November 2018 we implemented a new structure that achieves the objective of getting more DAI members involved in the IC while simultaneously streamlining the participation and process on pitch nights. This is achieved by having a larger overall IC but restricting the number of IC members who vote at each pitch night to 7 members including one Board member sitting on a rotating basis at every 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 previous role heading CE-Ventures, Samer was responsible for conceiving, incubating, and growing innovative and sustainable start-ups in various industries.
DANA NOUEIHED
Dana Noueihed is an Investment Manager 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 strategies to unlock and maximize value in preparation for exit.
PATRICK THIERIET
Patrick is the Chief Strategy Officer and runs the investment arm of Choueiri Group, a leading player in the MENA media landscape. An ex-Private Banker, Patrick has 20 years of experience in advising private entrepreneurs, and also an active seed investor in early stage start-ups.
BASIL MOFTAH
Basil is a general partner at Nclude, a fintech focused VC fund based in Egypt. He previously was a General Partner at Global Ventures, a growth focused venture capital firm. He started his career in the venture capital arm of Reuters PLC. He managed to complete 16 investments over 4 years in the fund achieving 33% IRR 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.
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.
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.
HANA BESBES
Hana has more than six years of consulting experience with Roland Berger, BCG, and industry experience, shaping the tech & digital agenda
for European and Middle Eastern clients. Hana has a background in engineering and telecommunications and a passion for technology, innovation and investing.
MOHAMAD JIHAD ABDELGHANI
Mohamad is the Head of Ventures at Al Falaj Investment; a non-traditional family office based in Abu Dhabi and focused on Venture Capital and Private Equity. Mohamad is a socially-intelligent human being, with a strategic mindset and an entrepreneurial spirit. Acquired 15+ years of direct experience starting, running, and growing new ventures, with a solid track-record in identifying potential venture partners, crafting partnership proposals, and driving the proposals to a close. He has led on several business development programs, and understand the practicalities and challenges of working in small, fast-changing organizations, and with entrepreneurs.
PK Gulati
Prashant K. Gulati (PK), is a technology innovator, angel investor, mentor, idea accelerator, and commentator with interests in innovation, startups, entrepreneurship, technology, mobility, wireless, intelligent buildings, online media and more.
PK has served in numerous leadership capacities including as Trustee on the Global Board of TiE, President of TiE Dubai, Founder of The Assembly, Founder of SmartStart Fund, Senior Advisor to Dubai Future Foundation, CEO of Optimistix Ventures, Steering Committee Member of in5 Innovation Hub, Honorary Secretary General of Indian Business & Professional Council-Dubai, Member of the Board of Dubai Enterprise Centre, Chairman of Gulfcom Group, Chairman of Prokraft Group-India and Board Member for Indian Documentary Foundation, Dubai Enterprise Centre etc.