Emaar chairman and founder Mohamed Alabbar and Federico Marchetti, CEO of Yoox Net-a-Porter will headline the next Arabian Business Forum, which will be held on Monday, November 28 at the Armani Hotel Dubai.
Entitled ‘Blueprint for a Digital Future: Why the Arab World Needs a Digital Revolution’, the forum will bring together a host of regional and international speakers and panellists.
Noon is the headline sponsor of the forum and the morning will see Mohamed Alabbar revealing more details of the $1 billion e-commerce platform that was launched last week. He will be followed by Federico Marchetti of Yoox Net-a-Porter appearing via video link from Milan, Italy.
The opening panel will examine the Arab digital divide and how to overcome it. Joining Alabbar and Marchetti on the panel will be Jonathan Labin, managing director MENA & Pakistan, Facebook and Charbel Sarkis, sector lead for retail, e-commerce, technology and telecom at Google MENA.
Following the morning break, the Arabian Business Digital Forum will focus on e-commerce with Ronaldo Mouchawar, chief executive officer of Souq.com being joined by Rashid Alabbar, chief executive officer, SIVVI.com; Khalid Talhouni, managing partner, Wamda Capital and Fodhil Benturquia, chief executive officer, Noon.
Fadi Ghandour, executive chairman, Wamda Capital and founder of Aramex is due to provide a keynote address on funding, which will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic including Wassim Moukahhal, senior vice president at Samena Capital and Noor Sweid, partner, Leap Ventures.
Other featured speakers at the event include Bhairav Trivedi, group chief executive officer, Network International; Ola Doudin, co-founder & chief executive officer, BitOasis and Devid Jegerson, head of payments at Noon, who will discuss and debate payment gateways and security.
Federico Marchetti, CEO of Yoox Net-a-Porter (Getty Images).
Also on the agenda is a look at the shared economy and whether this model can be developed in the Arab world. The discussion will feature Careem co-founder Mudassir Sheikha and Nabeesh founder Loulou Khazen Baz.
After the networking lunch, the forum will hear from Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib, co-founders, of Anghami, the Spotify of the Middle East who will tell the story of their success.
The final session of the day will see some of the Arab world’s next generation of start-ups take to the stage, including Ambareen Musa, founder and chief executive officer, Souqalmal; Stefano Fallaha, founder and chief executive officer, Fallound Inc; Rami Salman, founder and chief executive officer, Wrappup; Talal Ben Halim, managing director & partner, Acacus Technologies; Mohammad Al Munaikh, co -founder & chief executive officer, Ghinwa Media and Kunal Kapoor, founder and chief executive officer, The Luxury Closet.
“The Arab world is on the cusp of a digital revolution, and the opportunities in this region are huge,” said Ali Akawi, managing director of ITP Group, publishers of Arabian Business.
“Mohamed Alabbar has already shown himself to be a pioneer in this field with the launch of Noon, which is why we are thrilled that he will be leading the next Arabian Business Forum.”
The forum will be chaired by BBC television presenter and ITP chairman Andrew Neil.
For more information about the event and to view the full agenda please visit: arabianbusiness.com/forum or contact [email protected]. For sponsorship opportunities please contact Natasha Pendleton +971 56 787 4778 or [email protected]
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