Noor Sweid is the Managing Partner of Global Ventures, a UAE-based international venture capital firm with presence in Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Tunis and Lagos. Noor was the Chief Investment Officer at The Dubai Future Foundation and Managing Partner at Leap Ventures.
Prior, Noor joined her family business, Depa, where she scaled the business tenfold, executed four cross border acquisitions and led the region’s first IPO on the LSE and the NASDAQ Dubai, achieving a billion+ dollar valuation.
Noor has also been recognized in Forbes’ World’s Top 50 Women in Tech, and the Arabian Business 100 Most Powerful Arab Women list. And to top it off, she has also received the prestigious Arab Woman Award for Finance.
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00:00:00 - Introduction: Noor Sweid from Global Ventures
00:01:53 - Noor’s Journey to Found Global Ventures
00:03:28 - From Entrepreneur to VC: Supporting the Regional Ecosystem
00:04:33 - Access to Venture Capital in the MENA Region
00:06:20 - The Early MENA Ecosystem & The Rise of Tech in Dubai
00:08:09 - The Importance of Financial Sustainability
00:08:59 - Deploying Tech in Emerging Markets
00:10:03 - Opportunity for Startups in the Region
00:11:04 - Technology Leapfrogging in Healthcare
00:11:50 - The Impact of ePharma and Healthcare Access
00:13:17 - Reducing energy consumption through innovative water desalination
00:13:55 - Tackling Innovation in Europe
00:14:39 - Local Manufacturing and Additive Manufacturing
00:15:30 - The Makeup of the GCC and North Africa
00:16:23 - Unique Opportunities in Each Market
00:17:06 - Factors and Markets in the Middle East
00:18:00 - Scaling Companies Globally
00:18:41 - The Opportunity of an IPO in the Region
00:19:34 - Understanding the Ecosystem
00:20:28 - The Importance of Surrounding Yourself with The Right People
EUVC #230 Noor Sweid of Global Ventures