Data, Technology & The News Industry

Expert Speaker: Alan McIver, Commercial Manager, Thomson Reuters – Accelerate SME

Alan McIver is the Commercial Manager of Thomson Reuters - Accelerate SME, a platform for entrepreneurs and small business owners to find answers, new business opportunities and gain access to funding. In his role he works with Government, financial institutions and corporates across the Middle East who are active in the SME ecosystem. Alan began his career with Thomson Financial, London in 2004 before moving to Dubai in 2007 to establish their first office in the Middle East. He has extensive experience in market data technology and business development and has specialized in working with private equity, investment banking and investment management clients. During his career he has been involved in the acquisition and business integration of Reuters in 2008 and Zawya in 2012. Alan holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of York.

Entrepreneur Speaker: Elsa Aoun, Co-Founder, Ounousa

Elsa Aoun is the co-founder and CEO of Ounousa.com, an online magazine publishing content for Arabic speaking women on topics related to lifestyle, fashion and beauty. Ounousa registers more than 4 million visitors and around 10 million page views a month, and has a strong social media base with more than 14 million followers on Facebook. She is also the co-founder and a board member of Sohati.com, an online healthcare solution providing trustworthy medical information to patients, and Loolia.com a digital platform for the production and publishing of videos targeting women in the Arab world. Before becoming a full time entrepreneur, Elsa worked in strategy consulting in the Media, Telecom and Airline industries for Booz &Co in the Middle East and A.T. Kearney in France. She is a graduate of HEC, Paris and holds an MS degree in Telecom Engineering from Saint Joseph University (USJ).

Ecosystem Speaker: Stephanie Nour Prince, Ecosystem Relations, Wamda

Stephanie Nour is Ecosystem Relations Manager at Wamda. She handles the platform's partnerships across the MENA, is an avid reader, loves discovering startups and testing new apps and platforms. Wamda is a platform of integrated programs that aims to accelerate entrepreneurship ecosystems throughout the MENA region. Its core focus includes media, community development, research and corporate and government advisory services. In the past few years, Wamda has become the leading grassroots community and knowledge platform for entrepreneurs and supporting stakeholders