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When She Innovates: How Innovators are Leading the Entrepreneurial Scene in Dubai

Dr Sana Farid, Surgeon, Entrepreneur, and Futurist, strives to utilize Emerging Technologies to make the world a better place. Dr. Sana Farid has been key to pushing the boundaries of innovation through her extensive research and development of impactful programs using immersive technologies like Extended Reality (XR) and Artificial Intelligence (Ai).

A driving force in the progression of Immersive Technologies, She has been hailed as one of the top 100 women in XR globally due to her outstanding achievements in creating industry standards, designing implementation strategies and best practices to help organizations take advantage of what immersive technologies have to offer and develop initiatives to make the use of XR safe.

Dr. Sana has been working in a number of countries, collaborating with various organizations like Google, HP, RCSI, and more. She’s the Co-Founder of Munfarid, a prominent name in Immersive Technologies.


Salwa Mohamed Alzahmi is the Founder & CEO of SPL. Co Ltd. and an award-winning research scientist and multiple patents inventor. She is also leading the AI-based software transformation and modernization research group at EBTIC Research Center. Her expertise are in the area of Software Modernization, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence. Salwa develops novel techniques to ease the migration of software system to operate efficiently in cloud-native architecture. As a technology expert, she is confident that she has found the winning formula to propel the nation’s future into an exporter of the knowledge economy on the global stage. After spending more than a decade in software engineering in the corporate world and research in academia, Salwa translated her research findings into real-world practical business solutions. Her industry accolades include Khalifa University Research Excellency Award 2016, the Global Telecommunication Award (GTB award 2017 London), and International and AI and ML Computing Awards in UK 2021. Salwa holds a Master’s Degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Khalifa University, and has been selected as an expert to be part of the international ISO community in AI and Big Data group.


Thea Myhvorld, Globally recognized founder and CEO with a record of accomplishment in technology and innovation for more than 10 years. Digitally transforming industries like learning, wellness and retail.

Demonstrated execution from a simple idea to a global business. Known for strong leadership and communication skills with ability to build and scale technology startups. Proven track record of delivery, impact and results. An advocate for women and diversity in technology. With a belief that technology can be a force for good, for people and the planet.

With both Arabic and Norwegian heritage, her international experiences and perspective has shaped how she aims to scale global impact. From coding one of the first edtech game-based apps, to launching a global marketplace for learning with TeachMeNow, and now scaling a global B2B technology that digitally transforms the future of work with GetBEE, she has a proven track record of delivery, impact and results.

Securing partnerships with Microsoft to Expo2020 and One Million Arab Coders. Thea has been recognized with numerous awards including being an Expo2020 Global Innovator, The Cartier Woman’s Awards, INC. Arabia’s Top Female Startups, Mercedes Benz Brand Ambassador and top 10 Linkedin Power Profile all under the age of 30. Regularly quoted in international media in Forbes, Bloomberg, Skynews, The Financial Times, The BBC, Gulf News, to name a few.


Sarah Saddouk held various position within the publishing, media, advertising, and business intelligence industries. She quickly climbed the corporate ladder by working for names such as The Economist Intelligence Unit, ITP Media Group, Euromonitor International and HSBC in Paris and Dubai.

She is an MBA graduate from NEOMA Business School, Sarah has been advising C-level on market-entry strategies covering the Indian and MENA regions.

Sarah is the Head of Innovation of the American publication Entrepreneur.com in the Middle East and Africa, where she leads the Entrepreneur Academy, and direct complex innovation related projects in collaboration with public and private institution such as the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Schneider Electric.
Sarah was born and raised in France, lived in UAE and Indian Kashmir where she wrote a paper on microfinance development in conflict zones. She is advanced in Urdu, Arabic, speaks fluently French, English, Spanish and is a member of the International Innovative Communications Network called Les Napoleons.


Daniela Rossi, starting as a young buyer in Canton with a Master Degree in Chinese Literature and Languages from Venice University, all the way up to a Senior Vice President role in Dubai, throughout her 20 years career with International Retail Groups between Milan, Melbourne, London and Dubai, Daniela always searched for authentic and meaningful Brands, which allowed her to successfully empower young entrepreneurs, independent designers and emerging brands providing them with launching platforms to tell their story, allowing them to enter into new markets and expand their distribution network. After 2 decades in developing merchandising assortments and business strategies for the retail world and thanks to her strong passion and expertise in building and training teams for new start up ventures, Daniela has taken her approach beyond retail and co-founded Unlimited, a new multimedia podcast platform dedicated to professional women from the Arab Region and beyond. By telling their stories through genuine and relatable podcast interviews, events and panel discussions, Daniela approaches topics from Female Enterpreneurship, Education, Wellbeing and Arts & Culture to inspire, engage and drive growth.

Daniela is an active member of Ca’Foscari Alumni and Dubai Business Women Council