Member List

Mr. Thakker is an MD of Dynamic Trading & Beyond Luxury Investments. He is running his family business for more than 3 decades now. He has couple of other businesses under his investment portfolio. Being an active investor he is looking for businesses with proven success or with disruptive business model.

If your business can make more than 30% profits, it will be good point of discussion. He likes to meet agile founders in-person & have a chat with them to understand their strengths. Rasik likes to keep investment structure simple & understandable! He is also open to provide working capital for established profitable SMEs.

Dr. Anuraag Guglaani, sits on the board of some of the largest Family business Groups in Middle East. Africa and South west Asia.

He has invested and operated in 42 industries and 24 countries and is also the Managing Partner & CEO of Wazir Advisors.

He is a renowned Family Business Doctor involved in Strategizing and transforming Growth, Profitability and Expansion of businesses and has been living in UAE, Saudi, Qatar and Oman for last 27 years while operating between India to Turkey.

Dr Guglaani is the Proud recipient of most coveted medals of honor: “ The US President’s Lifetime Achievement Award”, “The President’s Volunteer Service Award” from US President’s White House Office, Global Humanitarian award ,Top 100 change Maker, Global Icon and International Excellence awards, UAE Super 100 etc.

Investment and advisory for ideation and scale up start-ups.  Advising on strategy and growth for SMEs across different sectors.

Mr. Alawadhi is the Chairman of a very well-know “Corporate Business Group”. He is also a Senior Advisor, Public Policy Expert, Board Member, Economic Advisor, Coach, Family Office and Business Advisor, Corporate Social Responsibility Gure, Investor & Governance Expert.

A Senior Executive and proven leadership with significant achievement in contributing to the business through growth, acquisition and change management with highly extensive experience in governments and private sectors.

Professor Dominic Marrocco is a Serial Entrepreneur and Distinguished Professor of Technology Commercialisation & Renewable Energy.

Professor Marrocco retired at 30 following a series of successful Telcom’s and Internet projects in the UK and is widely regard as the foremost in his space.

Marrocco became a global professor & advisor by funding in countless startups. His protfolio also includes intellectual property ventures within academia, public and private sectors across a broad range of technologies.

Marrocco was recently awarded his UAE Golden Visa for Outstanding Ability in his field and has recently launched $1bn fund in AI and Super Distributed Compute with several other market leaders. He is a principle partner at Computity venture fund seeking to expand $1bn of additional capital space in the GCC region and Latin America.

Mr. Kroshnyi is an investor, entrepreneur, investment expert, business angel, and personal business mentor.

He launches & invests in green projects whose mission is to improve the quality of people’s lives. Since January 2021, he has been living and working in Dubai. In the span of 8 years, he started 26 companies jointly with his partners in 19 countries across the globe. He is active in all those companies & has been running them remotely. He is currently living and working in Dubai.

Mr. Kroshnyi has built an international group of companies that consists some of the below businesses: 1) Eco Way, the longest range delivery electric bikes 2) Roasters Specialty Coffee House, a Dubai-based coffee shop chain offering a franchise option 3) Flexible Investment Solutions 4) Gerchik & Co, a brokerage company 5) SharPay payment system 6)Magnify, a UAE consulting company. This year, he is also launching few more projects in healthcare.

Looking to meet and advise fintech ( blockchain including ) founders for optimum impact and growth. Been active since last 7 years, educated as an engineer in States turned into a angel investor. Expertise in portfolio management, fundraising, capital allocation and derivatives trading. Also interested in founders/team active in Hospitality ( f&b/hotels/salons) vertical.

Shafnaa Shamsuddin is a seasoned professional with a diverse background encompassing both the financial industry and the crypto space.

As the former General Manager of a leading Outdoor Advertising Company, she played a pivotal role in scaling the company from a start-up to a multi-million revenue-generating entity, culminating in its acquisition by a NYSE listed company.

Her impressive negotiation and relationship management skills led to the successful closure of prestigious deals with renowned brands, financial institutions, and external agencies.

25 years of experience , worked in 5 countries , visited 50+ countries. Sales oriented , Excellent in networking. worked in Bank , Asset management & Family offices.

Running own set up in last 4 years. Served on various boards of companies in the field of Logistics , Financial services and Transport companies based of Dubai , Singapore and Mauritius.

Currently he acts as an Advisor to Investment advisory firm and Sports startups. His investments spread across Startups , Listed equity , Bond , Derivatives and direct investments in growth companies.

During his tenures in Middle east and Singapore, He was instrumental in raising money thru Institutions, Family offices for PE funds, Gulf and Indian Companies. He and his team raised over $1Billion in last 15+ years.

A Saudi Unicorn(s) builder, a winner of self-made entrepreneur of the year 2021 in Saudi Arabia, with more than 22 years of experience in information technology, research and innovation, and digital transformation. Built himself a unicorn that’s the MENA region’s leading e-commerce platform “Salla”, and an Angel Investor in 5 more MENA Unicorn(s).

Maarten is a Managing Partner at Natural Ventures, an Abu-Dhabi based Venture Capital fund investing across Water and Food Security.

He is a seasoned venture investor with a successful track record in leading investment rounds into environmental technology companies.

At Natural he is responsible for the overall fund strategy and management, deal selection and deal structuring.

He is also a member of Natural’s Investment Committee and plays a key role in giving their portfolio companies access to Middle Eastern and Asian markets.

Maarten has spent over 10 years working in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Singapore, and now Abu Dhabi.

Next to his work at Natural, Maarten serves as a Resident Mentor for global VC and accelerator firm 500 Global, where he advises start-ups in various sectors on topics including value proposition, growth strategy and fundraising.

He holds an MSc in Economics from Tilburg University and has completed executive education at London Business School.

Twenty Five plus years of experience in applying technology to solve business and consumer challenges. Setup a managed a corporate VC focused of Health, logistics and leisure. Now running Acornic Ventures focused on travel tech. ( B2B or B2C in travel, leisure, aviation, mobility spaces. Prefer Web3 and/or AI applications).

A dynamic surgeon with a strong background in the field of medicine, I am currently based in Malta, Europe, but my work allows me to travel all year round. I am the driving force behind Med-Tech World, a leading MedTech & HealthTech international conference brand, aiming to connect startup and investors as well as anyone else in between.

My passion for startups and entrepreneurship is deeply rooted in my belief that these endeavours are the solution to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. I am dedicated to utilising my expertise and experience to foster innovation in the healthcare sector, harnessing the latest technologies and cutting-edge business strategies to achieve success.

I hold a profound appreciation for individuals who have triumphed over adversity, recognising the remarkable power of persistence. I am consistently drawn to the inspiring stories of those who have conquered significant obstacles to attain their goals and am committed to supporting others on their journey. There is nothing better than the story of the underdog.

Started as an angel investor close to 2 decades ago, then establishing a VC fund based out of Hong Kong. The fund was mainly for 1 Family Office, but later became fund comprising of 8 family offices.

Has spoken at the World Economic Forum about the growing startup scene in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Has a portfolio of early and later stage companies across Asia, Africa , Europe and the USA. Some of these companies have already gone IPO or have been acquired.

“Create from nothing, challenge everything!” This has always been my motto.

I would class myself as a ‘realistic’ entrepreneur. Coming from humble beginnings, born and raised in the UK, I now own and control a private healthcare business (specialising in special needs inc. mental health and Dementia) employing over 300 staff within three companies.

I also have extensive knowledge about property including, investment, development and rentals. Other areas of expertise are security and leisure and fitness. Last year, I set up two companies in Dubai and have managed to purchase several properties in the heart of the city.

I love the thriving business environment of Dubai and am actively seeking new challenges and opportunities to meet and work with like minded founders.

AnaMaria Meshkurti is a Tech investor and Strategic Board Member with AMVS Capital. She is also the Co Editor in Chief of Moneys Magazine, a publication featuring investors and entrepreneurs globally.

Previously she was the Head of Marketing, Communications and Engagement at the FONGIT, the premier Swiss technology startup innovation platform and incubator. She is a seasoned startup mentor and judge for startups focusing on emerging technologies including AI, IoT, Blockchain, XR and the Metaverse.

She is an angel investor and board member at Swiss Virtual Reality Startup VR4Business.ch. She is a speaker at many international events on topics related to innovation, digital skills, gender, youth, accessibility and standardization. She was awarded the UN ITU Innovation award and recognized as one of the top 100 Swiss Digital Shapers in 2022 and 2023.

A passionate knowledge services entrepreneur and thought leader, having founded two unique yet complementary companies – Prose Solutions and Progressa – to address critical needs in the GCC market, as well as making a range of angel and strategic investments in knowledge, tech and sports companies in the UAE, Europe and North America.

As Founder & Managing Partner of Morphosis Venture Capital, Amit invests in and partners with high quality and ambitious founders of early stage B2B tech-first startups to drive accelerated global scaling and organisation building.

Previously, EMEIA Senior Partner at EY-Parthenon, a strategy and value creation consulting firm working with PE/VC/SW funds and enterprises on investments/acquisition/exits/IPOs and accelerated value creation of portfolio companies. He has an Engineering degree and MBA from IIM Bangalore.

Amit works closely with quality entrepreneurs on meaningful innovation, with a particular interest in helping Indian and GCC entrepreneurs build internationally successful businesses.

He brings his 25 years of global experience in building strong businesses, driving accelerated value creation all the way to IPOs, engineering over a 100 exits/transactions, and leading highly motivated teams and exceptionally profitable P&Ls.

His portfolio companies/mentees/clients have delivered over USD 30 billion of value through accelerated growth, new ventures/growth initiatives, international expansion, M&A, IPO.

Lewa Abukhait, the Chief Investment Officer at iGate Holding, epitomizes seasoned professionalism with a proven track record of spearheading growth strategies, nurturing investor relations, and orchestrating successful investment rounds within the organization.

With a distinguished tenure as the Chief Investment Officer at DAAL, a leading venture capital fund in Saudi Arabia, Lewa showcased expertise in identifying promising startups and evaluating lucrative investment prospects.

With a illustrious career spanning pivotal roles at Orange Jordan, MBC Group, and BlackBerry across the MENA region, Lewa Abukhait has cultivated a profound understanding of realizing scalability in technology solutions and advocating sustainability in business models. His bio serves as a testament to his adeptness in navigating the intricate landscape of strategic planning, investment appraisal, and mentorship within the dynamic realms of technology and venture capital.

Ezz is an experienced Investment Manager at Value Makers Studio ( VMS ) saudi based venture studio and used to be Portfolio Manager at EdVentures, an Edtech Venture capital, with a background in investment analysis and event planning.

He previously worked as a Senior Investment Analyst at Alexandria Angels Network, closing 8deals worth $9 million and reviewing 500+ startup companies in the last 18 months. Ezz holds a certificate in electromechanical engineering from Alexandria University and an MBA from the Arab Academy for Technology and Maritime.

He’s been involved in the startup scene since 2018, and focused on venture capital and private equity in 2020, demonstrating his ability to navigate complex financial landscapes.

For nearly a decade, I’ve had the distinct privilege of serving as COO in the Private Office of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Ahmed Al Maktoum, dedicating five enriching years on-site in the UAE. My role was pivotal in corporate development, intensive negotiations, and expansive consulting, directing multifaceted projects, technology adaptations, and global initiatives.

My leadership style, defined by expertise in Business, Project, and People Management, has fostered growth and skill transfer in regions like Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sudan, and the UAE. I’ve executed significant agreements, enhancing Channel Development, Key Account Management, and strategic business evolution.

Previous roles, like Director of Business Development and other global executive positions, have refined my leadership and strategic insight, embedding a deep commitment to honesty, integrity, and transparency within my strategic modus operandi. These principles are indispensable, guiding businesses towards growth, innovation, and noteworthy success.