2011 istanbul tech-i brochure

GIST Tech-I Competition Finale“The Battle of Ideas”

Entrepreneurship, Values and Development: A Global AgendaDecember 3-6, 2011 • Istanbul / Turkey



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TABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTS

WELCOME MESSAGE 5

THE GIST INITIATIVE 7

AGENDA 8

MENTORS’ BIOS 11

JUDGES’ BIOS 17

US STATE DEPARTMENT BIOS 19

GIST INITIATIVE ADVISORY GROUP BIOS 21

ORGANIZERS’ BIOS 22

GISTECH-I SEMIFINALIST BIOS 25

GIST PARTNERS 31

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Dear Colleagues and Friends,

CRDF Global and the GIST Initiative are pleased to be a part of this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit: Entrepreneurship, Values and Development- A Global Agenda. I am confident that our involvement in the Summit will add value to the proceedings and demonstrate the importance of global cooperation and development.

The GIST Tech-I Competition is a multinational venture that invited applicants to submit proposals and videos detailing their ideas for technology innovation. Through

this competition, CRDF Global and GIST aim to inspire young entrepreneurs by helping them to advance their technology ideas. On Monday, December 5, the Tech-I competition finalists will compete for $60,000 to propel their ideas forward. GIST looks forward to the program and AWARDS ceremony, and the active participation of 25 budding entrepreneurs from 11 countries. The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an extraordinary platform for enriching the lives of today’s young entrepreneurs and helping them gain the skills and resources they need to bring their developments to fruition. CRDF Global and GIST believe that through collaborations in such high-level events, we can contribute to creating a global culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.

I also invite you to learn more about CRDF Global and the GIST Initiative on our website:www.crdfglobal.org.

Sincerely,

Ms. Cathleen CampbellPresident and Chief Executive OfficerCRDF Global

WELCOME MESSAGEWELCOME MESSAGE

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WELCOME MESSAGE

MESSAGEjoin the GIST network today! • www.gistinitiative.org 5implemented by CRDF Global

GIST Tech-I Competition Finale“The Battle of Ideas”Entrepreneurship, Values and Development: A Global AgendaDecember 3-6, 2011 • Istanbul / Turkey

join the GIST network today! • www.gistinitiative.org

THE GIST INITIATIVETHE GIST INITIATIVE

CONNECT WITH GIST COMMUNITY

As part of President Obama’s call for engagement with the Muslim world, the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative is forging links at the individual and institutional level between scientists, technology entrepreneurs, and the marketplace to improve quality of life and economic prosperity. Innovation in science and technology is a key driver of economic development around the world and a vital tool to address shared global challenges. The GIST Initiative aims to strengthen national, regional, and global entrepreneurship and technology development through partnerships and programs focusing on:

• NETWORKING: Linking innovative ideas, people, and financial and human resources

• SKILL DEVELOPMENT: Providing business training, mentorship and resources

• FINANCING: Connecting innovators and their ideas with seed capital

GIST Social Networking Platform

• Access innovative business tools

and mentorship

• Form partnerships to foster new

venture creation

• Exchange ideas through popular

social networking platforms

Incentive-Based Competitions• GISTech-I: Bring technology ideas to

the community via YouTube-based idea

pitch competition.

• GIST-MIT Business Plan Competition:

Receive mentorship and seed funding for

early stage ventures via 43 nation joint

business plan competition.

• Institutionalize connections between

universities and businesses through

industry outreach partnerships.

• Develop innovation leaders primed to

meet industry needs through hands on

training experiences.

University-IndustryLinkage Program

• Accelerate business development

through innovation and entrepreneurship

training in topics including

communications skills, market

assessment, business plan development.

• Learn from successful entrepreneurs

and business leaders.

Skill Development Training

“…all of us must recognize

that education and innovation

will be the currency of the 21st

century.”

Barack Obama

President of the United

States of America

•••

“Malaysia welcomes the

GIST Initiative to support

technology development in

Muslim-majority countries… to

advance key innovation areas,

especially innovation capacity,

entrepreneurship and access to

seed capital.”

Dato’ Madinah binti

Mohamad

Secretary General, Ministry

of Science, Technology and

Innovation, Malaysia

•••

[GIST] is a great opportunity

to increase participation by

the academic sector in the

transfer of technology into

the marketplace through

the development of practical

knowledge and skills, as well as

to heighten understanding of

the value of entrepreneurship

and innovation for the economic

growth and sustainability.

Dr. Abdelali Haoudi

VP of Research, Qatar

Foundation

•••

“It is critically important to

develop the role of universities

in the Arab world to become a

major partner in economic and

social development. The Global

Innovation through Science and

Technology Initiative will help in

providing access to knowledge

and technology to developing

countries; where funding is not

the only obstacle to progress.”

Dr. Rashid bin Moktar bin

Abdullah

CEO, Moroccan Foundation

for Advances in Science,

Innovation, and Research

(MAScIR)



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WELCOME MESSAGEWELCOME MESSAGE

The Technology Idea (TECH-I) competition highlights the potential of entrepreneurs across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, providing mentorship, visibility, and seed funding to facilitate the creation of market-ready technologies. TECH-I is a part of the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative, a network of programs that identifies, supports, and scales successful models of technology commercialization and capacity-building. GIST is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau

of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. I am delighted that we will have an opportunity to highlight some of TECH-I’s most promising entrepreneurs and ideas at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Congratulations to all of the participants and best wishes on turning your ideas into prosperous businesses.Sincerely,

Dr. Kerri-Ann JonesAssistant SecretaryThe Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs


8 9

DECEMBER 2ND, 2011Arrival and registration of mentors, judges, participants.19.30 Mentors, judges, organizers meet for dinner to discuss agenda

DECEMBER 3RD, 201109.00-12.00 Semifinalists attend Entrepreneurship Summit sessions12.00-13.00 Lunch 13.00-13.15 Introduction of GIST Initiative, CRDF Global, mentors, organizers and agenda Ms. Cathy Campbell, CEO of CRDF Global Dr. Jaleh Daie, Aurora Equity and CRDF Global Board of Directors Ms. Natalia Pipia, Senior Program Manager CRDF Global Mr. Ovidiu Bujorean, Innovation Program Manager CRDF Global13.15-14.00 “Business Models” Ms. Stephanie Marrus, CEO, Portfolio Strategies and Stanford Technology Ventures Program Entrepreneur in Residence14.00-14.15 Networking break Get to know the other participants, mentors, organizers14.15-16.00 “Nuts and bolts of the executive summary and the pitch” Mr. Joseph Hadzima, Senior Lecturer MIT Entrepreneurship Center, former Chairman MIT Enterprise Forum16.00-16.45 “Raising funds for your ideas and ventures” Mr. Robert Ackerman, Managing Director and Founder Allegis Capital16.45-17.00 Networking break Get to know the other participants, mentors, organizers17.00-17.40 “How to build your networking support system and maximize event participation” Mr. Ovidiu Bujorean, Innovation Program Manager, CRDF Global17.45-18.30 Role play pitching and feedback and mentorship session overview Mr. Steven Koltai, Global Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builder18.30 -18.45 Break18.45-20.15 Mentorship sessions (first group of semifinalists) Each participant meets for 30 minutes with one mentor. Before and after the

mentorship session, participants work to improve their pitch. 20.15-21.30 Semifinalists dinner out with GIST Team

DECEMBER 4TH, 201109.30-12.00 Semifinalists attend Entrepreneurship Summit sessions 12.00-13.00 Lunch13.00-14.30 Mentorship sessions (second group of semifinalists) Each participant meets for 30 minutes with one mentor. Before and after the

mentorship session, participants work to improve their pitch.14.30-18.30 Semifinalists pitch in front of the mentors Each team has 5 minutes to pitch and 3 minutes for Q&A and feedback. 30 minutes

break at half-time. Teams that were mentored on Dec 3rd will pitch first.18.30-19.00 Mentors analyze all pitches and announce the 11 finalists19.00-22.00 Finalists refine their business pitches. Semifinalists have dinner at their own leisure.

DECEMBER 5TH, 201108.00-09.00 Coffee break 09.00-10.00 Finalists practice their pitch Mentors available to provide advice and answer questions10.00-12.00 Game time The 11 finalists pitch in front of the judges. 5 minutes pitch and 5 minutes Q&A. All semifinalists attend the pitch session. 12.00-13.00 Lunch13.00-18.00 Semifinalists attend Entrepreneurship Summit sessions18.00-19.00 GIST Tech-I Award Event Ceremony18.00-18.05 Ms. Cathleen Campbell, President and CEO of CRDF Global, MC for the Award event18.05-18.10 Ms. Lorraine Hariton, Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, US State Department 18.10-18.15 Presentation of the GIST Movie18.15-18.20 How to get involved with GIST Initiative and introduction of GIST Team18.20-18.25 Ms. Cathleen Campbell introduces Mr. Joe Hadzima18.20-18.50 Panel session “Next wave of technology entrepreneurs and prosperity creators” Moderator: Mr. Joseph Hadzima, Senior Lecturer MIT Entrepreneurship Center, former Chairman MIT Enterprise Forum Speakers: Mr. Robert Ackerman, Managing Director and Founder Allegis Capital Mr. Paul Bragiel, Managing Director, I/O Ventures Two finalists of the GIST Tech-I Competition18.45-19.00 Presentation of the awards to the GIST Tech-I Winners. The top 3 winners of the competition will each speak 1 minute.

GIST Tech-I Mentors: Mr. Ahmed El Alfi, Founder and Chairman Sawiri Ventures, Egypt Mr. Shareef M. Batata, Associate Director of SME Programs, Silatech Mr. Paul Bragiel, Managing Director I/O Ventures Dr. Jaleh Daie, Managing Director Aurora Equity and CRDF Global Board of Directors Mr. Mike Ducker, Entrepreneur in Residence, Egyptian Competitiveness Project Mr. Joseph Hadzima, Senior Lecturer MIT Entrepreneurship Center Mr. Ayman Ismail, School of Business, American University in Cairo Mr. Steven Koltai, Global Entrepreneurship Ecosystems builder Ms. Stephanie Marrus, CEO, Portfolio Strategies and Stanford Technology Ventures Program

Entrepreneur in Residence

GIST Tech-I Judges: Mr. Robert Ackerman, Managing Director and Founder Allegis Capital Ms. Elizabeth Clarkson, Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Mr. Craig Hanson, Partner Next World Capital Mr. Chris Schroeder, CEO HealthCentral

GIST TECH-I COMPETITION FINALE – THE BATTLE OF IDEASAll sessions will take place at the Istanbul Congress Center unless otherwise noted.

AGENDAAGENDA AGENDAAGENDA



MENTOR’ BIOSMENTORS’ BIOS

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BIOGRAPHIESBIORAPHIES

Ahmed El AlfiFounder & ChairmanCairo, Egypt

Ahmed is a veteran investor and VC from California with over 25 years of experience in top executive and management positions. Ahmed’s investment track record over the last 17 years includes the execution of numerous successful transactions in technology, Internet, healthcare and financial services at various stages of development. He has executed many rewarding exits including several IPO’s on the NASDAQ. He relocated to Egypt in 2006 as the CEO of EFG-Hermes Private Equity. He subsequently founded Sawari Ventures, to which he brings a wealth of experience, superb industry insight and an invaluable international network.

Shareef BatataAssociate Director of SME Programs at SilatechTM

Shareef Batata is Associate Director of SME Programs at SilatechTM based in Qatar. Shareef’s work consists primarily of maximizing MENA region job creation via access to finance, access to business development services (BDS) and access to markets.

Apart from his full-time role at Silatech, Shareef is Managing Director of XAP (Transaction Partners), an M&A boutique under registration. Shareef is also Delegate to President Obama representing Egypt at the annual Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.

Prior to Shareef’s joining Silatech in 2011, Shareef was Associate Vice President at EFG Hermes Private Equity (EHPE). At EHPE, Shareef evaluated 10 MENASA region investment opportunities with aggregate transaction value of $1.5 billion.

Prior to Shareef’s joining EFG Hermes in 2008, Shareef was Associate of Global Investment Banking at Citigroup Global Markets based in New York. At Citi, Shareef covered the Consumer Products, Retail and Healthcare sectors.

Prior to Citi, Shareef was Director of Marketing at Conexant Systems, a spin-off of AT&T Bell Labs based in New Jersey. Shareef successfully negotiated and closed 30 telecom deals across 20 countries generating $80m in sales per year.

Prior to joining Conexant in 2000, Shareef was Technical Marketing Manager at Philips Semiconductors in Silicon Valley, Lead Systems Engineer at Intel Corporation in Folsom, California and Product Development Engineer at 3M Company in Minnesota.




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Dr. Jaleh Daie Aurora Equity and CRDF Global Board of Directors

Dr. Jaleh Daie’s versatile career spans academia, foundations, business, NGOs and government. Currently, she is Managing Partner at Aurora Equity, a Palo Alto-based company investing in startup companies. She is also a member of the Band of Angels. Prior to this she was head of Science at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation providing executive and technical direction for a $120 million annual budget funding a diversified science and technology portfolio including the coveted Packard Science and Engineering Fellowships.

A noted biologist, Jaleh started her career in academia. At the University of

In his spare time, Shareef is an Endeavor VentureCorps Mentor. Sherif is also a prior board member of the Middle East Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (MCSBE) and founding member of Nahdet El Mahrousa, Egypt’s leading philanthropic CSO.

Shareef holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with honors from Columbia Business School and a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) with honors from Cornell University.

Paul BragielCo-Founder & Managing Partner at I/O Ventures

Paul Bragiel is a co-founder and managing partner at i/o ventures, an early stage startup accelerator which operates out of a funky workspace+cafe in San Francisco.Previous he has founded and served as the CEO of 3 companies including:Lefora, a product bringing forums into the 21st century, proudly hosting over 100,000+ unique communities. Meetro, the first location based social network. Paragon Five, a game development studio specializing in console and mobile content with offices in Chicago and Krakow, Poland.

He often advises governments on entrepreneurship and policy that encourages startup ecosystems.His interests include projects that involve travel, fashion, entertainment, and technologies that encourage communication and networking. He has appeared on television in at least five different countries and is one of the authors of Game Programming Gems 4.

He has a strong background as a liaison for companies looking to establish operations in central & eastern europe.

Outside of work, he has toured Russia by train (starting in Siberia), bicycled across the United States (riding over 5,000 km), canoed the entire Mississippi River (paddling over 2,300 miles) and visited 70+ countries including the birth of a nation.

He likes to surround himself with people from various backgrounds especially those with a “jack of all trades” streak in them. Besides that, he aspires to drive a taxi and work at a hot dog stand in New York when retired.

Wisconsin she was professor and senior science advisor for the UW System. At Rutgers University she was named Henry Rutgers Fellow, achieved rank of full professor in six years, was elected chairman of her department (first woman in her field), founded and serve as chief executive of a major interdisciplinary center as well as Director of a university-wide graduate program. While at UW she took special assignment in Washington DC and served as science liaison to the President’s National Science & Technology Council.

She worked on Presidential initiatives and served as special assistant to the Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce. Jaleh was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Women in Technology International, delivered the 2007 Distinguished Speaker Series in South Africa, received Teksia’s Lifetime Achievement Award and an honorary doctorate from the Dominican University. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Association for Women in Science. Her other honors include “25 Smartest Who Make a Difference”, The Scientist’s list of “Leaders of Science”.

A frequent speaker and keynoter, Jaleh has written numerous research scholarly papers in top journals and many op-eds and commentaries on education, R&D gender, technical workforce, and policy issues. Jaleh has been an unfailing national presence and tireless advocate for full participation of girls and women in science and technology and a mentor and role model to many young people as they pursue science and technology education and careers.

Mike DuckerEntrepreneur in Residence, Global Entrepreneurship Program, Egypt

Mike Ducker is the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Global Entrepreneurship Program, part of the Egyptian Competiveness Project in Egypt, a USAID funded program . For GEP Egypt Mike is helping to start, grown and facilitate financing for Egyptian Entrepreneurs. Mike work in Egypt is a continuation of 17 years of supporting and working for entrepreneurs. Mike has strong expertise on market development, new product development, investment strategies, and institutional development to support entrepreneurs and innovation.

Mr. Ducker’s previous work includes designing a business plan for a Center of Entrepreneurship Excellence in Pakistan, managing an investment project in Egypt that helped facilitate $6 million of financing to entrepreneurs, and developed concept papers for innovation centers in Bosnia. Mr. Ducker has created training courses that showed entrepreneurs how to reach local and export markets in Armenia and Kosovo. He has presented his research on entrepreneurship and ICT development to USAID, the UN, and the greater development community. Mr. Ducker was also an ICT advisor in Kenya for 2 years and in 1998, Mike invested and helped an e-learning start-up in China.

Before his work in development, Mr. Ducker worked in the private sector for 9 years including working as a marketing director for small entrepreneurial high tech firms in which he was able to land new sales to fortune 500 companies. Mr. Ducker started his career in accounting/financial management and was part of a management staff that turned around a distribution company from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to profiting $1 million. He has created several training courses on entrepreneurship and ICT that he has taught internationally and in the US.

He earned his MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is a former





Certified Management Accountant. Mr. Ducker reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and finished 7 marathons, including the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya which is ranked by Running World Magazine as one of the top endurance marathons.

Joseph HadzimaMIT Sloan School of Management and IPVision

Joe Hadzima works in the areas of entrepreneurship, start-up phase companies, business plans, venture capital, corporate governance, and intellectual property strategy. He has been involved in the founding of more than 100 companies as a founder, investor, director, legal counsel, or employee and has advised entrepreneurs, high-growth businesses, and venture capitalists. Joe is a founding judge of the MIT $10K Entrepreneurship Competition (now the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition) and has taught the popular IAP course “Nuts and Bolts of Business Plans” since 1989. He is a frequent speaker for the MIT Enterprise Forum’s Satellite Broadcast

Series (SBS), including programs on company evaluation and structuring venture capital deals.

As Managing Director of Main Street Partners LLC, a venture development and technology commercialization firm, Joe is president of its portfolio company IPVision, Inc., an intellectual property management, systems and services firm. He was a director of the Global MIT Enterprise Forum for over 25 years and was its Chairman of the Board for 4 years. He practiced law for 17 years, first at Ropes & Gray in Boston and then at Sullivan & Worcester as founder and director of the High-Tech/New Ventures Group. He is a former director of the New England chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors and several private and public companies. His “Starting Up” column appeared regularly in the Boston Business Journal. Joe is a member of the MIT Venture Mentoring Service and has advised federal and state government agencies, universities and nonprofits on the creation and support of entrepreneurial ecosystems to create economic growth.

Joe is the recipient of the MIT Bronze Beaver Award, the highest MIT Alumni/ae award, for his work in Entrepreneurship. He was the second recipient of the Adolf F. Monosson Prize for Entrepreneurship Mentoring.

Joe received a B.Sc. from MIT (1973), a S.M. in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management (1997) and a Juris Doctore cum laude from the Harvard Law School (1979).

Mr. Ayman IsmailSchool of Business, American University in Cairo

Dr. Ayman Ismail is the Assistant Professor and Entrepreneurship Chair at the American University in Cairo Business School. He is also a co-founder and Managing Partner in Enovio, a management & strategy consulting firm operating in the US and the Middle East. Prior to that, he was a consultant in McKinsey & Company’s Business Technology Office, based in New York for several years. Dr. Ismail has advised senior management in leading Fortune 100 companies, fast-growing startups, government agencies, and non-profits on key organization, operations and technology issues. He has also consulted

and conducted research for international organizations such as the World Bank and UNCTAD, as well as multiple US government agencies. Dr. Ismail has a broad multidisciplinary experience in economic development, business strategy, city planning and technology based on professional practice and academic research. Dr. Ismail is a former Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University. He received his PhD in International Economic Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research focuses on financial development and private equity in emerging economies; venture capital and entrepreneurship; economic development in the Middle East; industrial strategy; international technology diffusion and knowledge transfer to developing countries; technology policy and innovation; energy and food security; and political economy of development. He also holds a bachelor degree in engineering and an MBA from the American University in Cairo, and a master in city planning and geographic information systems from MIT. Dr. Ismail is a co-founder and member the Board of Directors of Nahdet El-Mahrousa, a leading NGO incubating social entrepreneurs and social ventures targeting economic and social development issues in Egypt. He is also an Endeavor VentureCorps Mentor, advising entrepreneurs and their ventures in Egypt. Endeavor is a global non-profit supporting high-impact entrepreneurship as the leading force for sustainable economic development.

Steven R. KoltaiGlobal Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builder

Steven R. Koltai designed and, until September, 2011, managed the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) at the US Department of State. Currently, Steven continues to work as a consultant in the global entrepreneurship ecosystem space, as well as an active investor in and advisor to startups and growth stage companies in the US and abroad in media, e-commerce, and the event industries.

Steven is an executive with 30 years’ experience in international finance, strategic planning and entrepreneurship gained in the banking, entertainment

and Internet industries. Steven‘s longest single employment was at Warner Bros in Burbank, California, where over nine years, he served as the Studio’s first SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development, a member of and for 3 years, chair of, the Studio’s three-person operating committee. In 1993, Steven was the founder and first General Manager of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Online.

Steven has had significant entrepreneurial experience in two specific ventures. First, as co-founder of Coronet, today known as SES-Astra, Europe’s only private television satellite system. Steven’s second entrepreneurial effort was an online event registration and management company, Event411 based in Marina del Rey, California. Event411 provided the online event management software for, among other things, the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, the 2000 Salt Lake Winter Olympics and hundreds of corporate events including for clients such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, General Motors and UCLA.




Elizabeth (Beezer) Clarkson Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Elizabeth (Beezer) Clarkson is a Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson. She manages the DFJ Global Network, which consists of 16 venture funds around the world representing some $7B of capital under management and over 400 active portfolio companies. Beezer currently serves on the board of ShareThis as well as the investment committees of DFJ Vina Capital (Vietnam focused venture fund) and DFJ JAIC (cross border US-Japan venture fund).

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Robert R. Ackerman, Jr.Allegis Capital

Robert R. Ackerman, Jr. (Bob) is the Founder and Managing Director of Allegis Capital – a Silicon Valley-based seed and early-stage venture capital firm as well as a former serial entrepreneur. As a venture capitalist, Bob has led Allegis to recognition as one of the Top 30 venture capital firms in the world according to Red Herring Magazine. Allegis’ team of ex-operating executives has been recognized on a number of lists of the TOP 100 technology investors in the United States. Prior to founding Allegis in 1996, Bob had more than 15 years of experience as a technology executive – including the founding of InfoGear Technology Corporation, creator of the original integrated web/

telephone - the iPhone – where he served as Chairman and built the management team (sold to Cisco in 2000 for $350M). He also served as the CEO of Unisoft Systems, where he built the start-up into one of the two leading UNIX systems houses in the world with offices in the US, Europe and Japan.

Bob is a frequent speaker and writer on the subjects of innovation, entrepreneurism and venture capital and is a member of the faculty at the University of California – Berkeley’s Haas Graduate School of Business. His educational background includes a degree in Computer Science and he sits on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco-based Asian Art Museum.

JUDGES’ BIOSJUDGES’ BIOS

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Steven received his BA in Modern European History, magna cum laude, from Tufts University. As a Fulbright Scholar in Belgium, he received a Licence from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Steven earned his Master’s degree in International Economics from Tufts’ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Steven has served as a Founding Board Member of the Los Angeles-based Pacific Council on International Policy, Founding Chairman of the Entertainment Technology Center at the USC School of Film and Television, a long-time member of the Council on Foreign Relations (and membership of several CFR committees including Term Membership selection), a participant in several Aspen Institute Seminars, and the Salzburg Seminar.

Stephanie Marrus CEO, Portfolio Strategies and Stanford Technology Ventures Program Entrepreneur in Residence

Stephanie Marrus is a business advisor and international Entrepreneurship educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She participates in the Silicon Valley ecosystem that is the world’s leading entrepreneurial cluster by consulting to, mentoring and taking management roles in high potential, scalable ventures. She is connected to the venture capital communities in Silicon Valley, California and Boston. In addition to her business consultancy, she teaches and mentors entrepreneurs globally, is affiliated with Stanford University’s Technology Ventures Program and has been faculty at the

University of California, Berkeley. Her expertise on Entrepreneurship includes emerging markets such as the Middle East, Russia and Latin America. During a 25 year plus career, she has been a corporate executive and business consultant for hundreds of companies in science- and technology-based industries, many with their technological roots at Berkeley, Stanford, MIT and Harvard. Her consulting clients include venture capitalists, CEOs, US Government associated entities and international organizations. Through her consultancy Portfolio Strategies, she advises clients on strategy and takes operational roles.

Ms. Marrus has served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, VP Corporate Development and VP Business Development for public and private US companies from startups to more mature organizations. Her expertise is in building companies, growth strategy and implementation, venture capital financing, partnering and communications. For international companies, she can establish US operations and create US market presence. She maintains an extensive network of relationships in Silicon Valley, throughout the US and internationally.Ms. Marrus mentors startup and early stage companies. She has provided business counsel to companies that have been funded by grants through the National Science Foundation and is a grant reviewer for National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. She serves as a mentor to student ventures and judges business plan competitions at Stanford University, where she coached two teams to a first place win. She judges applications for StartupChile and Stanford University’s accelerator. She serves on the Advisory Board of Hub Ventures, an accelerator for social ventures.

She was named Entrepreneur-in-Residence at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. While in Jeddah, she addressed the business community in a session on Silicon Valley entrepreneurship sponsored by Princess Sita bint-Abdullah, daughter of King Abdullah, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and the US Consulate.

She has been an Endeavor conference presenter and guest lecturer in Argentina and Chile, visiting IAE Business School in Argentina and Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile. She has been Guest

Lecturer in the Executive MBA program at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, taught in the Bioentrepreneurship program at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, one of Europe’s largest medical universities, at Vienna University of Business and Economics and in Innovation Norway’s program at UC Berkeley that is sponsored by the University of Oslo and the Norwegian government.She heads the Life Science Working Group for StartupAmerica Partnership, a White House affiliated effort to foster entrepreneurship in the United States.

Ms. Marrus holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Columbia University and an AB from Cornell University. She is the author of Building the Strategic Plan, a management text published by John Wiley that has been successfully sold worldwide. An accomplished writer, she has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Marketwatch and in The Scientist magazine.




Christopher M. Schroeder HealthCentral

Christopher M. Schroeder is a leading entrepreneur and investor in interactive technologies and social communications. He is Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of HealthCentral, the highest quality collection of condition and wellness-specific interactive experiences focused on people finding and sharing real-life experiences related to their health needs. He is also engaged in exploring more global trends towards entrepreneurship, with a special focus on the developing world and the Middle East.

A veteran of online media, Christopher served as CEO and Publisher of Washington Post. Newsweek Interactive, which hosts washingtonpost.com

and newsweek.msnbc.com, among other leading news sites. During his tenure, the Company more than quadrupled in revenue and audience. Previously, Christopher was CEO and President of LEGI-SLATE, INC, a leading online B2B provider of information on federal and state legislation and regulation, which he sold.

Christopher was a co-founder, and served as Chairman, of the Online Publishers Association (OPA), a leading research and information organization comprised of the CEOs of top online quality content publishers (including MSNBC, The NY Times, Dow Jones, ESPN.) He has won numerous awards, including PharmaVOICE Top 100 Most Inspiring People in Life Sciences, was one of the first interactive executives named to the American Advertising (AAF) Hall of Achievement (a national annual award honoring the leading executives in advertising). Christopher was named one of the top business executives to watch by Business Forward Magazine, Media Magazine and the Washingtonian. Christopher graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and with honors from Harvard Business School.

Aside from his investment activity, he has been active in entrepreneurship in the emerging markets, especially MENA, and has written extensively on this for The Washington Post, Fortune, TechCrunch, and the Wall Street Journal among others. He is on the board of the American University of Cairo’s Business School, among other initiatives in entrepreneurship in the region.


Craig Hanson Next World Capital

Craig has extensive experience in venture capital, entrepreneurship and emerging company management, with a focus on technology. He has been an investor or senior executive in 18 venture-backed companies. Craig is a General Partner with Next World Capital (NWC), an international venture capital firm operating in the U.S. and Europe. NWC invests out of a $200 million fund allocation and is part of a much larger evergreen capital base, giving the firm substantial resources to partner with promising entrepreneurs. NWC invests in emerging and growth-stage companies internationally, and works closely with entrepreneurs to mentor them on building innovative, global leadership companies.

Prior to co-founding NWC’s venture capital group, Craig was a Vice President with FTV Capital, a growth-stage venture capital firm with $1 billion under management investing in software and business services companies worldwide. He was also a Principal at Vista Ventures, an early-stage technology venture capital firm, and a Vice President at Berenson Minella & Company, where he worked on large growth capital and buyout investments, as well as completed several acquisitions and financings. He has also been the CFO of a venture-backed technology company, and began his career with Credit Suisse First Boston.Craig also conducts independent research and analysis of program ideas at the confluence of economic development and foreign policy. He has been exploring economic development programs to foster entrepreneurship and innovation as an important economic engine and integral part of U.S. foreign policy. In 2011, Craig was a member of the U.S. State Department’s delegation to the Maghreb region of the Middle East. He is the Chair of the Silicon Valley Leadership Committee of Nuru International, a social innovation non-profit providing economic development and agriculture programs to fight extreme poverty in Africa. Craig is a Truman Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project. In 2011 Craig was named one of the top 40 Under 40 Leaders nationally by the New Leaders Council. He graduated from Carleton College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was a Sloan Fellow and President of his class.

Beezer began her investment career 17 years ago in Morgan Stanley’s Global Infrastructure Group. Most recently she was an Investment Manager at Omidyar Network where she focused on investments financial services and technology sectors in emerging markets. Her investments included for profit direct investments, fund investments and non-profit grants. Previously at Hewlett Packard (HP), Beezer led business development negotiations with leading Internet services companies for placement on desktop and notebooks world-wide.

Beezer has BA in Government from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Wesleyan University, the Advisory Board of InVenture and the Investor Advisory Council of Astia.

US STATE DEP. BIOSUS STATE DEPARTMENT BIOSLorraine HaritonSpecial Representative for Commercial and Business Affair

Lorraine Hariton was sworn in as the State Department’s Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs (CBA) on September 14, 2009. Her experience in innovation and entrepreneurship provides a unique perspective in addressing our global economic growth challenges. She is responsible for State Department outreach to the business community and commercial advocacy efforts. She works with the business community worldwide to ensure that commercial diplomacy efforts support U.S. foreign policy objectives. During her tenure, CBA has expanded cooperation and




Jeff HoffmanFounder, Priceline

Jeff Hoffman is an accomplished entrepreneur and innovator in the fields of Internet, e-commerce, and entertainment. Having launched his first software company while still a student at Yale University, Hoffman has founded and grown a series of successful startup companies in his career, guiding his companies to both acquisitions and public offerings. For his efforts, Jeff received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Entrepreneurship from the National CEO Council in 2010, and was also inducted into the Hall of Fame for Entrepreneurs by the international association of college entrepreneurs in 2010.

Jeff is currently a founder and partner in ColorJar, a venture accelerator firm that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners launch and grow new business ventures. In this capacity, Jeff works as a virtual CEO with startup companies all over the world to help turn great ideas into profitable businesses.

Jeff previously served as the CEO of Enable Holdings, Inc., one of the world’s leading excess inventory solutions companies. Enable Holdings, a publicly traded company, operates online sites uBid.com and RedTag.com, and specializes in the liquidation of excess inventory from major brand name manufacturers and retailers. The company has sold over $2 billion worth of computers, consumer electronics, jewelry, apparel, collectibles, and other products since its launch.Jeff’s first startup was a software company in the travel industry named CTI, a company that quickly became the industry leader in technology for the travel and tourism industry, and was later acquired by American Express. For his achievements, Jeff was twice named one of the 25 Most Influential Executives in travel and tourism worldwide. Hoffman was also a founder and CEO of early e-commerce pioneer Virtual Shopping, Inc., which developed patented, proprietary software and hardware for online retailing on the Internet, and was later acquired by Europe’s Wallenberg Group.

Hoffman is perhaps best known as a founder and CEO in the Priceline.com family of companies, where Jeff led the development and launch of Priceline’s consumer company (Priceline YardSale). Hoffman also served as an executive in Walker Digital, the parent company of Priceline and one of the country’s most innovative creators of intellectual property and new business models.After Priceline, Jeff was a founding partner, Chairman, and CEO of Black Sky Entertainment, an independent production company in the film and music industries. Hoffman’s firm successfully produced such independent films as CABIN FEVER (a horror film made for $1.4 million that has grossed over $100 million worldwide), and is currently in development on several new film and television projects. In the music business, Jeff has produced concerts with Elton John, reality programming with Boyz II Men, had his artists (pop band LMNT) open for Britney Spears, hosted charity events with members of *NSYNC, produced musical events with Ashanti, Fat Joe, Cash Money Millionaires, and more.

Jeff dedicates a significant portion of his time to mentoring other entrepreneurs. In this capacity,


GIST INITIATIVE ADVISORY GROUP BIOSGIST INITIATIVE ADVISORY GROUP BIOS


coordination with other trade promotion agencies and U.S. diplomatic posts overseas to support U.S. exporters and business interests in support of the President’s National Export Initiative.

In her first year with CBA, Ms. Hariton oversaw the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), a State Department-led effort to promote and spur entrepreneurship around the world. She has been instrumental in successful undertakings as the Palestinian Information Technology Initiative (PITI) and she chairs the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-Russia Innovation Council on High Technologies (ICHT). Ms. Hariton brings to the State Department more than 25 years of experience in the information technology sector in Silicon Valley. Throughout her business career Ms. Hariton worked with various technologies and products including mainframes, thin-client technology, e-commerce financial infrastructure, internet audio solutions and speech applications. Most recently Ms. Hariton worked on Smart Grid initiatives including advanced metering and intelligent street lighting.

Ms. Hariton served as President and CEO of Apptera from 2003 to 2005 where she brought their first product to market and raised $8 million in venture capital. She served as the CEO of Beatnik from 1999 to 2002 where she repositioned the company as a leader in the wireless industry and raised more than $40 million in venture capital. Ms. Hariton also spent 15 years at IBM serving in a number of executive capacities. Ms. Hariton is Chairman Emeritus of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives, served as Treasurer of the State of California Board of Accountancy, served on the board of the Demand Response Smart Gird Coalition, served on the National Advisory Board of the Stanford Clayman Institute for Gender Research and the Executive Committee of the National Center for Women and Information Technology.Ms. Hariton has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Stanford University.

Jeffrey Margolis,Foreign Affairs Officer

Dr. Jeffrey Margolis is Foreign Affairs Officer at the United States Department of State. Working in the Office of Science and Technology Cooperation within the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, he forwards U.S. science and technology global engagement programs and facilitates U.S. cooperation across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central, South, and Southeast Asia. In this capacity, he serves as one of the State Department leads on a number of programs including the Global Innovation through Science and Technology initiative that builds regional partnerships and programs that promote economic development through technology commercialization.

Dr. Margolis is the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science - Science & Technology Policy Fellowship which aims to bring scientific expertise to U.S. domestic and foreign policy decisions. He is an infectious disease specialist by training, earning his doctorate from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he received the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Prior to joining the State Department, Dr. Margolis worked at Baxter Healthcare, Pfizer, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on translational medicine applications of bacterial genetics. Dr. Margolis also has extensive education NGO experience, most recently serving as Vice President of Development for SEE College Prep, a California-based nonprofit organization that offers college preparation programs to low income students throughout the state.




Natalia PipiaCRDF Global

Natalia Pipia develops and oversees all Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs at CRDF Global. In her current position, Natalia is responsible for developing program vision and outreach strategies to external partners and funders for Innovation Programs as well as overseeing a portfolio of programs that support entrepreneurship ecosystem development in emerging countries. She develops new opportunities with various organizations and funders who share CRDF Global’s objective of promoting innovation in emerging economies and advancing the development of new opportunities for technology entrepreneurs. She carries out programs that support and promote technology start-ups, build innovation ecosystems in countries where programs are being implemented, and facilitate U.S. market access.

The objectives of CRDF Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship programs and more specifically, the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative, one of the programs Natalia oversees, are to develop and support new entrepreneurs by enhancing their knowledge of the technology commercialization process, creating mechanisms that allow them to network with like-minded entrepreneurs, providing them with access to seed capital to develop their business, and establish a virtual platform to link them with potential investors and funders. GIST also aims to establish a stronger entrepreneurial culture across the regions of the Middle East, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, foster more economically productive research through university – industry partnerships, and create sustainable linkages between regional researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and business services providers amongst themselves and with the broader business and investment community.

Natalia has 10 years of experience working in economic development and executed entrepreneurship and technology commercialization initiatives in more than 2o countries in partnership with numerous associations, companies, technology transfer groups, governmental, and non-governmental organizations in Eurasia, Middle East, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia.

Natalia holds a M.A. in International Relations from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University and Law degree from Kazan University. Natalia is fluent in English, Russian, and Georgian. She resides with her family in Washington, DC metropolitan area.


Ovidiu (Ovi) Bujorean CRDF Global

Ovidiu (Ovi) Bujorean is Program Manager for the GIST Initiative. The GIST Initiative aims to accelerate technology commercialization and entrepreneurship in the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Between 2011 and 2013, GIST is organizing two technology idea competitions (GISTech-I) and business plan competitions open to all entrepreneurs in the region interested in the fields of information technology, energy, health care and agriculture. The Initiative is also building the GIST Network, designed as a virtual platform for aspiring entrepreneurs,


ORGANIZERS’ BIOSORGANIZERS’ BIOSCathleen A. CampbellCRDF Global

Cathleen A. Campbell was appointed CRDF Global President and CEO in April 2006. She oversees 150 staff implementing innovative science and technology programs in over 30 countries.

Ms. Campbell joined CRDF Global in 2002 as vice president for programs, overseeing the organization’s five program departments, and was appointed senior vice president in 2003. Campbell brings to CRDF Global three decades of international science and technology policy and program management experience. She has worked with and traveled extensively to countries in Eurasia, the Middle East, East Asia and Latin America.

Prior to joining CRDF Global, Campbell served from 1998 to 2002 as Director of the Office of International Policy and Programs in the Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce. There she led technology cooperation with Egypt, Russia and Israel, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group. From 1995 to 1997, she was a senior policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she managed interagency initiatives to expand science, technology and innovation cooperation with Russia and other countries. Campbell was the U.S. State Department’s program officer for Soviet/Russia science and technology affairs from 1989 to 1994. Previously, she served in various research positions at Presearch, Incorporated; the Library of Congress; and the Rand Corporation.

Jeff has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Georgia Tech and Rollins College, and has judged business plan competitions at MIT, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Pepperdine University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Jeff also served as a coach and mentor in the Kaufman Institute’s FastTrac Entrepreneurs Boot Camp.

Jeff Hoffman is an accomplished professional and motivational speaker, featuring topics such as entrepreneurship, innovation, and business leadership, and has spoken at conferences and symposiums in over 40 different countries. Jeff is a featured business expert seen on Fox News, CNN, NBC, and more.

Dr. Jaleh Daie Aurora Equity and CRDF Global Board of Directors

Please see Dr. Daie’s full bio undar mentors’ section.




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Yuritzi Acosta CRDF Global

Yuritzi has significant international experience working in the fields of education and advocacy. Her interest in working with entrepreneurs and leaders across the globe brought her to CRDF Global in April 2011. As a member of the GIST Initiative she has worked on projects that empower entrepreneurs to commercialize their innovative ideas through the coordination of events and facilitation of access to relevant information.

Over the course of her work, she has coordinated a variety of educational and advocacy programs funded by agencies, such as NeighborWorks USA, USAID and the Florida Department of Education and now the Department of State.

Having lived in countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, Yuritzi brings a global view and adaptability to the team. Her interest in the interconnectedness of cultures and people has led her to complete an MA in International Studies with a focus on development from Florida International University. Yuritzi is also fluent in English, French and Spanish.

GISTECH-I SEMIFINALIST BIOSGISTECH-I SEMIFINALIST BIOSAbdulhameid Grandoka, Taltol Abdulhameid studied Software Engineering at the University of Petra. After a career in Design and Marketing he earned scholarships and awards which prompted him to launch his own company, Taltol, in March 2011. Taltol is an online marketplace for digital products. At Taltol you can buy or sell digital product, such as stock images, graphics and videos.

Adnan Sattar, Biodiesel-21 Century Energy Solution for Pakistan Adnan is currently doing his MBA at the International Islamic University in Islamabad. He has attended seminars on “Career Development”. Adnan is very interested in management field. Biodiesel-21 Century Energy Solution for Pakistan is a solution that aims to extract biodiesel from jatropha and pongam to create a new source of renewable energy.

Ali Raza, Natural Gas Digester Ali is CEO & founder of PAK-Energy Solution. He is an electrical engineer from University of Engineering & Technology in Lahore. He has received numerous national awards. His research work and recommendations on Entrepreneurship & Envisioning 2050 will be published in white paper of World Entrepreneurship Forum in France. He is collaborating with Responsible Business Initiative Pakistan (RBIpk). He has developed a strategic alliance with an online community dealing with 10 million users on internet. Natural Gas Digester is a solution to introduce an eco-friendly, innovative, futuristic and automated hybrid biogas technology to solve the energy crisis.

Anum Shafique, Piezoelectric Solution Anum is an undergraduate student of the NUST School of Chemical and Material Engineering, currently enrolled in the 5th Semester of Chemical Engineering. She is currently serving as an executive member in her university’s environmental club. Her aim in life is to one day aid towards making Chemical Plants as environmentally friendly as possible. Piezoelectric Solution is a material that generates electric current which can be used anywhere.

Anwar Almojarkesh, Movement Charger Anwar Studied Electrical Engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology, currently in his fifth year. He received a diploma in Digital Electronics from the Institute in Syria recognized from the University of Cambridge in Britain at the age of 13. Most of his inventions are designed to help people with special needs. Anwar has participated in numerous regional tech exhibitions and competitions and won many of them. Movement Charger is a device that can charge electronics on the move by using kinetic energy.

2524 implemented by CRDF Global implemented by CRDF Global

the academic community, and investors to BUILD entrepreneurship skills, to NETWORK with peers and CONNECT with mentors. In addition, GIST promotes University-Industry linkages in the regions mentioned above.

Ovidiu is member of the Board of Directors and Regional Chair for Washington DC and Virginia for MIT Enterprise Forum. He also serves as an Advisor to the MIT Portugal Entrepreneurship and Innovation Initiative. Previously, he was the Senior Associate at Rudyard Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in consumer technology opportunities for the global marketplace. Ovidiu managed a $600k UNDP e-government Project for the Romanian Presidency. The project was recognized by UNDP as regional best practice in capacity building and public administration reform. He also worked with Gemini Consulting, Deutsche Post Consulting, and BCG.

Ovidiu also founded and led LEADERS, an organization who impacted the lives of approximately 10000 young leaders and entrepreneurs in Romania and Southern-Eastern Europe. The partnership he built between Leaders and Vodafone was recognized by the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum as a worldwide best practice in developing young leaders. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of The Capital Network, City of Cambridge, AIESEC at Harvard and as a judge in the competition Startup Chile.

He was invited to speak on the topic of “Professional Networking” by the MIT Portugal Entrepreneurship program, the Swiss government, Columbia University and The State Department TechCamp initiative. He was the winner of Mayor Menino Boston World Partnership Battle of the Network Stars competition that included 125 top Boston connectors.

He is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management MBA program and the inaugural Sloan Entrepreneurship and Innovation program in Technology. Ovidiu also holds an MPA degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, an MA in Organizational and Business Psychology and an MA in Governance and Institutional Development. He holds a BA in trade from Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. He served two terms as the National President of AIESEC in Romania.




Heba Hosny, 7alaWa7da Heba is a senior quality assurance engineer. As a graduate from computer science department, she started her career as a testing and quality engineer at IBM Cairo. With the experience gained in IBM, she then moved to the startup eSpace. Now she is working at startup Vimov, a company that recently developed the first ranked weather apple app store product in Europe. With 10 years of experience in voluntary work, she formed the startup ‘7alawa7da’, a website that collects donations for critical charity cases, featuring one case at a time. The idea has been among the winners at multiple startup competitions.

James Khoo Chen Shiang, SecQme Founder and CEO of SECQME, James has extenssive working experience in number multinational companies, such as Sun Microsytems, Experian Group and Theta Service Partner. James is certified as Enterprise Java Architect, and Prince 2 Project Manager. SecQme is a technology application that enables individual security in urban centres by leveraging existing social and mobile technologies. James thought about secQ.me mobile app after his sister had a car accident in a remote location, which left her unconscious for several days during which her family could not find her. SecQ.me has been recognized in a number of international competitions.

Karim Mohammad, Silver Nanoparticles of Milk Karim is a senior Biology student at Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon. His fields of interest include nanotechnology, optics, and microbiology. His research goals include finding pragmatic solutions to medical and agricultural problems facing the MENA region and world. His accomplishments include modifying activities of antibiotics using silver nanoparticles to kill multi-drug resistant E. coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections. Silver Nanoparticles of Milk is a Nanotechnology solution that can reduce viable bacterial count in fresh milk and protect the milk’s enzymes and proteins without causing damage to the digestive system.

Maha Yusuf, Piezoelectric Solution Maha obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad. Her commitment to raise the standards of life in her home country has encouraged her to found Piezoelectric Solution, a material that generates electric current which can be used anywhere.

Mahmoud Shattel, Taquetna Mahmoud is a graduate of 2010 and holds B.S.c of Electrical Engineering from Hashemite University. He practiced leadership in many milestones, in university he was elected for the executive committee of IEEE and lead many teams. And he is skilled in Product design and development with extensive experience in R&D and Systems Design. He has been awarded a number of awards for Taqetna. Taqetna is a new windpower clean technology solution that helps create another avenue for renewable energy.

Azharul Hoque, Antenna Serves Azharul started his carrier as director of Syscon Electronics in 1978 where is st, he is also director of Electromedia. He holds the post of president of Anusandhitsu Chakro Science Club, joint secretary of lion Dragon association. He obtained his HSC from Notre Dame College in Dhaka & Physics degree from Jahangir Nagor University in Dhaka. Antenna Serves is a multifunctional antenna that helps users save money, energy and time.

Bassam Swaked, RoboBlind Bassam is a student pursuing his B.S in Electrical Engineering at the American University of Sharjah. He has worked with some of his professors as a Research Assistant. Bassam has participated in several professional activities such as the 6th IEEE Student Open Day common design project competition and the 1st Middle East Conference on Biomedical Engineering. RoboBlind is a technology solution that enables blind people to move around by scanning the surroundings of a subject and alerting them about surrounding objects

Fahad Islam Tiwana, Artificial Brain Controlled Upper Limb Prosthesis Fahad is currently a final year student of Engineering at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Pakistan. He many successful startups to his name. In recognition of his entrepreneurial spirit, he has received national awards. He likes to share his thoughts and knowledge on his blog Realitypod.com which is read by half a million people. Artificial Brain Controlled Upper Limb Prosthesis is a device that aims to provide a cost effective & viable solution to people with limb dismemberment.

Farhan Masood, Bloodline Farhan is a Futurologist by background, CEO of SoloTech Corp, and the founder of Go Green Pakistan. He has a keen interest in technology research and development, engineering entrepreneurship, social media activism, industrial and human psychology and graphic design. With 27 international and national Awards and Recognitions in his fields he is also behind 7 inventions in technology sector. He has served high profile positions in the capacity adviser to different ministers. Bloodline combines the efforts of all the blood societies in Pakistan to end the shortage of blood donors in Pakistan.

Gopakumar Suryanarayanan, Refilling Batteries Gopakumar is a Research Engineer working with Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GO R&D) in Qatar conducting research in cutting edge fuel cell technology and other renewable sources of power. He is also part of the editorial team at the International Journal for Sustainable Built Environment. He has worked with big corporations such as Navistar Trucks and Mahindra & Mahindra on projects related to sustainability in automobiles. He has set up a number of startups. He has obtained his Master’s in Advanced Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield (2011), UK. Refilling Batteries is a system solution that proposes discharged battery to be refilled at a battery refilling station as an alternative to the existing time consuming recharging process.





Mees Alotaibi, Silver Nanoparticles of Milk Mees is student at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. Along with her degree in biology and psychology, her passion and commitment to become a leader in human health has led her to food safety research based in nanotechnology techniques. Silver Nanoparticles of Milk is a Nanotechnology solution that can reduce viable bacterial count in fresh milk and protect the milk’s enzymes and proteins without causing damage to the digestive system.

Mohamed Amir Khalil, Cognitive Channel Use Mohamed received the B.Sc.Degree in Electrical Engineering from Alexandria University in Egypt. He then became a research assistant at the Wireless Intelligent Networks Center (WINC), Nile University. He is currently cofounding a new solar technology start-up. Cognitive Channel Use is a technology that allows additional network of users to use the same communication channel without affecting the use of the first set of users.

Mohamed El-Sayed, Gahezbetak Mohamed is a student at the faculty of Computers and Information at Cairo University. He is on the third level in the Information Systems Department, Mohamed was an active member in Student Union joining the fundraising team before being the Vice President of Non-profit Organization called 180 degree. Mohamed works as a web developer and currently learning mobile development. Gahezbetak is a tailored website that helps customers renovate their homes and get tailored feedback on new home improvement technology solutions.

Mohamed Ahmed Hammad, G2G Mohamed has a B.Sc Computer Engineering from Cairo University. His passion for teaching and passing on information and strong believe that information has no intrinsic value and only when shared with others does it flourish led him to found G2G. G2G is an online community that allows professionals to share and sell their knowledge and life experiences.

Mohamed Amgad Mohamed, Net3lem Mohamed has graduated from Faculty of Computers and Information Cairo University with a major in IT and a minor in IS. He has extensive experience in software engineering field and web-based applications. Net3lem is an online platform that helps college graduates find job opportunities, prepare for job interviews and learn about specific job requirements

Momal Mushtaq, Saltech Momal is a final year student in Business Administration. She is an aspiring social media entrepreneur having a taste for writing. She has been published in different national and international magazines and papers. In addition, she has received recognitions for her blogs. Her interest in Social Networks has led her to create her own of 300 young talents from Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Philippines. Saltech is a clean technology that aims to generate electricity and ensure the provision of clean drinking water for the masses.

Muhammad Hammad, Alli Sootak Muhammad is co-founder of AlliSootak and software developer at Masary-APSD. As a programmer he has experience with JAVA technology; Enterprise and Mobile Applications. He also has a strong background in DBMS; Oracle, MySQL, and Postgre SQL. He recently started the development of BlackBerry and Android applications. He obtained a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Cairo University. Alli Sootak is an interactive platform that allows customers to post and review information on lost and found objects. It also functions as an outlet for only positive societal news

Najwa Sahmarani, CardioDiagnostics Najwa pursued a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering at the Lebanese American University.She worked at Intelligile Innovation Center, which exposed her to the most important concepts and best practices in the world of business. Najwa fostered her passion for entrepreneurship by attending multiple seminars and workshops organized by Cisco Entrepreneur Institute. Cardio Diagnostics is a health device that monitors patient’s heart rate 24/7. Any detected abnormality is automatically sent to a dedicated monitoring centre.

Pavitra Bhalla, SimTravel Pavitra is a student currently pursuing Computer Science and Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Dubai Campus. One of the benchmarks in his research efforts was building of UAE’s first fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle. SimTravel is a new device that aims to significantly reduce modern age problems such as low credit in smart card and long ticketing queues.

Pranav Bhardwaj, SimTravel Pranav is an Electronics Engineer student at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Dubai Campus. He is motivated by the belief that the sky is the limit and that innovation is his path to success. SimTravel is a new device that aims to significantly reduce modern age problems such as low credit in smart card and long ticketing queues.

Rizwan Yousaf, Saltech Rizwan is in his final year of study in Aeronautical Engineering at College of Aeronautical Engineering, National University of Science and Technology in Pakistan. His passion of working as an entrepreneur by exploiting the engineering knowledge has earned him many recognitions at the national level. Saltech is a clean technology that aims to generate electricity and ensure the provision of clean drinking water for the masses.

Rofaida Awad Abdelaal, WithLoveFromMe A Computer Science 2009 graduate worked as a Software Developer in Bibliotheca Alexandrina and then joined eSpace technologies, where she is currently working as a Mobile and Web developer and which is known to be a Startup Catalyst in the region. WithLoveFromMe is a website that helps users subscribe, collaborate, share and send flowers. It has an Arabic interface and it can be adapted for other regions and cultures.





Saif Shoqerat, Movement Charger Saif studied Radiology in Jordan at the University of Science and Technology. He is now earning his MBA at the German University in Amman. He is the Executive Director at Sanabel Al-Khair Company. He also has extensive experience in the field of business. His idea, Movement Charger, has wan a regional business plan competition. Movement Charger is a device that can charge electronics on the move by using kinetic energy.

Sarbast Majeed Rashid, House Energy Saving Application Sarbast is an Information Technology Senior at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani. Sarbast has participated in the past few years in leadership workshops and exchange programs internationally and successfully completed an IT Project Management internship at AT&T. He has also been recognized at international competitions. He is also a frequent technology writer for local newspapers and websites. The House Energy Saving Application is helps control home appliances operations and allows for remote switch on and off of devices.

Sinecan Bilgic, GreenHouse Sinecan joined the Industrial Engineering Department at Bilkent University as an undergraduate with a full scholarship. She has represented a non-governmental organization and joined activities of other community groups. Since 2009, she has been working as a teaching assistant in Bilkent University Physics Department. GreenHouse is a system that facilitates tomato cultivation by using underground pipelines

Syed Muhammad Bilal Khalid, Artificial Brain Controlled Upper Limb Prosthesis Syed is currently pursuing a degree in Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Pakistan. In addition to a decorated academic career, he is also involved with many startup ventures. In 2011, he won a number of national awards for his idea. Artificial Brain Controlled Upper Limb Prosthesis is a device that aims to provide a cost effective & viable solution to people with limb dismemberment.

Zarak Babar, Biodiesel-21 Century Energy Solution for Pakistan Zarak was mentored by his father, an agriculture engineer, and inspired by nature to pursue a degree in Environmental Engineering. Through his life experience and studies he realized that not only Pakistan but the world needs an energy source which is not only green but also cheap and renewable. Biodiesel-21 Century Energy Solution for Pakistan is a solution that aims to extract biodiesel from jatropha and pongam to create a new source of renewable energy.

Ziad Sankari, Cardio Diagnostics Ziad Completed a BE in Computer Engineering with high distinction, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the Ohio State University, USA. There, he received a M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, another M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, and a minor in Entrepreneurship from the Fisher College of Business. Ziad has three years of industry experience in Lebanon and the US through which he gained valuable knowledge relevant to CardioDiagnostics. Cardio Diagnostics is a health device that monitors patient’s heart rate 24/7.

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GIST PARTNERSGIST PARTNERS Building local entrepreneurialecosystems together

REGIONAL JORDAN

TURKEY

INDONESIA

MALAYSIA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

PAKISTAN

TUNISIA ALGERIA

EGYPT

GIST Initiative is supported by U.S. Department of State, The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs


NOTESNOTES



NOTESNOTES

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