Thriving in Middle East – Celebrating Black Businesses

Alia Ahmed

Corporate Lawyer & Co-Founder

In.Coming

Alia is a corporate mergers and acquisitions lawyer with experience in capital markets and investment funds. She started her career at Latham & Watkins LLP, where she spent time in their London and Dubai offices. She then moved to Allen & Overy LLP, focusing on M&A transactions where she was an active member of the Africa Practice and organised a formal collaboration between the firm and a global female professional network called Ellevate. After about a decade in corporate law, Alia went back to university to study entrepreneurship at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. During this time, she created an e-learning platform based in London, aimed at law students from a diverse background. Alia and her co-founder facilitated partnerships with law firms and created content delivered by partners and graduate recruitment from a variety of firms in London. They have more than 40 firms featured most of them international elites representing USD80bn of global legal revenues. They have also announced a partnership with global recruitment firm, Hydrogen and have been approached by the Law Society of England & Wales (the authority that registers all UK qualified lawyers) to integrate the venture's content in the Law Society's career advisory services for their Junior Lawyers Division

Gbemi Giwa

Owner, Catfish Restaurant / Entrepreneur / Fitness Consultant

Catfish Restaurant

Gbemi is a multi-passionate entrepreneur with a knack for turning ideas into creative impactful brands.Having launched a number of successful businesses such as Dubai Fit Foodie Blog, Afrofit dance classes and Catfish, an online African inspired restaurant, her current venture Digiboss now helps millennial women build impactful brands. Gbemi teaches them how to validate their creative ideas, craft them into polished concepts and launch them into the real world. Over the last decade Gbemi has achieved an impressive list of accolades including the cover of Women’s Health ME Magazine, and the cover of Emirates Woman, a prestigious publication for Women in the Middle East. The Entrepreneur Magazine, Nation, and even Cosmopolitan Middle East recognized her platform as the best “Fitness Blog” in the year 2016, as well, she was nominated for the Stylist Arabia “Social Media Star” in the wellness category. Plus, Gbemi has been named as one of Ahlan Arabia’s hot 100 influential personalities in the Middle East for 2 years in a row.

Giuseppe Netti

Regional Head of Sales, Middle East and Africa

Bloomberg L.P.

Giuseppe Netti Regional Head of Enterprise Sales MEA Bloomberg LP Dubai, UAE. Giuseppe Netti oversees Bloomberg’s Relationships for Middle East and Africa. Giuseppe is responsible for developing and directing a unified business expansion across the company’s suite of Enterprise Solutions for Buyside and Sellside clients, including the Bloomberg Terminals. He also acts as Chair of the Dubai Office Committee. Prior to assuming his current role, Giuseppe grew his 14 years’ career at Bloomberg through several sales and sales leadership roles such as Head of Buyside Solution Sales for Middle East, Head of Enteprise Sales for UAE in Dubai and Head of Enterprise Sales Italy during his 9 years tenure within our EMEA Headquarter in London, UK. Giuseppe holds a BSc in Finance and MSc in International Business from University of Dundee, UK.

Joe Osawaye

Owner of Kiza Dubai / Kiza Bespoke

Kiza Restaurant and Lounge

Joe Osawaye is a serial entrepreneur with a predilection for complimenting the accomplishments of others and inspiring them to continue to persevere. He delved into the hospitality industry for which he began by launching the first Pan-African restaurant ten years back in the United Arab Emirates. Staying true to vision, the next brand enterprise expressions will allow him to journey into the fashion space, private aviation, real estate, the Arts and media production. Osawaye has been a leader in the UAE, promoting the African culture and bringing diversity through Sight, Sound and Taste in accordance with the city of Dubai’s vision to make the city the best place to work, live and play. As a contributing author of a few publications, including Titans of Africa, The Black & AfricanGuide to Moving To The UAE, if Osawaye is not writing, reading tech articles or consuming the latest technology, you will find him playing golf nearly every day, laughing with strangers at his DIFC restaurant KIZA Dubai, or directing the inspiration at his latest establishments KIZABESPOKE and Aviation Verse.

Lloyd Manokore

Managing Consultant / Lawyer

Emerging Africa Advisory

Lloyd Manokore is an Africa focused investor/ entrepreneur, strategic investment and trade advisor. He is an active investor in various sectors (tech, real estate, services) and has gone on to create an Advisory platform based out of the UAE. Lloyd has an invaluable grasp and knowledge of markets within Sub-Saharan Africa. He established and currently manages the business facilitation platform called Emerging Africa Advisory Group, a specialist cross border advisory platform. In addition, he has a comprehensive and practical legal understanding of general business, mergers and acquisitions, minerals, and extractives sector, large cross border infrastructure including ports, rail and power in Africa. Among some of the other notable initiatives, he is the founder of the firm DLA Piper Africa Manokore Attorneys a member of DLA Piper Africa, a commercial law firm which has become recognized as a specialist corporate advisor in the African market. The firm has been endorsed by directories such as Chambers Global, IFLR1000, awarded African Law Firm of the Year (Small Practice Award) 2018 and nominated for the same award from 2019-2022 and recently the same firm was awarded ‘Zimbabwe Law Firm of the Year’ (IFLR1000 Sub-Saharan Africa Award 2020, 2021, 2022).

Morenike Oyagbola

Account Manager - Africa

Bloomberg L.P

Morenike Oyagbola is an Account Manager, responsible for driving and maintaining the relationship with Bloomberg's Clients across various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. She has been at Bloomberg for 5 years, previously as a Content Specialist in Bloomberg's Africa Data Contributions Team where she acquired and managed all OTC content from Africa on Bloomberg. Prior to Bloomberg, Morenike worked as a Corporate Finance Associate in Standard Chartered Bank's Financing Solutions Division in various locations including Dubai, London and Lagos. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Law and a Master's degree in International Relations.