This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th.

Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit

Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv

A special thanks to our presenting partner The Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th.

Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit

Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv

A special thanks to our presenting partner The Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th.

Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit

Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv

A special thanks to our presenting partner The Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th.

Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit

Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv

A special thanks to our presenting partner The Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th.

Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit

Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv

A special thanks to our presenting partner The Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

This community activation is an interactive digital gathering of the Middle East and North African startup ecosystems it consists of a 6 episode podcast mini-series and a 6 week live-streamed startup pitch competition, which will both culminate in an interactive virtual summit on February 16th.

Register for the virtual summit at https://hopin.com/events/ecosystem-arabia-virtual-summit

Interact with the podcast and pitch competition by registering your email https://www.ecosystemarabia.tv

A special thanks to our presenting partner The Export-Import Bank of the United States. As the global middle class grows and technology makes the world smaller, opportunities have never been greater for American businesses to reach customers beyond U.S. border. EXIM provides federal resources to access capital and mitigate foreign risk. And no business is too small. Let EXIM help you export fearlessly to the MENA region and beyond. Visit exim.gov/mena to learn more.

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What is mutual credit? [12:15]
2. How does the concept of decentralized mutual credit differ at a local, national, and international level? [14:08]
3. How does mutual credit fit into the boarder decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem? [17:30]

He was previously the cofounder of Eneza Education, a learning platform supporting millions of 10-25 year olds, because I believe that young people are denied opportunities to leverage their technical skills, hunger to learn, their lack of bias and natural desire to change the world. 

Kago has dedicated his life to implementing solutions that automate solutions to people's problems at scale, especially for those will little or no prior technical skill. I've focused on plug-and-play solutions around "legacy" but extremely familiar technologies like SMS/USSD and Voice.

On this episode you'll learn:

1. The story of Kago's departure from Eneza and his journey to connecting with Daniel Yu from Sokowatch. [2:50]
2. What are the key problems Africa's SMEs face that the Sokowatch platform solves? [9:05]
3. A dive into market sizes in East and West Africa. [16:01]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What technologies and public policies have advanced over the past decade that has allowed for the introduction of new business models in solar? [3:35]

2. What is Community Solar? [8:22]

3. What can we realistically expect from solar power generation in the 2020's [16:12]

On this episode you'll learn:

• Why the European Startup Network released an official call for a Buy European Tech act, to allow federal governments to favor domestic startups in their public procurement process.
• When did global tech companies like Google and Facebook start to be associated with negative geopolitical consequences amongst European countries?
• How does the lack of M&A culture amongst European corporations get changed to provide more exit options within the local startup ecosystems across the continent?

Arieli holds an LL.B. Law, B.A in Economics and an MBA, all from Tel Aviv University. A force to be reckoned with, she was featured as one of the 100 most influential people in Israeli tech and as one of the top 100 tech business women speakers in the world. She lives in Tel Aviv with her spouse and their three sons.

Boson Protocol aims to change the world of commerce by enabling enterprises, organizations, and customers to bridge the divide between digital decentralized technologies and the transfer and trade of physical goods. Creating the de facto infrastructure to achieve this with minimized arbitration, cost, and trust, Boson Protocol is taking eCommerce to the next level with use cases including; loyalty and rewards, crypto exchanges, games, and tokenized networks amongst others. 

Leading the charge at Boson Protocol is serial entrepreneur Justin Banon. Justin previously spearheaded the Travel Experiences Division of Collinson, where he managed a group of global loyalty rewards platforms including LoungeKey, Mastercard Airport Experiences, and Priority Pass — the latter of which he scaled twenty-fold from $50m to $1bn per annum revenue during his tenure. 

On this episode you'll learn:

1. How does arbitration work on a decentralized protocol? [5:23]

2. How can small crypto and blockchain to take on giant corporations? [13:31]

3. Which is currently the bigger challenge for DeFi startups, the technical challenge or the user adoption challenge? [18:33]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. Does the Mongolian consist of mostly expats and foreign tech companies or are there more local entrepreneurs getting traction?
2. What traditional sectors are the biggest in Mongolia that should be the target of innovators and disruptors?[6:30]
3. Does Mongolia present a fertile landscape for cryptocurrency and blockchain entrepreneurs?[12:00]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. In what ways has the Belgium startup ecosystem evolved over the past couple years? [5:35]

2. What policies implemented by the European Commission have been truly helpful in creating a unified European market for startups to expand across? [14:50]

3. In it's current form, what is the biggest weakness in the Belgium ecosystem? [19:01]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What is the biggest hindrance to African Esports taking a broader spot in the global industry? [6:32]

2. What companies and games are investing in Africa to support a league? [7:40]

3. What are the most played consoles across Africa? [12:15]

Decisions made today shape the built environment of tomorrow. The continent with the fastest growing economy today is Africa, and this will continue to increase. This week's speakers will shine a light on the African continent, share a diversity of perspectives and challenges from the private and public sector, and offer solutions for sustainable, equitable infrastructure development in the 21st century.

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What does the current road infrastructure in Africa look like? [4:53]

2. What does the current state of ICT infrastructure across Africa look like? [11:50] 

3. What are some alternatives for investing in early stage in Africa? [21:15]

Decisions made today shape the built environment of tomorrow. The continent with the fastest growing economy today is Africa, and this will continue to increase. This week's speakers will shine a light on the African continent, share a diversity of perspectives and challenges from the private and public sector, and offer solutions for sustainable, equitable infrastructure development in the 21st century.

On this episode you'll learn:

1. How can hemp serve as a key input into Africa's growing construction and textile industries? [7:30]

2. How can Africa accelerate the velocity of capital accessible to local entrepreneurs? [11:50] 

3. What incentives do African banks have that disincentives them from giving SMEs and entrepreneurs loans [21:15]

Prior to this, at the age of 21, he founded Ando a B2B last-mile logistics solution in LATAM. He did this while studying Economics at Universidad de San Andres in Argentina. Ando was acquired by Moova in 2018. Some of his notable achievements include being selected for the US Dept. State Young Leaders Initiative (YLAI), being an alumni from the Westerwelle Foundation as a Young Founders and having participated of the Indie Bio acceleration program for biotech entrepreneurs in SF.

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What is CRISPR and what can it do? [2:20]
2. How has the COVID-19 fallout affected the Buenos Aires startup ecosystem? [14:00]
3. How was CASPR originally using CRISPR to combate the Zika Virus?[18:15]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What use cases within Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is Akin most excited for and why? [3:20]
2. What aspect of DeFi does Akin think will have the biggest impact across Africa? [10:48]
3. What are the best assets to peg a stablecoin's value to?[14:05]

Currently, he leads product development for ecosystem advisory at Techstars, where he works with entrepreneurs and community leaders around the world to support their path towards building better ecosystems. Ian is a startup advisor, mentor, and investor, including at The Fund. He is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, co-founder and board member at the Center for American Entrepreneurship, and a research fellow at Boston University.

On this episode you'll learn:

1. How do think tanks affect policy on entrepreneurship and venture capital [5:39]
2. How did Ian end up co-authoring The Startup Community Way with Brad Feld? [14:35]
3. Has COVID-19 accelerated Ian's thesis on startup ecosystem development or has it altered his framework? [21:12]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. A comparison between the geopolitical implications of Google investing large amounts in a country versus Huawei investing [7:01]
2. How did India's banning of Chinese apps affect consumer behavior of the average Indian? [15:20]
3. Why data privacy issues can have serious geopolitical consequences[21:12]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. Luckin Coffee's initial rapid growth and expansion throughout Middle East and Asia [2:00]
2. What were the fraud allegations made by Muddy Waters Research again Luckin?[3:59]
3. Who is Asia's next coffee startup most likely to become a regional powerhouse and compete with Starbucks?[9:55]

On this episode you'll learn:

1. What was the effect of India's Supreme Court reserving their ban on crypto trading in March of this year? [4:22]

2. What's been the relationship dynamic between India's cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and regulators? [9:00] 

3. Where are the different cryptocurrency startup hubs emerging in India? [14:10]

On this episode you'll learn:

How Sean has adapted his global vc and accelerator programs and how to think about approaching the post COVID-19 era - [6:01]

The difference between navigating market down turns as an entrepreneurs with a company of 15 vs as an executive with a company of 2300 employees - [13:26]

How this is affecting startup valuations and deal flow in the United States - [16:05]

On this episode you'll learn:

How delivery startups in emerging economies are being affected by COVID-19 - [6:38]

How Sierra Leone's experience with Ebola helped shape it's response to COVID-19 - [8:45]

How has COVID-19 affected the Buenos Aires Startup Ecosystem - [20:05]

Listen in to learn the following:

How does the Kuwait government conduct investment promotion for their startup and business environment? [4:30]

What’s the state of venture capital as an asset class in the Gulf region? [9:55]

What’s the state of Commerce across the Gulf region? [13:00]

Born in Lebanon, Omar holds a BA in Ethic, Politics, and Economics from Yale, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. After his studies, Omar worked as a consultant where he was exposed to exciting and innovative digital developments. After spending a year working for Sheffield Investment Co., Omar decided to return to Lebanon and join his family business, International Business Alliance Group, a corporate event-planning firm that he sought to revitalize.

Under the IBAG umbrella, Omar launched the Web and Mobile Business Summit in 2010. It was the first of its kind in the region to focus on entrepreneurs and the digital economy. Its success drove Omar to develop ArabNet, which organized a regioin Road Show, boosting its brand.

ArabNet is the first platform of its region that targets the startup scene by bringing together private corporations, government entities, investors and non-profit organizations, among others. Having played an essential role in driving the growth of multiple young companies, ArabNet enjoys a loyal network of fans. Its impact extends beyond the revenue and jobs it creates – ArabNet catalyzes the local entrepreneurial ecosystem through the thousands of entrepreneurs and hundres of companies that attend its event and read its articles.

Schroeder was invited to speak and mentor at the Celebration of Entrepreneurship in Dubai in 2010, one of the first major gathering of tech startups in the Middle East, and it began his journey that became Startup Rising. In thirteen subsequent trips to the region, interviewing over 150 entrepreneurs, investors and global tech leaders, he has written extensively about startups and technology in emerging growth markets for The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, Pando Daily, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider among other publications. He speaks regularly around the globe, and sits on the board of advisors of The American University of Cairo School of Business, the Jordanian incubator Oasis500, the Middle East online entrepreneur information platform and network wamda.com. He was named one of LinkedIn top 50 Influencers.

Before Sawari Ahmed was a veteran investor and venture capitalist from California with over 25 years of experience in top executive and management positions. Investment track record over the last 17 years includes the execution of numerous successful transactions in technology, Internet, healthcare and financial services at various stages of development. Has executed many rewarding exits, including several IPOs on the NASDAQ. 2006, CEO, EFG-Hermes Private Equity; then founded Sawari Ventures.

Ranked 30th on CoinMarketCap and listed amongst the top blockchain projects in China, Ontology’s unique infrastructure supports robust cross-chain collaboration and Layer 2 scalability, offering businesses the flexibility to design a blockchain that suits their needs.

1. Focus capacity building efforts on selling in-demand skills on global freelancing sites
2. Invest in programs to empower Diasporans in US, UK, and Europe to build companies
3. Provide a sandbox framework for digital currency startups to set up shop in your country

For full blog post visit - https://thegsm.co/?p=1953

He previously worked at IMJ Investment Partners as Director and responsible for IMJ's startup investments across Southeast Asia such as iMoney, Bukalapak and Zipmatch.

Prior to IMJ, Koichi worked at Private Equity Fund founded by George Soros, and was engaged in several corporate and hotel acquisitions.

Koichi holds a MBA degree from IE business school in Spain.

Check out his new book,

Chasing Black Unicorns: How building the Amazon of Africa put me on Interpol's Most Wanted list, on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Black-Unicorns-building-Interpols/dp/0578562472

Kai Isand is an advisory board member at Garage48 one of the longest running startup organisations in Estonia as well as a Program Lead at Accelerate Estonia, a startup minded agile innovation project initiated by Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and powered by Tehnopol Startup Incubator and Startup Estonia.

Jussi Tapio is the main organizer of Hack the Crisis Finland. He's a super business-minded executive with a lot of international experience. However he is not the traditional salary man but a pain-in-the-ass straight shooter. Extensive 360° corporate background has not made him a cynic but an expert in the harsh realities of change management.

Alex is an adjunct professor specializing in impact investment and entrepreneurship at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is a Kauffman Fellow, CFA Charterholder, and a Stephen M. Kellen Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm from the University of Manitoba.

Preorder his new book: Out-Innovate: How Global Entrepreneurs--from Delhi to Detroit--Are Rewriting the Rules of Silicon Valley here -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1633697584/

Thanks to his active media role, Andile enjoys unprecedented live global network access to leading Africa-focused ecosystem players (founders, investors, policy-makers, C-suite executive and innovation hub runners) and he is well-positioned to assist industry stakeholders to gauge the nature and strength of the often indistinct interpersonal and inter-organisational relationships at play within the ecosystem.

He's a sought-after producer, media consultant, speaker, event director and voice-over artist— servicing dozens of Africa’s biggest brands and agencies on a freelance basis every year. I also advise high net worth individuals and leading brands and businesses around the world on media strategy, market-entry plays and investment pipeline development focused on Sub-Saharan Africa.

Thanks to his active media role, Andile enjoys unprecedented live global network access to leading Africa-focused ecosystem players (founders, investors, policy-makers, C-suite executive and innovation hub runners) and he is well-positioned to assist industry stakeholders to gauge the nature and strength of the often indistinct interpersonal and inter-organisational relationships at play within the ecosystem.

He's a sought-after producer, media consultant, speaker, event director and voice-over artist— servicing dozens of Africa’s biggest brands and agencies on a freelance basis every year. I also advise high net worth individuals and leading brands and businesses around the world on media strategy, market-entry plays and investment pipeline development focused on Sub-Saharan Africa.

Her current operational responsibilities include lending and technical assistance for the ICT sector. In her 20 years of experience in development at the World Bank Group, Samia has worked on ICT4D in several sectors: telecommunications and broadband policy, ICT for public sector transformation, improving health and education services, and innovation and private sector development. Samia held several positions as regional coordinator in different regions such as Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Senior Operations Officer at InfoDev, and Strategy and Policy Officer in ECA, Africa and IMT.

Hruby has consulted extensively in over twenty-five African markets and regularly advises senior policymakers and Fortune 500 companies on doing business in Africa. She is the former managing director of the Whitaker Group, an Africa-focused advisory firm that has helped facilitate well over $2 billion in capital flows to the continent. Prior to that, she was an International Trade Specialist at the Barnett Group LLC, where she worked with corporate clients to resolve trade problems in the Middle East and Africa.

Aubrey sits on the board of Invest Africa USA, the private sector advisory board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the boards of two dynamic Nigerian companies. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is a professor at Georgetown University, and is a Young Leader at the Milken Institute.

Prior to that role, Moore served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President’s Delivery Unit (PDU). As Head of the PDU, his team monitored progress and drove delivery of the Public Sector Investment Program of Liberia—a program of over $1 billion in road, power, port infrastructure, and social programs in Liberia after the civil war. As one of the President’s trusted advisors, he also played a crucial role in supporting President Sirleaf as Liberia responded to the West Africa Ebola outbreak and shaped its post-Ebola outlook

At CGD, Moore’s research focus is around financing infrastructure in Africa and the changing landscape of development finance on the continent.  His research tracks the channels of private sources of finance, the rise of China and its expanding role in Africa, and Africa’s response to these changes.

This episode was recorded at PeaceTech Lab PeaceTech Lab works to reduce violent conflict using technology, media, and data to accelerate and scale peacebuilding efforts. An independent nonprofit, the Lab brings together engineers and activists, MBAs and conflict experts, social scientists, data scientists, and other innovators to put the right tools in the right hands to build peace.

As SVP Global Programs & Partnerships at the National Geographic Society, over 14 years Kristin helped lead worldwide growth of cable channels, corporate partnerships, and research, conservation, and exploration programs. Lived in Seoul, Korea as Luce Fellow; produced documentary films throughout Asia.
Selected as a 2009 Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum; serves on the Advisory Council, and involved with oceans, the shared economy, and the future of global development. Serves on the boards of Pristine Seas, The Ocean Foundation, and Children’s Eyes on Earth. Public policy and documentary film degrees, Duke University; executive courses, Harvard and Yale.

On September 8, 2018, the person who had invited Nizar to visit Iran, Shahindokht Molaverdi, the top aide for citizenship rights to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, told the Associated Press that the Iranian government had not approved Nizar's imprisonment, and that "[w]e did all we could to stop this from happening, but we are seeing that we have failed to make a significant impact." She blamed a "complete miscoordination" between Iran's civilian government and its independent judiciary, adding that "actions by one branch can ignore or neutralize efforts by another branch".

Despite the admission Iran was holding him against his will, Zakka remained a hostage in Iran until June 2019. With the sponsorship of his home country's president, General Michel Aoun, Zakka was released from Iran on June 11, 2019, and flew straight to Beirut.

Prior to embracing his inner social entrepreneur, KGB earned his stripes in the fields of law (GE), banking (ABN AMBRO), and management consulting (Deloitte and Booz Allen Hamilton).

KGB completed his higher education in the UK earning an Honours Law Degree from Durham and an MBA from Oxford. He is an an avid reader, lover of Sufi poetry, and an aspiring surfer.

On this episode you'll learn:

• What are differences between the GCC countries and the North Africa ecosystem?
• How developed is Ecommerce in the Middle east?
• What platforms are Ecommerce happening on in the region?

On this episode you'll learn:

• Why is Nigeria's e-commerce market so fragmented?
• How mature is the e-commerce ecosystem in Nigeria
• What other African markets does Lanre view as similar to the Nigerian market?

Eric is a serial Entrepreneur and Investor with 15+ years of ICT industry leadership across Africa and the world. He has worked in 32 African countries setting up ISPs, ISPAs, IXPs and high-tech startups. He co-founded Angel Africa List, Angel Fair Africa and Chanzo Capital.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What African countries are catching up to the big 5 KINGS markets?

-How does ICT infrastructure in North Africa and Subsaharan Africa compare?

-What are the challenges regarding last mile internet infrastructure across the African continent?

Dotun Oloworopoku is a General Partner at Ventures Platform. He is also the Managing Partner at Starta, a platform that makes it easier to build, discover and track high growth businesses in Africa. He is the founder of Yhello Technologies (previously meals.co.uk) an on-demand food delivery platform in the UK. He exited the business after successfully partnering with Just-eat.co.uk, the no.1 food ordering platform in Europe.

Dotun advises funded startups such as YC-backed Flutterwave on growth marketing, helping them build a growth team that can execute. Dotun is an active mentor at other accelerator programmes including Ignite in the UK, and the World’s Bank XL Africa programme.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What are the best channels to reach a consumer audience for audio content in Africa?

-Who will drive the last mile internet infrastructure in the least developed countries in Africa?

-What countries are the most ahead in terms of universal internet penetration?

On this episode you'll learn:

• What technology does Alex think will cause the most change over the coming years?
• Why did Alex start spending the majority of his time traveling to Eastern European startup ecosystems
• Why is the US dominance in global startups fading?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What's the difference between a special economic zone and a charter city?

-Where in the world can the charter city model have the most impact?

-What does Mark think of China's $4 Trillion commitment to their Belt  Road Initiative?

At Blume, Sajith focuses on supporting their investments in the Media, EdTech, Commerce space, in addition to helping build up the Research function.

On this episode you'll learn:

• What does the total funding funnel look like for Indian startups?
• What are the differences between India1, India2, and India3 and why has almost all VC gone into India1 focused startups?
• How has the Indian ecosystem evolved over the past 5 years?

On this episode you'll learn:

• Besides fintech, what sectors do Uwem think are most ripe for disruption in Nigeria?
• What can the nonprofit sector do better in catalyzing development in Africa?
• Why is it important for Africa to move up the value chain and decrease the amount of products it imports?

On this episode you'll learn:

• What are the Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang ecosystems like?

• Why is Vietnam one of Southeast Asia's fastest growing economies?
• What do American entrepreneurs need to know in order to successfully do business in Vietnam

On this episode you'll learn:

-What the current state of the blockchain startup ecosystem in China?

-What country's blockchain ecosystems are advancing the quickest?

-How is blockchain being used to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

Under Kari’s leadership, Startup Calgary became a founding member of the Calgary Innovation Coalition, a collective of 17 organizations representing the innovation community to the Alberta government.

Hannah Cree is the co-founder of CMNGD (COMMONGOOD) and a leading Alberta advocate for social enterprise and compassionate business innovation.

In her work, Hannah combines experience in entrepreneurship, finances and marketing with a passion for ending poverty and homelessness in Canada.

On this episode you'll learn:

• How should Social Good startups direct their capital raising efforts?
• What sectors is Calgary gaining traction in their startup ecosystem
• What does the angel and VC ecosystem look like in Calgary?

-How does gener8tor's accelerator for musicians measure success?

-At what stage does Troy think it's best for a startup to establish a board?

-What international market excites Troy the most outside of the US?

On this episode you'll learn:

-Is there enough quality deal flow for the incoming venture capital funds to invest in?

-What's the state of consumer-facing tech on the continent?

-Should startups change their approach in working with banks?

On this episode you'll learn:

• You moved back to Detroit in 2013 right as the city was declaring bankruptcy, how did the startup community evolved throughout those years?
• What kind of work is being done to connect the Ann Arbor and Detroit ecosystems? Anything in particular that's worked well or lessons on what hasn't worked?
• What sectors present the biggest opportunity for startups in Detroit?

Yariv previously headed the primary private-equity investment arm of a major insurance group in Israel where he Invested $100m in private-equity, venture-capital and real-estate.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What sectors are Israel leading and where are their gaps in the ecosystem?

-What countries have been most active in investing in the Israeli ecosystem?

-What are the other ecosystems besides Jerusalem and Tel Aviv that are growing startup hubs in the country? 

On this episode you'll learn:

-How did Fishbowl Labs originally get started?

-What similarities do the Cyber and Blockchain industries share?

-Why DC hasn't emerged as a top startup ecosystem on a global scale?

On this episode you'll learn:

-How has the African Fintech Landscape evolved in the past year?

-What does Leland think about African startups going to SE Asia or Latin America?

-How is data aggregation creating opportunities for Africa's SMEs?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What are the advantages and disadvantages of structuring your local innovation hub as a 501c3 

-What are Urban Engine's successes for other small town ecosystems to replicate?

-What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Huntsville startup ecosystem

On this episode you'll learn:

-How did the founding team of StartingBlock Madison put the pieces together to secure funding?

-What metrics besides venture capital can be used to gauge a startup ecosystems health?

-What are the biggest strengths of the Madison Startup Ecosystem?

Before that, Cédric was the co-founder of Cookening, founded in 2012 and sold in 2015, a global marketplace that brings locals with foreigners during home cooked meals. Cédric worked at several startups during his early years of his carreer: he was Europe Director for Seesmic and Marketing Director for Goojet/Scoop.it.

Cédric has been highly involved in the startup ecosystem since 2009, as Co-Editor and Conference Organizer for Techcrunch France in 2010/2011, curator and host of LeWeb Brands Track between 2011 and 2014. He's since 2014 co-founder of NYC-based event La French Touch Conference.

On this episode you'll learn:

-How has Cedric made the French startuper Facebook group so successful?

-Why has Toulouse has become a hotbed for IOT startups

-Why is venture capital so concentrated in Paris?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What are the most important infrastructure components needed in the majority of underdeveloped countries in the MENA region?

-Whats the state of Kuwait's entrepreneurial ecosystem

-How can governments across MENA collaborate to make international expansion for startups in the region easier?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What is the Alabama Futures Fund

-How can other midwest cities replicate the AFF model?

-Where is the most startup activity happening in Alabama

Register for The Global Startup Summit for free at globalstartup.tv.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What has Mike's experiences been raising all types of capital including venture capital, grant money, and corporate investments

-How similar or different are the Zambian and Malawian markets?

-How does Zoona hedge against the risk of currency value fluctuation?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What are the most immediate applications of blockchain and cryptocurrency in Africa?

-What does Yele mean he talks about the problem of market context in Africa?

-What lessons did Yele learn during his time as the managing partner of Microtraction?

Today's session is a clip from our Asia Pacific day keynote featuring William Bao Bean the General Partner of SOSV & Managing Director of Chinaccelerator.

On this episode you'll learn:

-Why have investors and VC's avoided investing in Edtech during this last wave of startups?

-When and why we reached peak university.

-What does the future model of education and workforce development look like?

On this episode you'll learn:

-Why did Chris decide to launch his fund in Columbus, Ohio?

-How does Chris think the new Opportunity Zone legislation will affect venture capital in the midwest?

-Where in the midwest does Chris think the hottest startup scenes are?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What lessons has Toro learned investing in African startups over the years?

-What traits do African founders need to have that differ from their Western counterparts?

-What are the common misperception western VC's still have about investing in African startups?

In his past roles he focused on the growth of the corporate incubator within Thomson Reuters, with a particular focus in FinTechs, Start Ups and SMEs across MENA.

On this episode you'll learn:

-How do the Nigerian banks and regulators view Fintech startups?

-What are the biggest differences between startup ecosystems in the MENA region and the GCC region?

-How is the Nigerian economy viewed by international investors?

Born in the economically poor Eastlands  Estate in Kenya, and raised by determined parents who believed in hard work, discipline and the importance of education, Mr Karenge now is determined to leverage his capabilities to innovate  economic empowerment solutions that alleviate poverty  and create employment, especially for the more vulnerable people on a BIG scale.

On this episode you'll learn:

-How would Peter advise a US-based investor interested in making their first investment in Africa?

-What was it like growing up in poverty in Kenya

-How has his experience with sports affected Peter's business career?

With YEES PR! Carlos focuses on educating Puerto Rico's future entrepreneurs. Denisse leads Colmena66, an ecosystem building initiative looking to connecte business development resources to each other and to a national network of best practices.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What valuation discrepancies exist between startups in East Africa and South Africa?

-How has the VC ecosystem in Cape Town developed since 2009?

-What is Justin's advice to 18 year olds today who want to be entrepreneurs?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What were the early days of getting the Startup Community off the ground like in Lisbon?

-What benefits has Web Summit brought to the Lisbon Startup Ecosystem?

-What are the common traits Pedro sees in the successful founders in Lisbon?

On this episode you'll learn:

-How did Lisa and her team discover the revenue model for Startup Buenos Aires?

-At what stage do Argentine startups typically outgrow the domestic market?

-What role has the national government taken in supporting the local startup ecosystem?

He has spent most of his professional life in Africa, and has been directly involved in over 20 start-ups and joint ventures. Johnni represents various organisations and investors on a board level, advising on a policy and strategy level.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What opportunities does Johnni see in secondary cities in East Africa?

-What are the biggest differences between great seed investors in Africa and great Series A investors?

-What skills does Johnni see as most lacking in native entrepreneurs across Africa?

After a stint in high finance in London, he has re-tuned his focus on Ethiopia and Africa since 2014 and as a result has founded the London based Ibex Frontier in early 2016 and has been helping Ethiopian based companies raise capital and has led in sell side mandates and investor negotiations as well as providing advisory services for international investors moving to Ethiopia in buy side mandate and/or Route-to-Market.

On this episode you'll learn:

-Why has market data on Ethiopia's private sector historically been so scarce?

-What sectors outside of the startup world are attracting the most foreign direct investment?

-How much venture and angel capital has been activated locally in Addis Ababa?

On this episode you'll learn:
-How a robust maker space can provide an ecosystem advantages into the third wave of internet companies.
-How did Tulsa achieve the #1 city for female entrepreneurs to start companies?
-How has Tulsa’s progressive open data policies benefited the local startup ecosystem?

On this episode you'll learn:

-What attributes do startups in emerging economies have that make them more likely to be successful?

-Why haven't corporates in Latin America been active in the startup community?

-Considering the fact that there isn’t a healthy IPO or acquisition market in Latin America, How is startup success in emerging economies defined differently?

She is currently writing about her experience in her first project of a book, called Hacking Communities, a result of 11 years building different communities offline and online.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What are the first steps and initial to do list for getting a startup community off the ground and running?

- How does an ecosystem builder maintain momentum and keep the community together over the long run?

-What's the story of the growth in Malaysia's startup ecosystem since 2014?

On this episode you'll learn:

-How did Stanfield organize and fund the first Dig South Conference?

-How did availability of early stage capital in South Carolina evolve since Stanfield started Dig South?

-What gaps were in the South Carolina ecosystem back in 2011?

On this episode you'll learn:

-How much early stage capital is available in country relative to mainland Europe?

-How has the VC ecosystem evolved since Alan entered the space 6 years ago?

-What's the current sentiment towards cryptocurrencies in Ireland?

On this episode you'll learn

-How Marc originally raised sponsorship money for the Banj

-What does entrepreneurship mean to the average person in Haiti?

-What are currently the missing pieces in the Haiti Startup Ecosystem?