Techne

2025 Speakers

Kareem El-Hennawi

Senior Educational Content Development Consultant

Nahdet Misr

Egypt

Ahmad ElZorkani

Founder & Managing Director

ZOREX Training & Consultancy

Chief Marketing Officer

MNT Halan

Egypt

Sara Metwally

Chief Marketing Officer

MNT Halan

Egypt

Sara Metwally is the Chief Marketing Officer of MNT-Halan, Egypt and MENA’s leading fintech company and the region’s largest non-bank financial services provider. Since joining in 2023, she has led the transformation of MNT-Halan’s brand and marketing strategy to reshape consumer perception, accelerate growth, and position the company as an industry leader in financial inclusion in Egypt and beyond. With over 20 years of experience across marketing, communications, and operational leadership, Sara is known for blending creativity with performance. She has a profound interest in crafting bold, data-driven narratives that drive business impact, particularly stories that showcase how financial access empowers women and underserved communities. Before joining MNT-Halan, Sara served as Director of End-to-End Consumer Experience Strategy for Africa at The Coca-Cola Company, where she led strategy for 40+ brands across 54 markets. She began her career at Starcom, rising to General Manager for Egypt and later joining the firm's Global Strategy Committee. Under her leadership, Starcom Egypt became the country’s largest media agency, pioneering digital transformation and achieving double-digit growth. Sara’s work has been recognized with over 20 international awards across the Effies, Dubai Lynx, and other global creative platforms. Most recently, her campaign for the Halan super app earned a nomination at the 2025 Cannes Lions. She holds a BA in Economics from Queens University (Canada).

Hossam Rashad

Senior Director Information Management

ESLSCA University

Egypt

Adel Heikal

Performance & Measurement Markting Manager

Value Creation Manager

People & Culture Director

Managing Corporate Venture Capital

GB Corp

Egypt

Nada Shahen

Managing Corporate Venture Capital

GB Corp

Egypt

Nada Shaheen – Global Corporate VC Leader | Startup Ecosystem Builder | Speaker : Nada Shaheen is the Managing Director of GB Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of GB Corp, one of the leading industrial groups in the MENA region. As the first Egyptian woman to lead and manage a CVC fund in Africa, Nada has built a unique bridge between corporate innovation and the startup ecosystem across emerging markets. With over a decade of experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and innovation, Nada has worked with major institutions including the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the European Union, and GB Corp, driving strategic investments in fintech, mobility, logistics, and industrial tech. On the global stage, Nada is a proud member of Global Women in VC, the world’s largest community of women investors. She is also an active speaker at international forums, including GITEX Africa, RiseUp Summit, Techne Summit, Startup World Cup, and VC roundtables across Africa and the Middle East, where she shares insights on CVC strategy, innovation models, and building scalable startup ecosystems. As a serial entrepreneur, Nada brings operational insight to her investment lens and continues to mentor early-stage startups and founders across Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria. Her work is focused on Mobilizing corporate capital for impact and positioning CVCs as catalytic players in regional and global innovation. Nada is now driving GB Ventures’ expansion into African markets, actively facilitating partnerships between startups and corporates, and advocating for a more Inclusive, Strategic, and Future-facing VC landscape

Abdelrahman Elnaka

Head of Product Management

RTG

Egypt

Muhammed Hassan

Regional Security Manager

Mastercard

Egypt

Tarek Wael

Executive Coach & Personal Branding Strategist

Grow as you Go

Egypt

Heba Farahat

Offensive Security Lead Consultant

Liquid C2

Egypt

Marwa Soudi

Chief Innovation Officer

IdeasGym

Egypt

Marwa Soudi

Chief Innovation Officer

IdeasGym

Egypt

Marwa Samih Soudi is a distinguished researcher and innovator in the field of educational technology and artificial intelligence, with over 15 years of experience in the EdTech industry. Currently a PhD Candidate at Tallinn University, Marwa is pursuing her Ph.D. focusing on Responsible AI and the development of a trustworthy AI ecosystem for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). She is also a consultant at the MENA Observatory of Responsible AI at the American University of Cairo. Marwa has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards that showcase her commitment to fostering innovation and education. She won the "ICT for Women" first place award in 2018 for co-founding the IdeasGym e-learning platform, an initiative recognized by the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and UNDP. In the same year, she was awarded the Tony Elumelu grant for entrepreneurship in Africa, underscoring her impact on educational initiatives across the continent. Marwa was honored with the Women in Business Innovation Award in 2024, presented by Germany's First Lady, and received the prestigious IEEE Entrepreneurship Impact Award. With a strong academic foundation, including a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from the University of Tartu and a Master’s in Electronics and Communications from Alexandria University, Marwa continues to lead innovative projects that bridge technology and pedagogy, making significant contributions to the fields of AI and education.

Amin Serag

CEO

Hyde Park Developments

Egypt

Khaled ElKert

Founder and CEO

ETD Business Solutions

Nermine Youssef Ketchedjian

Head of marketing

Mogo

Egypt

Nermine Youssef Ketchedjian

Head of marketing

Mogo

Egypt

Nermine is currently the Head of Marketing at Mogo, a forward-thinking financial services firm based in Cairo. She leads the company’s entire marketing function, from strategy and brand positioning to campaign execution and digital engagement. With a background in Digital Marketing and a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Nermine’s career began in real estate in 2012. Her early success was driven by an analytical mindset and a deep understanding of people. In 2017, she made a decisive shift into Digital Marketing, recognizing the growing importance of the digital economy. Since then, she has built a well-rounded skill set across nearly every modern marketing and advertising discipline. Her strength lies in translating qualitative insights into measurable outcomes—tracking impact, optimizing performance, and connecting brands with audiences through relevance and trust. Her entry into fintech was fueled by a desire to create value where innovation meets accessibility. At Mogo, she has been instrumental in scaling awareness and user acquisition, particularly for underserved audiences such as youth, women, and the underbanked. Her leadership is grounded in data-driven decision-making, transparency, and a commitment to user-first design. She is known for her insightful LinkedIn contributions, including the widely shared idea that “growth is never by mere chance. It is the result of forces working together.” Nermine’s mission is to bridge the gap between technology and customer trust. In the MENA region, she continues to champion inclusive innovation, helping shape a more open and accessible financial future.

Mohamed Fathy

Head Of Cyber Security

Head of Digital Products

Nahdet Misr Publishing Group

Egypt

Mohamed Helmy

External Affairs Manager

DiDi

Egypt

Alyaa Said Ahmed

Chief Communications Officer

CIRA Education

Egypt

Alyaa Said Ahmed

Chief Communications Officer

CIRA Education

Egypt

Alyaa has been working in education for more than 8 years and Mavericks to her has been a dream come true. Contributing to a school that offers the upcoming generations the right to quality education at a reasonable cost has fulfilled her greater purpose. Online education has always been a passion of hers, since she believes everyone should have access to knowledge anytime, anywhere. As the head of marketing, Alyaa has built valuable partnerships that have benefited the school and will create the positive experience that Mavericks aims to offer. She has also managed marketing activities in a way that invites audiences into Mavericks and helps them understand what blended learning is really all about. Her hard work and dedication with the Mavericks team is an asset to the school and will shine through every child’s success story to come. Prior to Mavericks, Alyaa has experience as the program manager of Tahrir Academy, a non-profit organization that aims to help students learn through online resources. She also gained experience and achieved high growth rates as the Global Media Account Manager for Yahoo. She has a Bachelor’s of Economics and Political Science degree from Cairo University. “I find fulfillment in my work at Mavericks through knowing I can make a difference in parents’ lives. I listen to their problems and work with them to reach the best solution for their child. My goal is to give each child the best experience possible and their fair chance to succeed.”

Head of SME Commercialization for Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon

Mastercard

Egypt

Mohamed Talaat

Head of Retail banking

Mashreq

Egypt

Mohamed Talaat

Head of Retail banking

Mashreq

Egypt

Mohamed Talaat currently holds the title of Head of Retail Banking within Mashreq Egypt responsible for optimizing the overall profitability of retail banking while creating and implementing the strategy for the retail banking in Egypt. Furthermore, he is driving the retail business to ensure delivery on financial & business targets as well as digital transformation. Boasting an extensive track record of over two decades in the banking industry, Mohamed has excelled in various domains, including commercial business, digital banking, credit risk, and finance. Throughout his remarkable career, he has had the privilege of collaborating with esteemed multinational and Gulf-based institutions, namely at Citibank, Barclays, ADIB, Mashreq, FAB Misr and Misr Digital Innovation (MDI) Before joining Mashreq, Mohamed held the position of Chief Commercial Officer at Misr Digital Innovation (MDI), leading the charge on the business front. With an unwavering dedication, he assumes full responsibility for driving the build of commercial business for first digital bank in Egypt, overseeing a wide range of critical functions, including retail business, SMEs, channels, marketplace, partnerships, and financial inclusion. And before joining MDI, Mohamed held the position of Head of Retail Products at FAB Misr. During his tenure, he orchestrated a sweeping transformation of retail products, driving substantial business growth in 2018. Prior to his journey at FAB Misr, Mohamed made a significant impact during his three-year tenure at Mashreq Egypt. Within this period, he assumed various pivotal roles, including Acting Head of Retail Business and Head of Cards & Marketing. His exceptional leadership and innovative strategies played a pivotal role in driving the success of these departments. Mohamed's academic accomplishments are equally commendable, having earned a bachelor's degree from the esteemed Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University.

Islam Abdel Raouf

CCO & Co-founder

RTG

Egypt

Investing in technology does not guarantee success; if it did - 90% of startups would be making waves. My point is that technology will not deliver unless there are informed decisions and tailored solutions that drive tangible results. You might wonder where my confidence comes from. It is from decades of empowering numerous businesses, from startups to established enterprises, solely through beneficial and reward-driven digital transformations. Since beginning my career in tech, I have experienced different phases of technological advancement. This has helped me make a measurable impact on numerous businesses. With a unique blend of technical, management, and business acumen, I help organizations achieve measurable success. Leveraging my 12+ years of experience spanning mobile development, HR, product management, sales, marketing, and business development, I bridge gaps and spearhead technological innovation. I have led various departments and recorded measurable success. My success dates back to 2013 when I led the mobile development team in its earliest stages at Robusta. Then, moving ahead to the management/ business side as the HR director - Achieved a goal of expanding organization members to a 100 headcount, and created a solid system which proved foundational to company workplace success at Robsuta. I also spearheaded the product management team, and finally, I’m leading sales, marketing, and business development as the CBO at Robsuta. There is a robust advantage when your business is empowered by Robusta. At Robusta, we have created an ecosystem that caters to every aspect of your business in a way that accelerates your business growth, improves efficiency, and delivers exceptional customer experiences.

Ahmed Sobeih

Founder & CEO

JEEL Platform

Egypt

An entrepreneur with long career of commitment to introduce quality Arabic content to the world driven by passion and responsibility towards his identity, beliefs and roots. With over 23 years of experience in media production, marketing, strategic planning, and education, I’ve been building multiple companies to manifest my vision and create a momentum in the Arabic content scene that can spark a great transformation in this field. In less ten years, my mere ideas turned into concrete reality of fast-growing brands like; Root LLC, Ealamy and Jeel. We are focused on edutainment, ed-tech, value-based education and Arabic language and identity reinforcement. My pivotal achievement, is The Jeel App. an integrated educational and entertainment app for children and youth aged 3-15, as well as for parents and educators. It aims to endorse values and develop skills through exclusive, safe, and continuously renewed content, aligned with Jeel's Safe Educational Matrix. The App has a couple of sister products that has been launched like; Jeel Store, and other products in our near future provide also needed solutions like; Jeel Platform and Jeel TV. This story isn’t mine alone, it belongs to dozens of people who believed in Jeel and gave me their best – time, advice and investments- to grow it, I owe it to them that I have come this far. I’m fortunate to have met amazing people who are my colleagues, mentors and even more honored to call them friends. But for an entrepreneur, the mind is a deep mine full of ideas and plans, I still have more to achieve and I welcome all opportunities with like-minded individuals and entities to cooperate and transform the future.

Mahmoud Taha

CMO

paysky

Egypt

Mahmoud Taha is the Chief Marketing Officer at PaySky & Yalla Super App, the disruptive digital payments platform company founded in Egypt and operating in 18 countries.
Mahmoud is not only a seasoned marketer but also a talented content creator. He has recently established a TikTok and Instagram account called "Kol7agaMarketing," where he takes about everything marketing including marketing tutorials and case studies. His content has garnered millions of views.

Before Joining PaySky, Taha developed a long-term work experience in Telecommunications as Head of Marketing and Spokesperson at realme. Taha led the team in realme to launch several products in the Egypt market helping the brand market share to earn 13% market share and being chosen by the key publications as the best brand for Youth.
Taha's impressive track record also includes his role as MENA Regional Marketing Manager at Transsion Holding brands, where he was responsible for managing the launch of various products, including TECNO Mobile, Infinix, ITEL, Oraimo, and Syinix in several countries, including Egypt, Sudan, KSA, Dubai, Jordan, and Lebanon.

His strategic prowess and creative direction have earned him numerous international awards, including the Golden Effie Awards, Golden MENA Cristals, Golden Lorries Award, and Golden Lynx Awards.

Despite his academic background in Pharmacy, Mahmoud Taha has passionately pursued his interest in technology and marketing. He holds an MBA, a Marketing Diploma from Cambridge University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in marketing at Edinburgh Business School.

LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/mahmoud-taha89/
TikTok channel: www.tiktok.com/@kol7agamarketing/
Instagram accounts: www.instagram.com/kol7agamarketing/
www.instagram.com/mahmoudmtaha/

Growth and Digital Strategy Manager

Chairman of the Board

IDIA

Egypt

Ehab Mokhtar

Chairman of the Board

IDIA

Egypt

Ehab Mokhtar is a dynamic serial entrepreneur with a passion for turning innovative ideas into successful businesses with a proven track record of launching and scaling multiple ventures across diverse industries. Being established as a community builder, Mokhtar’s practices always focused on people and community engagement and a driving force in the entrepreneurial community that has driven him to co-found IWAN Developments and assumed the position of CEO since its inception in 2004, and since 2022 as Chairman of the Board. IWAN Developments is a pioneering firm that has redefined the real estate industry through innovative strategies and a commitment to excellence. IWAN developed more than 15 projects since it’s inauguration and is well known for its Feel-Good Neighborhood concept. Mokhtar founded IDIA in 1995, that stands as one of Egypt's top design companies, a testament to Mokhtar's visionary leadership and design acumen, where he currently holds the position of Managing Director & Chief Designer. Under Mokhtar's guidance, IDIA has evolved into a powerhouse within the Egyptian design landscape, boasting a team of over 60 designers and architects. His influential design concepts have shaped numerous large-scale projects, and his consultancy services have been sought after by esteemed organizations and institutions, including a notable collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture on urban heritage conservation from 2000 to 2003. Mokhtar recently leveraged his entrepreneurial expertise into establishing OZ Innovations, a groundbreaking venture aimed at trend-setting the prop-tech and hospitality industry. Mokhtar holds a BSc. degree in Architecture from Cairo University, and an MSc. from the American University in Cairo. He also had an extensive professional education at MIT, INSEAD and Harvard Business School.

Khaled Hesham

Director of Artificial Intelligence

RTG

Egypt

Omar Hosny

Business Development Manager - Fintechs & PSPs

Mastercard

Egypt

Omar Hosny

Business Development Manager - Fintechs & PSPs

Mastercard

Egypt

With over 9 years of experience in the financial services industry, has built a strong track record in business development, strategic growth, and revenue generation across leading financial institutions and fintech sectors. Currently serving as a Business Development Manager for Fintechs & PSPs at EEMEA Mastercard, responsible for driving revenue exceeding $50M across his cluster. His role focuses on identifying market opportunities, forging strategic partnerships, and tailoring solutions that meet the evolving needs of fintech, PSPs, and government clients across international markets. Before joining Mastercard, I was a Senior Strategy Manager at ValU, an EFG Hermes company, played a pivotal role in go-to-market strategies, market penetration, and competitive positioning. Also served as a founding team member and Senior Performance & Growth Manager at MNT-Halan, where he developed data-driven performance reporting systems using Python, SQL, Tableau, and Excel to support commercial growth strategies. Earlier in my career, Omar held a Financial & Performance Analyst role at Arab African International Bank, where he worked closely with executive leadership on financial planning and analysis. He also gained early experience through developmental roles with the EU-UNDP “Small Grants Plants” program. Omar holds a Master’s in Management from Université de Nantes and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Université Française d’Égypte. He is fluent in English, French, and Arabic, and is highly skilled in business intelligence tools and financial software. Outside of work, he is an avid padel, squash, and football enthusiast.