Emirates Entrepreneurship Association Excellerator Event Series
Cost-Effective AI Solutions: Intelligent Automation and Budget-Friendly Tools for Small Businesses
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January 27, 2026
Join the Emirates Entrepreneurship Association for the first of our Excellerator Program Community Events. This series of events are designed to enable you to help learn actionable skills along with meeting other Association members, Enterprise Leaders and Government Officials.
This particular session will provide you the opportunity to learn from World class AI enablement specialist Carlo Pepe about effective use of AI to accelerate your business. There will also be other leading speakers and panellists sharing their insights. This will be followed by the opportunity to network with other members of the Association.
Registration and Networking
Introduction to event
Welcome from Ghanim Al Falasi, Senior Vice President – Technology and Entrepreneurship, Dubai Silicon Oasis
Introduction to Excellerator Event Series by Thamer Alqasami, Executive Manager, Emirates Entrepreneurship Association
Meet the Members: The Accounter, Zelo Finance, Tamouh AI Recruitment (2min standup round robin x 3) for promoting the Funding Parties in the Room (Banks, Funds, Angel Investors etc)
Cost-Effective AI Solutions: Intelligent Automation and Budget-Friendly Small Businesses by Carlo Pepe
Industry Panel discussing AI Implementation and Hacks in their business
Networking
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Ghanim Al Falasi
Senior Vice President - Technology and Entrepreneurship, Dubai Silicon Oasis
Ghanim Al Falasi is Senior Vice President - Technology and Entrepreneurship at Dubai Silicon Oasis. Ghanim’s career with Dubai Silicon Oasis spans from 2011, at which time he was appointed as Senior Vice President. Under his lead, Ghanim managed corporate support services (human resources, business excellence, information technology, and supply management), people happiness and innovation, and client success. In 2021, Ghanim was assigned to spearhead and direct the technology and entrepreneurship business units under the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), which consolidate and integrate the products and services of Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ), and Dubai CommerCity (DCC). In 2013, Ghanim was also appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Smart City Project Committee at Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Thamer Alqasami
Executive Manager, Emirates Entrepreneurship Association
H.E. Eng. Thamer AlQasimi is a transformative C-Suite leader with over two decades of experience building government agencies and shaping national ecosystems. He uniquely merges strategic vision with technological execution, currently serving as CEO of both the Emirates Bio Research Center, where he pioneers AI-driven analytics for public security, and the Emirates Entrepreneurship Association, where he empowers the UAE's SME and startup landscape. An engineer by training and a strategist by practice, he focuses on leveraging AI and digital innovation to create measurable, large-scale impact.
Carlo Pepe
Founder, Koshima.ai
Carlo is an AI Business Consultant and co-founder of Koshima.ai, an AI consultancy focused on practical adoption and business value. He has worked in emerging technologies since 1999 and works with individuals, teams and leaders to turn AI into a practical daily assistant. He is a frequent speaker on workforce productivity, business process optimisation and what it takes to move from AI adoption to AI advantage.
Aon Raza
Head of Transformation, Al Wathba Insurance
Aon Raza is the Head of Transformation at Al Wathba Insurance, several years of experience in driving digital transformation within the insurance industry. His previous roles at Daman and Noor Takaful have equipped him with expertise in project management, portfolio management, and enhancing operational efficiency through innovative solutions. Aon has successfully led core insurance system implementations and spearheaded digital journey automation projects that significantly improved customer engagement.
Abdullah AlSalmani
Co-Founder & CEO, SpacePoint
Abdullah AlSalmani is the Co-Founder & CEO of SpacePoint, a UAE-based EdTech startup making satellite development accessible to students from middle school through university. An electrical engineer with an MSc in Space Science and an MIT Bootcamps alumnus, Abdullah is also the system engineer behind AlAinSat-1, the first satellite built in Al Ain, where he also led the development of a Made in the UAE onboard computer that flew onboard it as a payload. Passionate about innovation, youth empowerment, and climate action, he served on the Youth Advisory Council of the Al Ghurair Foundation. His contributions to education and space have earned him recognition as one of the Top 25 STEM & Space Educators for Climate, a Young Arab Pioneer in the Space and Technology Category, among the 20 MIT Innovators Under 35 - MENA 2025, and a finalist for the Emerging Founders Award at SEF2024.
Amna Alhammadi
AD Hub Lead, Young AI Leaders (YAIL)
Amna Alhammadi is an accomplished technology enthusiast and emerging leader in Artificial Intelligence and sustainability, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. With a solid academic foundation, she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Machine Learning (2024-2026) at Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, complementing her Bachelor of Computer Science (2022) from the United Arab Emirates University, where she graduated with a 3.6 GPA. Amna has a demonstrated history of blending technical expertise with a passion for innovation and impactful solutions. Her professional experience spans key roles in renowned organizations. As an Associate Software Engineer at Katim, she excelled in mobile application development and product ownership. At Bayanat, she contributed as a Junior Software Developer, focusing on software quality assurance and testing. Additionally, her internship at AD Ports involved data analysis and quality assurance, where she utilized tools like Power BI and Jira to enhance business intelligence.
Mark Hamill
CEO, ARCET Global
Mark is serial Entrepreneur based in the UAE, CEO of ARCET Global, a business community and events organisation which runs one of the largest CX and AI conferences in the World. As well as President of the AI for Business Institute in the UAE. Mark’s has Project Managed Transformation programs across the world as a consultant. His entire career has been centred on Customer Experience, Leadership and Communications, creating successful businesses around the World.
Richard Kennedy
Director, AI for Business Institute
Richard is a serial entrepreneur from the UK who has co-founded multiple Global Companies that work with Enterprise clients and Government in both Customer Experience and Artificial Intelligence. A marketing and operations specialist, Richard co-founded the AI for Business Institute after spotting a distinct lack of support for businesses looking for impartial guidance on their automation journey.