Tuesday March 19th, 2024
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WATCH: 5 Memorable Speakers from #RiseUp18

From space scientists, to TV presenters, this year's summit had a a little bit of everything.

Staff Writer

WATCH: 5 Memorable Speakers from #RiseUp18

The dust is just about settling on this year's RiseUp, with the entrepreneurial summit once again bringing together the brightest young minds in Egypt, with some of the biggest movers and shakers across several fields from around the world. Any event of this nature lives and dies on its roster of speakers and the three-day, Greek Campus-held event certainly didn't disappoint. Here our picks of this year's top speakers, who were interviewed exclusively by our sister site StartUp Scene's on-ground Interview Hub.

FAROUK EL-BAZ // Apollo Program Veteran & Space Scientist

Emerging as one of the most charismatic and engaging speakers this year, space scientist and Apollo program veteran, Dr. Farouk El-Baz, caught the imagination of attendees in preaching the need to support Egyptian youth on several fronts, while also taking part in a unique competition in collaboration with Tayarah and Mentor Arabia, which challenged RiseUp-ers to imagine taking the lead in setting up lie and infrastructure in a distant, habitable planet.

WILLIE ELAMEIN// Strategic Product Partnership Manager MENA, Facebook

As Facebook's Strategic Product Partnership Manager in MENA, Willie Elamein knows a thing or two about how brands can get the best out of the world's biggest social network. The fact that he has first-hand experience in running a startup and startup accelerator right here in Egypt puts him in the unique position of having an almost holistic view of the local and regional entrepreneurial ecosystems. 

HEBAH FISHER // Co-Founder & CEO, Kerning Cultures

Already making waves with her podcast network, Kerning Cultures, Fisher's goal is to bring what is still very much an untapped medium to prominence in the Middle East. Though a work-in-progress, Kerning Cutures has already succeeded in creating unique content that speaks of and to the region, while also tapping aiming to tap into Egypt's history of aural storytelling. Check out CairoScene's pre-summit in-depth interview here.

BROOKS ENTWISTLE // Chief Business Officer, Uber International

Coinciding with launch of Uber Bus in Egypt, Brooks Entwistle had plenty to talk about during his talk in elaborating on the ride-hailing app's aims to not only provide its face-value service, but to provide traffic solutions in Egypt in doing so. His talk provided unique insight into the inner-workings and goals of one of the most groundbreaking business to emerge in the last decade.

LAMEES AL HADIDI // Journalist & TV Presenter

Ranked as one of the 100 most powerful Arab women, Lamees Al Hadidi has been a trailblazer in both print and on screen as a journalist. More significantly, she is no stranger to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt, with the very first televised entrepreneurial competition airing on her show last year. As the last speaker on the summit's Capital Stage, she certainly made an impact - not in calling for investors to throw their money at young people, but for all relevant institutions to first and foremost give Egyptian youth space to be creative, innovative and brave.

Head over to our sister site StartUp Scene's Facebook page for more exclusive interviews.

Videos and main image by @MO4Network's #MO4Productions