Erika Masako Welch is the Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at Lucidity Insights, focused on democratizing access to quality data for startups and venture capitalists across the MEAPT region. She also hosts "The Perfect Pitch" podcast, where she interviews top venture capitalists and entrepreneurs about fundraising and growth strategies. A Stanford GSB graduate and former international strategy consultant, Erika has over 15 years of experience advising Fortune 500 companies in 50+ countries and 20+ sectors. She is also a selective angel investor in the wellness and sustainability space. Passionate about community building, wellness, and exploration, Erika is a foodie, yoga enthusiast, and lifelong seeker of eudaimonia.

Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer

Erika Masako Welch

Dubai Startup Guide 2025 Edition

Opinions

GCC Growth Fund – In-Depth Analysis & Forecast | Lucidity Insights

The GCC Is Funding Startups. Europe Is Funding Champions. The Difference Will Define the Next Decade.

Entrepreneurship

Qais Ammori is the Chief Digital & Technology Officer at Almosafer, leading digital transformation, product innovation, and technology strategy across the MENA travel and tourism sector. With 15+ years of experience in software engineering, cloud computing, and AI, he oversees user experience, data, and scalable platform development, positioning Almosafer as a leading traveltech platform in Saudi Arabia.

Chief Digital & Technology Officer

Qais Ammori

Bringing The World to Saudi

Choice Overload: Why AI Will Redefine Travel – Read Opinion | Lucidity Insights

The End of Travel Search: How AI Is Rewiring the $11.6 Trillion Travel Industry

Tourism

The State of Unicorns: Turkey 2026

MEAIPT Unicorn Trends – In-Depth Analysis & Forecast | Lucidity Insights

The New Unicorn Map and Growth Beyond Silicon Valley

Startup

The State of Fintech in the Middle East

Hot Take: Perception Is Repricing MENA Risk – Read Opinion | Lucidity Insights

When Perception Becomes Risk: How War Is Quietly Reshaping Startup Funding in the Middle East

Dubai Startup Guide 2024 Edition

Hot Take: MENA VC Rebound – Read Opinion | Lucidity Insights

MENA’s Startup Comeback: The VC Winter Has Thawed—And a New Era Has Begun

I am focused on supporting entrepreneurs, disruption, innovation and women on boards. I am embedded in the regional and global ecosystem by contributing internationally to entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, esports & investor events as a speaker, moderator and judge.

Serial Angel Investor & Author

Lucy Chow

Middle East & Africa Gaming Review 2025

Gaming & Gamification’s Real-World Influence 2025

More than Play: Gaming and Gamification’s Growing Influence on the Real World

Gaming & ESports

Currently the CEO and Board Member at EVIQ, Gazzaz is sitting in one of the most consequential seats in the Kingdom. He isn't just running a company; he’s overseeing the rollout of Saudi Arabia’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure—the literal "fuel" for a greener Vision 2030.

Before he was charging batteries, Gazzaz was moving millions of people. As the General Manager for Uber in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, he led the tech giant through a transformative era. It wasn't just about ride-hailing; it was about navigating a cultural and economic shift in how an entire nation moves. His time there cemented his reputation as a leader who could handle the "heavy lifting" of hyper-growth while keeping local nuances front and center.

Chief Executive Officer and Board Member

Mohammad Bakr Gazzaz

Saudi Arabia’s Electric Mobility Evolution

Saudi EV Infrastructure – In-Depth Analysis & Forecast | Lucidity Insights

The Spine of Electrification: EVIQ's Role in Saudi Arabia’s EV Infrastructure Strategy

Mobility

Saudi Arabia EV Market 2025 – In-Depth Analysis & Forecast | Lucidity Insights

Saudi Arabia's Electric Pivot Is Moving Faster Than Expected

How the Middle East and Africa Are Building the Future of Gaming

Rabih is Managing Partner & Chief Exit Officer with Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), one of the leading late-stage Technology VC asset managers in MENA. Rabih has extensive experience in venture capital, private equity and advisory, having executed more than US$5 billion in transactions and raised more than US$2 billion in capital.

Rabih received his MBA from Columbia University, and his MS in Structural Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He also received a Bachelor of Engineering with Distinction from the American University of Beirut.

Managing Partner & Chief Exit Officer

Rabih I. Khoury

[Hot Take]: GCC’s AI Bandwidth Vision Explained – Read Opinion | Lucidity Insights

Can the GCC become an AI Powerhouse?

Artificial Intelligence

MEAPT PropTech Review 2024

MEA PropTech & ConTech Lead Urban Innovation

PropTech & ConTech Are Reshaping Real Estate and Urban Futures Across MEA

Proptech

Falk Rieker serves as the Global Vice President and Head of Financial Services at SAP, the world's foremost enterprise software company. With over 25 years of experience in the financial services sector, he leads a dedicated team of experts in crafting and delivering innovative, customer-centric solutions and strategies for banks, capital markets, and insurance firms of all sizes and segments.

Global Head of Financial Service Industry

Falk Rieker

The Path to Sustainable Fintech Growth in MENA

The Path to Sustainable Fintech Growth in MENA: SAP's Perspective

Fintech

Middle East Fintech Unicorns: A Rising Trend

The Rise of Middle East Fintech: Unicorns, Investments, and Regional Growth

Noor Sweid is the Managing Partner of Global Ventures, the leading international venture capital firm in the UAE. Noor is passionate about enabling disruptive technology companies and their emerging market founders to solve real problems while changing the world with measurable impact.
Identified by Forbes magazine as one of the “World’s Top 50 Women in Tech," Noor's previous roles include CIO at The Dubai Future Foundation, and founder of ZenYoga studio chain (acquired by Cedarbridge). Furthermore, Noor was the first Arab woman to scale, IPO, and operate a public company in the MENA region, listing Depa on the NASDAQ Dubai and the London Stock Exchange (DEPA:DU) for US$1.1. billion in April 2008.
Noor holds bachelors’ degrees in finance and economics from Boston College as well as an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Managing Partner

Noor Sweid

The Business of Impact Investing in 2023

United Arab Emirates

Are We Finding a Way to Feed the World?

Are We Finally Finding a Way to Feed the World?

Sustainability & ClimateTech

Permanent Representative of the UAE

Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany

Dubai’s Green Future: Powered by Renewable Energy

IRENA's Views on 2024 Renewables State

IRENA: On the State of Renewables in 2024

H.E. Saeed Mohammed Ahmad Al Tayer has an overall experience of more than 35 years in the field of telecommunications, energy, water, infrastructure, oil, gas and industry. 

Under his leadership since 1992, DEWA group has achieved unprecedented success and is recognized today to be one of the most distinguished utilities world-wide. His Excellency founded several successful companies, notably Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER), Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO), Mai Dubai, Digital DEWA among others and some of these are already market leaders. In 2022, HE Al Tayer steered DEWA group in its historic IPO, which attracted overwhelming global demand and was oversubscribed 37 times.

MD & CEO

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer

The Road to Dubai’s Sustainable Green Future

The Road to 2050: How Dubai Is Shaping Its Sustainable Green Future

The Future of Energy: Sustainable Solutions Ahead

The Future of Energy: Meeting Rising Demand with Sustainable Solutions

Global

Fintech Evolution & Future Frontiers in Financial Services

Fintech in Retrospect and the Next Frontiers in Financial Services

Joseph Lubin is a co-founder of Ethereum and the founder of ConsenSys, a full-stack, global blockchain company. Lubin has established himself as a guiding force in the fast-growing blockchain industry and a powerful advocate of decentralized technology.

Born and raised in Toronto, Lubin graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

He worked in the Princeton Robotics Lab at Tomandandy Music developing an autonomous music composition tool and at private research firm Vision Applications Inc. building autonomous mobile robots.

As a software engineer and consultant, Lubin worked with eMagine on the Identrus cryptographic payments and trade finance network project and was involved in the founding and operation of a hedge fund.

He held positions as Director of the New York office of Blacksmith Software Consulting and VP of Technology in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs.

Through these posts, Lubin focused on the intersection of cryptography, engineering, and finance.

At ConsenSys, he and his team are creating a formation of technologists and entrepreneurs building applications, infrastructure, and solutions for Web 3.0.

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Joseph Lubin

Special Report: Innovations in Blockchain

Blockchain Innovations and the Future of Decentralization

Crypto, Blockchain & Web3

How Blockchain and AI Integration is Transforming Sectors

The Impact of Blockchain and AI Convergence on Global Markets

Read insightful articles & opinions from venture capital firms members and industry experts. Stay informed on the latest VC news & startups.

Opinions collects first-person commentary from the people building the MENAPT technology economy — founders, venture capitalists, operators, and policymakers writing under their own names. Each piece argues a position on where capital, talent, or regulation should go next, and why the region's ecosystems do not follow the Silicon Valley playbook. Views belong to the authors, not to Lucidity Insights. Browse the latest below, or filter by topic to follow a debate in a specific sector.