An initiative by	In partnership with	International partner	In collaboration with

Governmental Partner

Arab Startup Competition

Join us on March 29 in Hilton Habtoor Grand Hotel Beirut to celebrate 12 years of Innovation and Technology

Arab Startup Competition

Join us on March 29 in Hilton Habtoor Grand Hotel Beirut to celebrate 12 years of Innovation and Technology

Registration and Startups Exhibition

2:00 - 3:00 pm

Conference

Welcome Remarks

3:00 - 3:30 pm

Panel Discussion | Role of Governments in Fostering Growth of Digital Economies

Moderator: Amira Mourad

Panelists: Nashwa Aly, Dr. Simon Galpin, Ferid Belhaj, Kushal Shah

3:30 - 4:00 pm

Keynote Address | How Deep Learning is Shifting Digital Economies

Huma Abidi

4:00 - 4:30 pm

Coffee Break

4:30 - 4:45 pm

Panel Discussion | Building on AI in Education to Prepare Tomorrow’s Workforce

Moderator: Prof. Bernard Ghanem

Panelists: Hanan Salam, Dr. Sana Farid, Rob McCargow, Dr. Teresa Escrig

4:45 - 5:15 pm

Panel Discussion | The Role of Fintech in Advancing Digital Economies

Moderator: Anthony Hobeika

Panelists: Rami El-Dokany, Mirna Sleiman, Sirine Fadoul, Ayman Chalhoub

5:15 - 5:45 pm

Entertainment Break

5:45 - 6:30 pm

Award Ceremony

Welcome Remarks

6:30 - 7:00 pm

Keynote Fireside Chat | Recent Trends in Aeronautics, Astronautics and Drones

Panelists: Charbel Farhat, Hala Fadel

7:00 - 7:20 pm

Fireside | Battling Global Competition and Prospects for Growth

Moderator: Philip Bahoshy

Panelist: Elie Habib

7:20 - 8:00 pm

Announcement of Winners

8:00 - 8:30 pm

Networking Reception

Starting 8:30 pm

Speakers

Huma Abidi

Intel Corporation

Director - Machine Learning, Deep Learning Software Engineering

Ferid Belhaj

The World Bank

Vice President, Middle East and North Africa

Charbel Farhat

Stanford University, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Chairman

Dr. Simon Galpin

Bahrain Economic Development Board

Managing Director

Kushal Shah

Roland Berger

Senior Partner and Head of Technology and Digital of Asia and Middle East

Nashwa Aly

Facebook

Head of Public Policy for the Middle East and North Africa

Hanan Salam

Women in AI

Co-Founder and Head of Education and Research

Amira Mourad

IDAL

Head of Business Support Unit for Startup

Anthony Hobeika

MENA Research Partners

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Sana Farid

Munfarid Consulting Co.

X-Reality and Ai Strategist

Prof. Bernard Ghanem

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering, Visual Computing Center

Ayman Chalhoub

NymCard

Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder

About The Competition

MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition (ASC) is a yearly competition initiated by the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab since 2006. This annual competition is designed to empower entrepreneurs and foster an eco-system of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Arab Region. ASC pits entrepreneurs in three different tracks: Ideas, Startups and Social Entrepreneurship Track. The winning teams are awarded 160K USD in equity free fund and benefit from a range of other activities including top tier trainings, mentorship, coaching, media exposure and great networking opportunities.

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