Come join us for an Investment Summit brought to you by Female Fusion in partnership with Mindshift Capital, the region's only fund focused exclusively on women owned businesses. On 15 March 2023, come connect, learn and collaborate with female entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts.
Understand what investment options are available for your business, what it takes to be investment ready and how you can grow faster with investment.
The Investment Summit is bringing together a diverse group of female entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to connect, learn, and collaborate.
This Summit on March 15th, 2023, is designed to support female business owners with the unique challenges that they face when building and scaling a business and provide the resources and support needed to succeed.
YES, I WANT TO ATTEND THE SUMMITHear from successful entrepreneurs and industry experts, and connect with like-minded individuals.
The agenda for the in-person investment summit on March 15th, 2023, at the Address Skyview Hotel
Morning Session
08.30-9.30 Networking
9.30-9.45 Welcoming remarks by Jennifer Blandos, Female Fusion
9.45-10.45 Fundraising in the UAE – Walid Faza, Partner & COO, MSA Novo & Mark Griffith, Beehive
- The different funding options available for small businesses in the UAE
- The different types of investors you can have in your business
- Deciding which is the best option for your business
10.45-11.05 Legal Tips When Fundraising - Bianca Gracias, Crimson Legal
11.05-11.30 Networking break
11.30-12.30 Investor Panel / Fireside Chat - Heather Henyon, founder Mindshift Capital with Jen Blandos, founder, Female Fusion
- What do investors look for when investing?
- Getting your business investment-ready
- Various stages of investment for your business
- Steps your business needs to take before getting investment
12.30-13.30 Networking lunch
YES, I WANT TO ATTEND THE SUMMITAfternoon Session
13.30–14.30 “Stories from the Trenches: Funding Advice from Entrepreneurs Who Have Raised Capital” to be moderated by Heather Henyon, Founding Partner, Mindshift Capital
Panelists: Nadine Karadag, COO & Cofounder, Valeo; Simona Agolini, CEO & Cofounder, Qidz; Melis, CEO & Cofounder, Wellbees
Entrepreneurs who have successfully raised capital for their companies in the UAE will discuss their journey from preparation for funding; understanding the various financing options available in the UAE; considerations when fundraising; lessons learned and recommendations for new entrepreneurs.
14.30-15.00 Networking break
15.00-16.15 Pitching for Investment with Mindshift Capital
Judging Panel:
- Barbara Baumgartner, Investment Committee Member, Mindshift Capital;
- Joumana Jallad, Investment Committeee Member, Mindshift Capital;
- Rebecca Hall, Venture Partner, Mindshift Capital;
- Rona Shedid, Venture Partner, Mindshift Capital;
- Walid Faza, COO & Partner, MSA Capital
Three companies will have the opportunity to pitch for investment and will have the opportunity to deliver a 10-minute presentation followed by a 5-minute Q&A with investors
16.15-16.30 Closing Remarks by Jennifer Blandos, Female Fusion
16.30 Summit ends
YES, I WANT TO ATTEND THE SUMMIT
We believe that by supporting and investing in female entrepreneurs, we can create a more diverse and inclusive business environment that contributes to closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship.
The following speakers are confirmed for the Investment Summit
Jen Blandos, Host of the Investment Summit and CEO of Female Fusion
Jen is an entrepreneur of seven-figure businesses for over 20 years, and more than 25 years of international work experience. Originally from Canada, Jen’s work has taken her around the globe. Initially starting her career in PR and communications for trade disputes and mergers in the European Union and World Trade Organisation, she soon found her love in entrepreneurship.
In 2003, she created a PR agency in London, Brussels and Dubai, and later created a communications-focused training company in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and London. Today she owns a media training and public speaking coaching company in Dubai and London called The Communications Works.
In 2020 she fell into entrepreneurship and began supporting and helping other women, set up, run, and grow their own businesses. Today she owns and manages Female Fusion, the UAE’s largest community for women entrepreneurs with more than 20,000 members.
Jen also created and implemented the Stimulating Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs capacity building programme for UN Women in the UAE from 2021-2022, where she helped women entrepreneurs get more access to opportunities.
She is a regular public speaker, conference and panel discussion moderator, virtual meeting/conference moderator and speaker, as well as a spokesperson in the media. Her area of expertise focuses on entrepreneurship, women in business, women in the workplace, health, wellness and resilience.
Heather Henyon, Founding Partner, Mindshift Capital
Heather Henyon is Founding Partner of Mindshift Capital, a venture fund based in Dubai that is investing in early stage women-led technology companies in the Middle East and globally. She is also the founder of the Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN), the first and largest women’s angel group in the Middle East.
An active venture investor with a passion for fintech, Heather has over 100 direct and fund investments in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. She started her career on Wall Street and has almost 20 years of experience in finance, technology and strategy in emerging markets, including as founding CEO of Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Ltd.
Heather is a member of the Investment Committee of US-based Next Wave Impact Fund and is a founding member and former Board and Investment Committee member of Dubai Angel Investors. She serves on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Risk & Audit Committee of the Sekem Holding Group in Egypt and is a Board Member of Sarwa, Little Thinking Minds, NeedsList, and Localized. She is also a member of the Cartier Women’s Initiative MENA Jury.
Originally from the US, she has lived in the Middle East for 15 years and speaks Arabic and French. Heather holds an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Johnson School at Cornell University where she was a Park Leadership Fellow and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Oberlin College. She lives in Dubai, UAE.
Walid Faza, Partner and Chief Operating Officer, MSA Novo
Walid Faza is a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of MSA Novo, one of the most active global emerging market investment firms, with holdings across MENA, Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Notable MSA portfolio companies include Klarna, Nubank, Animoca, Gorillas, Xepelin, Tabby, and Kitopi. MSA Novo is the Emerging Markets fund of MSA Capital, a leading China based Venture Capital fund with over $2b AUM that has invested in China’s sector leaders like Meituan (last mile delivery) the Beijing Genomic Institute (gene sequencing), Didi (ride sharing), Tuijia (lodging), and YiduCloud (healthcare big data). MSA are also invested in most major private US tech companies via direct investments (eg. Uber, Palantir, Airbnb, etc) or indirect interests (eg. Stripe, SpaceX, Affirm, Wish, PostMates, Epic Games, Instacart, Lyft, NuBank, etc) through investments in the leading American venture capital funds.
Previously, Walid was a partner at Wamda Capital and managed the investments of MENA Venture Investments (MVI) investing in high growth and capital-efficient technology businesses which include some of the region’s most prominent exits such as Souq/Amazon, Yemeksepeti/Delivery Hero and Careem/Uber.
With over 12 years of experience in the region's Venture Capital industry, Walid is an advisor, to many startups and has extensive managerial and leadership roles that has helped start-ups, entrepreneurs and executives plan, build and scale businesses that are aligned with their vision to grow and excel in their markets.
Mark Griffith, Investment Manager, Beehive UAE
Mark Griffith is Beehive’s Investment Manager and has been working in the financial services industry for over seven years. Mark works closely with creditworthy, strong businesses in the UAE, providing them with tailored financial solutions specific to their individual requirements. Mark is a Qualified Financial Adviser from the University College Dublin.
Melis Abacıoğlu, Founder and CEO, Wellbees
Melis has graduated from German High School and completed a double major in Math and Art History at Columbia University. She founded Wellbees in 2013. Wellbees is an HR Tech product that aims to change employees’ habits for a higher quality of life. Wellbees currently empowers 200K+ lives in over 50 companies to bring employees into action for a healthier life.
She is one of the Tiny Habits programme coaches of BJ Fogg, Behavior Design Lab Founder Professor at Stanford University.
Nadine Karadag, Co-Founder and COO, Valeo Health
Born to Turkish-Syrian parents, Nadine is the Co-Founder and COO of Valeo Health. She was previously a Partner at the private equity fund Growthgate Capital.
She has also been the acting COO of INCO, a construction company in Dubai with revenues of US$ 100 Million and with activities in the Middle East.
Before that, Nadine worked with NASDAQ Dubai, responsible for new IPO listings raising around US$ 700 Million.
She holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the American University in Dubai.
Simona Agolini, CEO and C0-Founder, QiDZ
Simona is the CEO & Co-Founder of QiDZ – the Goto Hub for Parents so that parents can get inspired and find the best activities for their families across leisure, entertainment, afterschool, and F&B. Since launching in the UAE, QiDZ has expanded into Saudi, Bahrain, Qatar, and Egypt.
Simona has an MBA from Erasmus Rotterdam School of Management and prior to starting QiDZ, Simona worked in the Oil and Gas Industry in Business Development, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestments and leading mega capital projects in different countries.
Starting QiDZ was the fulfillment of a long-held dream to run her own business. Teaming up with a winning team with complementary skills was a critical ingredient to the decision to launch and the success of QiDZ.
Bianca Gracias, Managing Partner, Crimson Legal
Bianca Gracias is Managing Partner at Crimson Legal, a UAE based legal consultancy firm that specializes in providing conscientious legal advice to startups & SMEs. Bianca is also partner in Suits & Advisors, a cross border M&A and strategy consultancy. Given her ardent passion for startups, she recently co-founded Obsequ.io Technologies in DIFC that is launching an innovative compliance-tech platform.
With 18 years of experience in the legal and business realm, Bianca is also a TiE Dubai Charter member and active mentor with in5 Tech and Sheraa.
