Overview
Kuwait’s economy has swiftly overcome the challenges of the pandemic and set course toward a more sustainable and technologically advanced future. Both the private and public sectors are becoming increasingly digitalized, with renewable, cost, and energy-efficient solutions being implemented across the economy. The economy is led by a strong and effectively organized banking sector and the state is preparing its halls for foreign investors from around the world.
As we are witnessing a steady transition in many areas of the market, this event aims to explore the three major spheres in which the Kuwaiti economy is making progress. Through the facilitation of three discussion panels—on digital transformation, sustainable practices and developments, and entrepreneurial agility—we will observe the changes that have taken place within the country and offer attendees a chance to learn more about each aspect of these advancements.
The Business Year will use this event to bring together representatives of the private and public sectors to discuss their collaborative opportunities in advancing the country’s business developments. We will gather leaders, innovators, and investors under one roof and provide a space for these important topics to be contemplated, addressed, and built upon. We hope to put the Kuwaiti economy in the spotlight of the wider global business community.
The Business Year: Kuwait 2023 will be officially launched on this special occasion.
Speakers
HE Mazin Saad Ali Al-Nahedh
Minister of Commerce and Industry & Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology
HE Mazin Saad Ali Al-Nahedh
Minister of Commerce and Industry & Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology
Mazin Saad Ali Al-Nahedh serves as Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology. Prior to that, he was CEO of Kuwait Finance House Group and held several positions in the Kuwaiti banking sector. Mazin Saad Al Nahedh received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in finance from California State University. He has also completed numerous specialized executive programs, including the General Management Program (GMP) at Harvard Business School.
HE Basel Ahmad Al-Haroon
Governor, Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK)
HE Basel Ahmad Al-Haroon
Governor, Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK)
Appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) in April 2022. H.E. Basel Ahmad Al-Haroon held several high-ranking positions in the banking and financial sectors. He started his career at the CBK in 1989, advancing in various posts last of which being the Manager of the Foreign Operations Department until he became the Executive Director of Operations and Research Sector to oversee both the Foreign Operations Department and Economic Research Department until 2012. Al-Haroon was appointed as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in 2012. In 2021, he became the President of Kuwait Financial Intelligence Unit until March 2022. Appointed as Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) in April 2022. H.E. Basel Ahmad Al-Haroon held several high-ranking positions in the banking and financial sectors. He started his career at the CBK in 1989, advancing in various posts last of which being the Manager of the Foreign Operations Department until he became the Executive Director of Operations and Research Sector to oversee both the Foreign Operations Department and Economic Research Department until 2012. Al-Haroon was appointed as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in 2012. In 2021, he became the President of Kuwait Financial Intelligence Unit until March 2022.
Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah
Director General, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA)
Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah
Director General, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA)
Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is the Director General of Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) and a Board Member at The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) and The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). In addition, he heads multiple committees, including the Permanent Committee for Streamlining Business Environment & Enhancing Competitiveness in Kuwait (PCK) established by the Council of Ministers, the trade & investment sub-group of the Kuwait-UK Joint Steering Group, and the economic & commercial coordination working group in the Kuwait-US Strategic Dialogue. Previously he held the post of the Chief of Kuwait Foreign Investment Bureau (KFIB) at the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MOCI). In addition to various posts at General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (CoM). He sat on multiple boards including the National Offset Company (NOC), as Vice Chairman of the Board, and the Central Bank of Kuwait, as a member of the Board. He also headed multiple specialized committees, including the Committee for Amending Capital Markets Law, and Economic Inducement Committee established by the Council of Ministers. Dr. Meshaal holds a PhD from the University of Portsmouth, School of Business in the United Kingdom. He obtained a master's degree from Maastricht Business School (KBMS) and holds bachelor's degree from Kuwait University (KU), College of Social Sciences.
Abdulwahab Issa Al-Rushood
Acting Group CEO, Kuwait Finance House
Abdulwahab Issa Al-Rushood
Acting Group CEO, Kuwait Finance House
Abdulwahab Issa Al-Rushood received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Western Oregon State College in the US in 1987. He successfully completed a specialized training course on strategic leadership at Harvard Business School. He has been the Acting Group CEO and Group Chief Treasury and Financial Institutions Officer at Kuwait Finance House since 2015. In addition, he is the chairman of KFH Capital Investment Company and a board member at Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain. He possesses vast banking experience spanning more than 33 years. During his professional career, he has held numerous prominent leadership roles starting in the treasury department at Gulf Bank before moving to Kuwait Finance House.
Sheikh Ahmad Al Duaij Al Sabah
Chairman, Kuwait Banking Association
Sheikh Ahmad Al Duaij Al Sabah
Chairman, Kuwait Banking Association
Sheikh Ahmad Duaij Jaber Al Sabah has been the Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait since April 1, 2018. In his capacity as Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, he was nominated as Chairman of the Kuwait Banking Association effective from February 20, 2022 and became a member of the World Union of Arab Bankers in May 2022. He has also been a board member of the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies since April 2018. Furthermore, he held the position of board member at Kuwait Clearing Company, representing the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, from 2018 until 2019. He was recommended once again on May 11, 2022 as member of the board of directors of Kuwait Clearing Company. He previously held the position of Chairman of Al Tijari Financial Brokerage Company from 2014 until 2020. He graduated with an MBA from Maastricht School of Management in March 2008 after obtaining his bachelor’s degree in science with a major in finance from Bentley College, US, in May 2000.
Abdulla AlSenan
Vice President, Insurance Regulatory Unit (IRU)
Abdulla AlSenan
Vice President, Insurance Regulatory Unit (IRU)
Abdullah Alsenan graduated with a bachelor of finance and financial institutions from the Kuwait University College of Business Administration. He then went on to work for the Kuwait Clearing Company in the role of senior compliance officer. In 2016, he joined the Capital Markets Authority as registered compliance officer and soon after became the advisor to the Minister of MOCI within the Competition Protection Authority. He was later promoted to executive director in the Compliance and AML department in 2019. In 2020, Alsenan became the Vice President for IRU.
Dakhil Al Dakhil
CEO, Rasameel
Dakhil Al Dakhil
CEO, Rasameel
As CEO of Rasameel, Dakhil Al Dakhil enriches the company with extensive years of experience in alternative investments. He started his career in early 2004 in private equity at the Industrial and Financial Investments Company in Kuwait. Over the years, he was also exposed to real estate, locally, in the GCC, and internationally. He managed to close multiple real estate transactions across different sectors and difference jurisdictions with a value over USD500 million. Al Dakhil was a founding executive member at Dimah Capital after serving a substantial period of time at Al Aman Investment Company, where he managed to close several private equity deals; notably, a USD100 million private equity Asian fund, Al Fayez. With a background of industrial engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, he has been a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) from the CFA institute since 2008.
Ali Al-Fulaij
COO, Rasameel
Ali Al-Fulaij
COO, Rasameel
Ali Al-Fulaij is currently the COO at Rasameel. He has over 22 years of experience in local and Arab markets, where he has held senior leadership positions at several financial institutions, including Global Investment House and Gulf Bank. He also served as a board member of several companies and investment funds in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. A graduate of Leeds University, UK, with a degree in human genetics and a chartered wealth manager from the American Academy for Financial Management, has spent nearly 15 years overseeing wealth management of corporate and institutional clients in the region. He also served as Acting CEO of Global Investment House-Saudi Arabia.
Abdulaziz B. Al Loughani
Chairman & CEO, Floward
Abdulaziz B. Al Loughani
Chairman & CEO, Floward
Abdulaziz B. Al Loughani is the Chairman and CEO of Floward. He is also the managing partner at Faith Capital, a venture capital practice that is focused on the MENA region. He is also a member of Endeavor, a global network of high-impact entrepreneurs and was the first Kuwaiti to be selected as an endeavor entrepreneur. Previously, he served as founding executive vice chairman of the Kuwait National Fund for SMEs Development, a USD7 billion independent public institution responsible for developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kuwait (2013-2017). Prior to this role, he was a co-founder and CEO of Talabat.com until 2010 and has since then been investing in technology start-ups and has been involved in a number of local and regional entrepreneurial initiatives. He has also previously served as director at Global Capital Management, the alternative investments arm of Global Investment House (Global). He holds a bachelor's degree with a double major in information systems and e-commerce from the University of Toledo, and an MBA degree from London Business School.
Khalifah Al Yaqout
Managing Partner, Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group (YFLG)
Khalifah Al Yaqout
Managing Partner, Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group (YFLG)
Khalifah Al Yaqout is the managing partner of Al Yaqout and Al Fouzan Legal Group. He is a lawyer and arbitrator licensed to practice before the courts of various degrees in Kuwait, as well as various local and international arbitration institutions. Al Yaqout has also succeeded in leading a number of delegations in various international forums, including heading the Kuwaiti delegation to the United Nations Council and the US Department of Commerce in 2019. Furthermore, he is a well-known international speaker on various legal and commercial issues featured at international legal and business conferences regularly.
Bader Al-Ghanim
Managing Director, talabat Kuwait
Bader Al-Ghanim
Managing Director, talabat Kuwait
Bader Al-Ghanim is the Managing Director of talabat Kuwait, currently spearheading the company’s operation expansion and growth trajectory in the Kuwaiti market, leading a team of over 250 people. He started his journey with talabat as general manager of tMart in Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain. He was tasked with launching and scaling tMart across the MENA region. Alghanim has a bachelor’s degree in quantitative economics from Bentley University in Boston.
Program
08:30
Registration & coffee
09:00
Welcome note by Ioana Popa, Regional Director, The Business Year
09:15
Welcome Speech by Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA)
09:30
Guest Speaker: HE Mazin Saad Ali Al-Nahedh, Minister of Commerce and Industry & Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology of Kuwait
09:45
Keynote Speaker: Basel Al-Haroun, Governor, Central Bank of Kuwait
10:00
Guest Speaker: Abdulwahab Iesa Alrushood, Acting Group CEO, Kuwait Finance House
10:15
Panel: Fintech and the Future of Finance
11:30
Panel: Innovation and SMEs as the Backbone of Kuwait’s Growth