Our final two judges, who hold the dreams of entrants to our Future Falcons pitch contest in their hands, have been revealed.
The event takes place on January 26 at the JW Marriott Marquis, ahead of the evening’s glittering Arabian Business Awards ceremony at the Etihad Museum, where the winner will be announced on stage amid a host of industry Oscars.
The prize pot now stands at AED230,000 in value with funding, mentoring, network and media support all forming part of the pot of gold waiting for start-ups if they can impress our four-strong panel of judges, the Falcons.
That line-up is now complete with two more experts ready to weigh in and pick from the hopefuls, with Zahara Malik, CEO & co-founder at Grosvenor Capital, and Genny Ghanimeh, founder and CEO at Mind Cloud Tribe and the Mind Cloud Academy.
They join global entrepreneur Gokhan Baykam, chairman of the Relight, an investor with more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles in tech, commodities, renewable energy sectors and luxury, and Alastair Lidel, the founder and CEO of The Private Investment Group. A Dubai based company that owns businesses in a number of different verticals ranging from Software Development, Investor Management, Social Media Applications, Recruitment and Events.
Zahara has established a track record of working with successful entrepreneurs and prominent figures to help them further building their vision across business lines from HRH the Prince of Wales to key families globally. Her client list includes Royal Dignitaries, Heads of State, Ministers, UHNWI, Family Offices and Executives.
Zahara has built substantial working experience in emerging and frontier markets and is an investment specialist holding several senior positions with Access Power, Global Investment Bank, Invest Africa and Sunbird Group.
Furthermore, Zahara has worked on key philanthropy and impact campaigns with HRH The Prince of Wales, The Princes Trust and Mosaic International Network. Zahara currently serves the Co-Chair of the GCC Steering Committee” of “Football for Peace” founded by Kofi Annan in 2006 and co-founded internationally by Kashif Siddiqi in 2013.
Zahara said: “Startups create new markets or completely transform existing markets by introducing products and or solutions that change the world. Startup entrepreneurs who are committed to solving a large-scale social or environmental problem are impact-preneurs.
“They build sustainable business models that serve a social or environmental purpose while simultaneously being profitable. I am honoured to be a part of the Future Falcons initiative and encourage impact-preneurs to be a part of this.”
Genny is the founder of Mind Cloud Academy, the first entrepreneurship academy teaching a program of 10 certified courses under KHDA. The program ends with a demo day of the investment deck to a panel of regional VCs & Investors. Genny also launched a Business Advisory Track under Mind Cloud, helping entrepreneurs on one-on-one in their journey from validating and testing their business model and implementing growth strategies, to getting ready to pitch investors.
Mind Cloud Tribe was born out of Mind Cloud Academy, with Genny founding an online platform of tutorials, tools, tool-builders for the Business Plan and the Investment, along a market-place for experts and tutorials. Mind Cloud Tribe’s vision is to allow anyone, anywhere, to overcome all the barriers and challenges, be able to fulfill their dreams and step into their vision.
Along with Mind Cloud, Genny is Investment Committee member at Spartech VC Fund, and a founding member of the EMIR Mentorship Program at London Business School. She is a recognised business and startup advisor with a track record of 20-plus founders, CEOs & entrepreneurs advised and mentored directly over the last four years.
The total prize pot to a value of AED230,000. To enter, simply fill in the form below with a brief synopsis of your idea. You also have the option to upload a 30-second video elevator pitch. A selection of these may be published on arabianbusiness.com (though publication is no guarantee of shortlisting for the final).
Finalists will be invited to pitch their idea live at our daytime event to the panel of Falcons, who will then pick their winner.
They will be announced in the evening at the Etihad Museum in Dubai, built on the spot where the United Arab Emirates was founded, at the Arabian Business Awards 2021, which will look back at the last 50 years, and capture the excitement for the decades ahead with a day of insights and an evening of celebration.
In our first industry ‘Oscars’, to be presented at a spectacular gala dinner, a host of honours are up for grabs with 10 industries being awarded, two winners from each category – with one marking five decades of success and one honouring the innovators of the future.
An editorial board from across ITP’s industry verticals and Arabian Business have handpicked finalists for these categories. To learn more about the full list click here. The glittering event will also feature a keynote speaker of international standing.
For enquiries about sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch with our commercial director Saraswati Agarwal at saraswati.agarwal@itp.com.
Early Bird table bookings are now open for the Arabian Business Awards 2021. Book your table for the most important evening in the UAE’s industry calendar. The booking closes on January 13. Visit the Arabian Business Awards 2021 microsite for more information about the event.
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