United Arab Emirates
CEO of AstroLabs, a Gulf expansion platform supporting international companies entering Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Built the company from 5 people to 120. Supported 2,000+ international companies expanding into the region, serving Fortune 1000 corporates, global growth-stage businesses, and later-stage venture-backed startups. AstroLabs started supporting companies entering Saudi Arabia back in 2018, before the current expansion wave into the Kingdom. Today, many multinationals entering Saudi Arabia touch our platform somewhere in their journey - setup, compliance, HR, talent, accounting, and serviced offices. Executive MBA, London Business School. I write about the operational reality of scaling into Saudi - beyond announcements and market-entry narratives.
AstroLabs is the leading business expansion platform in the Gulf, empowering high-growth companies to expand into the region, and collaborating with the government and private sector to develop key sectors. Over the past decade, AstroLabs has facilitated the successful establishment and growth of over 1,500 global businesses across sectors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. AstroLabs brings a unique blend of expertise in global sourcing, local company formation and operation, soft landing, and bespoke program design to seamlessly integrate international companies into the market.
I was responsible of designing, launching and managing Dubai 100, the first digital health accelerator in Dubai and the MENA region. 2 years, 3 cohorts in Dubai and Shanghai, 18 startups from the UK, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, China, Singapore and Argentina. What were up to: - The Shanghai 2016 Bootcamp: http://awaan.ae/video/26762220/News-Reports:-Roland-Daher---Head-of-Dubai-100 - The 2017 Pitch Day: https://www.wamda.com/2017/04/dubai-100-finale-pitch-day-healthcare-technologies
- Founding member of MENA's largest tech entrepreneurship platform. - In charge of business development and strategic alliances across media platform, fund, and community programs. - Co-designed, executed and scaled MixN'Mentor and Corporate Entrepreneurship track. - Led the advisory team working with The World Bank on the strategy and execution of The Kuwait National Fund.
ElementM provides Business Development outsourcing services to startups in addition to consulting services that span the entire spectrum of Strategy Consulting, Go To Market Consulting and Investment.