Past Speakers

Salma is passionate about utilising technology as an enabler to build communities and bring about positive societal change. As an AI and Data Consultant at a big 4 consulting firm, she supports public sector organisation data transformations to better leverage data to inform strategic decision making of billion pound budgets. As a passionate award winning community builder, she supports many muslim organisations such Cube, Muslim Leadership Foundation, Muslamic Makers and even Muslim Tech Fest.

She wants to help level up people of colour through upskilling on areas such as networking, personal branding and more so that individuals can better advocate for themselves and become civic leaders to make positive change in their own fields.

Outside of professional pursuits and community building, she enjoys reading, embroidery, baking and musicals.

Idil brings ~5 years of diverse experience from Microsoft, where she has held roles ranging from Customer Success Account Manager to Technical Account Manager, and now Design Researcher. Committed to delivering strategic, user-centric solutions, she specialises in Human-Computer Interaction, leveraging her expertise to craft compelling digital experiences. With a primary focus on Generative AI technology, notably Copilot, and its implications for Microsoft customers and partners, Idil collaborates closely with stakeholders to shape the development and implementation of Microsoft products and services.

Ruhul oversees the technical strategy of the company as well as Onfido’s research efforts, and is responsible for the architecture if Onfido’s technical platforms. Along with his co-founders, Ruhul was named as one of Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ entrepreneurs in 2016, and has experience working in the financial sector through his time at Fidessa and Mitsubishi UFJ.

Asim Lone, CEO of Charity Right, has been pivotal in introducing digital innovations during his twenty-year tenure in the Muslim charity sector. His leadership is guiding Charity Right through a transformative phase, aiming to deliver millions of school meals annually across several countries. Asim’s initiatives are enhancing operational efficiency and improving donor engagement through emerging technologies. These efforts are setting the stage for new operational standards within the charity sector. Committed to reducing educational and nutritional disparities, Asim continues to leverage technology to extend Charity Right’s impact globally.

Naureen Mohammed is a technology & consumer goods expert having spent the last 25 years working in some of the biggest consumer goods and technology companies in the world. Currently head of CPG marketing EMEA at META, Naureen has also held leadership roles at market-leading organisations such as Johnson & Johnson, Beiersdorf & Unilever. Regardless of the industry, Naureen has earned a reputation for building and launching new revenue streams, verticals, and building internal capabilities.

Having lived & worked in the Middle East as well as Europe, combined with being the child of Pakistani immigrants to the UK, Naureen is committed to building diverse, inclusive teams drawing out the best everyone has to offer.

Naureen co-founded and is still a shareholder for ItsHerStore.com, a digital commerce and purpose-driven community of entrepreneurs that enables women in the Middle East region an opportunity to run their own businesses.

Naureen has an MSc in Biochemical Engineering as well as an MBA.

Adil Abbuthalha is a multifaceted entrepreneur and the driving force behind Boycat, an innovative app designed to empower consumers to make ethical shopping choices, particularly in support of Palestinian causes. Adil founded Boycat and leads its development, analytics, marketing, product management, and business development, demonstrating a profound commitment to both technological innovation and social responsibility.

In addition to his role at Boycat, Adil leads the data science team at LinkTree, where he applies his expertise to optimise user engagement and data-driven decision-making. His entrepreneurial journey began early, launching a tutoring business at 15, a clothing line at 16, and a media company at 18, where he successfully partnered with high-profile brands like Audi. At 19, he founded Stellato Inc., focusing on product management and significantly enhancing user interaction through strategic product initiatives.

Outside of his professional endeavours, Adil is passionate about photography, sports, reading, cooking, travel and of course his two orange cats, which not only enrich his personal life but also influence his creative and strategic vision in the tech space.

Peter Gould is a strategic design leader. He advocates for heart-centred design to create meaningful cross-cultural understanding. Over 20 years his engagements have included Apple, Google, United Nations and a diverse portfolio from senior government projects to globally successful products. ‍

His contributions to design have resulted in international acclaim, including a major award from the UAE Vice President. In 2020, Peter was appointed as an Australia for UNHCR Ambassador in recognition of his efforts supporting refugees. He is a recipient of the Stanford Certificate of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and has lectured Design Thinking at the University of Technology, Sydney. At the intersection of design, spirituality & entrepreneurship, Peter aims to inspire a global heart-centred design movement for a bright, shared future.

Arfah is a lifelong community builder and advocates for diversity and inclusion. She is the co-founder and CEO of Muslamic Makers, a community that helps the next generation of Muslim changemakers level up across the tech industry and beyond and co-founder of Muslim Tech Fest. Muslamic Makers was recently listed as The 100 Most Innovative Global Muslim Startups to Watch. Arfah’s has vast experience in the private and public sector. For the UK Government, she built an internal community of 1,500+ product and delivery managers, launched the first Number 10 Innovation fellowship program to get senior talent into government, and built out the AI community in healthcare in the NHS. She also lead the ImpactVC Community for Big Society Capital. She is a 2017 fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust where she conducted research exploring Muslim Women in Technology in USA, UAE and Pakistan where she vlogged her travels and brought back her expertise to help businesses. She was part of the Ada Ventures Angels programme to invest in underrepresented talent. Arfah is a multiple award winner as top 30 London Tech Week Changemaker in 2018, Top 20 women in the software power list in 2021 by Google for Startups and Makers and Top 11 most influential women in tech by Computer Weekly in 2023.

Co-Founder and former CEO at Onfido (largest UK tech exit of the past 2 years). Now Founder and CEO at new startup Quench.ai – using internal learning content to empower smarter work. WEF Tech Pioneer; Forbes Contributor and “30 Under 30”; BA in Economics and Management from Keble College, Oxford.

Miher Ahmad, a Senior Account Manager at Google, is passionate about empowering businesses to thrive in the digital age.  He couples his tech expertise with a dedication to fostering inclusive workplaces. As a global ERG lead at Google, Miher champions DEI initiatives. With a proven track record in sales excellence, a community-focused mindset, and  experience as a former startup founder, Miher is eager to share his insights with aspiring tech professionals.

Omar Yaqub DSL ICD.D MBA BSc (@somaryaqub Twitter, LinkedIn), serves the team at IslamicFamily, a social change organisation that is disrupting systemic inequity through service, research & beauty. He is the Historian Co-Laureate for the City of Edmonton. He has two decades of experience in the for-benefit sector. During his time with IslamicFamily the organisation has become a multi-award winning Imagine Canada & Great Places to Work accredited charity. Omar has been awarded a Doctor of Sacred Letters from St Stephen’s College, EMCN’s RISE award for Community Leadership, and the University of Alberta’s Co-op Mentorship Award.

Humayra has been recognised as a finalist for Computing’s Software Engineer of the Year, showcasing her proficiency in developing impactful tech startup products. Her expertise spans various sectors including finance, data, health, and retail marketing, where she consistently delivers innovative solutions.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Humayra actively engages as a writer, speaker, and mentor, contributing to the growth and diversity of the tech community. Her overarching objective remains focused on leveraging technology to drive positive change on a global scale.

Over the past 15+ years, he has dedicated himself to founding and growing global organisations and non-profits, learning invaluable lessons from each challenge. Driven by strong faith, he upholds the highest standards of morals and ethics. His work spans both professional roles and volunteer efforts in organisations committed to social welfare, from delivering educational opportunities to children worldwide to initiating local programmes for refugees in the UK. He focuses on solving real-world problems that impact real people. A decade ago, he founded an organisation that, at its peak, provided 2 million school meals per month to children in East Africa and South Asia. As a strategic thinker, he has crafted market entry strategies for start-ups, expanded existing businesses, and assisted non-profits in branching into new areas. He is deeply passionate about marketing, engaging with every aspect from online and offline strategies to below-the-line, above-the-line, through-the-line techniques, and the entire creative process necessary to drive results.

Founder of Muslim Tech Fest

Creator of community based multi-media platform aimed at empowering young people to learn, understand and speak about their financial and social experiences.

Shaf Choudry graduated in Computer Science and has been working in the tech industry for over 15 years. He is cofounder of The Riz Test and The Seen on Screen Institute, both are big data projects founded to measure how Muslims are portrayed in the Arts. He sits on the board of directors of Open Data Manchester and is passionate about digital rights.

Shaf was published in the book I Refuse to Condemn, contributing a chapter on the racial and discriminatory biases found in algorithms and AI systems encountered in everyday life.”

“Yasmine is a seasoned entrepreneur, currently building her third venture; empowering muslim women financially.  Her first venture, SuperMama, an online media company in the parenting space, was acquired in 2019 while serving over 6 million Arab mothers monthly.

Yasmine is a versatile professional with extensive experience across startups, SMEs, corporate, banks, and consulting. Yasmine is also engaged in academia; tutoring & guest-lecturing for MBA students at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. She is frequently invited as a public speaker, and panellist and is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurship and innovation; featured in international media like New York Times, BBC, CNN, and Forbes Middle East.

In her most recent roles, Yasmine led business and proposition design teams for financial services clients like Visa, HSBC and NatWest at Deloitte Digital and has been instrumental in driving innovation strategy and fostering fintech collaborations at Citi Ventures.

Yasmine has world-class degrees from London Business School, the University of Westminster, and Ain Shams University. She holds certificates in Design Thinking from IDEO University and in Sustainable Finance from University of Cambridge.

Sahdya is deeply invested in ‘how’ we do the work of building a better world and always has abolitionist and organiser Mariame Kaba’s ‘questions I regularly ask myself when I’m outraged about injustice’ on her mind.

Since 2020, Sahdya has worked at the intersection of technology and society; specifically, migration, warfare and education. Her work has involved raising public awareness of AI harms and risks as well as working together with grassroots groups and civil society organisations to build their collective knowledge and understanding of digital rights so that they are able to address the challenges and threats posed by data and technologies and can continue to protect the rights of people and communities that are marginalised and vulnerable, in the digital age. Sahdya has also carried out parliamentary advocacy on the issues confronting society due to the use of AI in warfare.

“When your upbringing is in your father’s corner shop, the exposure to various aspects of business is incredible,” recalls Shahid Munir. He candidly describes navigating the intricacies of business from an early age, honing crucial business acumen through conversations with customers, handling costs manually, pricing products with mark-ups, and managing sales tax. This foundation set the stage for Shahid’s entrepreneurial journey.

Ismail is the co-founder and CEO at LiveLink – an AI video editing platform that lets you turn any video into a series of tiktoks with one click. They’ve worked with over 70,000 creators gloablly. LiveLink has raised almost $3m from Google, Biz Stone (the co-founder of Twitter and Medium), IFG VC, Capital T and a host of angel investors.

Prior to LiveLink, he joined Google’s marketing team – helping businesses across UK & Ireland scale their marketing efforts. Ismail built his first business at university which helped raise over £900,000 for charity and interest-free student loans.

He has been featured in Buzzfeed, Business Insider, BBC, Vice News, Techcrunch, Forbes and The Sun. He was ranked as one of the ‘top 100 coolest people in tech’ by Business Insider and the top 100 minorities in tech by the Financial Times.”

Abeer Abu Ghaith is a dynamic social tech entrepreneur, influential speaker, and activist dedicated to driving positive change. As the founder and CEO of MENA Alliances and former co-founder of StayLinked, she leverages her entrepreneurial and technical expertise to make a global impact. Raised in a refugee camp and shaped by conflict, Abeer is committed to revolutionising the job market by connecting talented professionals across the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Palestine, with world-class opportunities using remote solutions that transcend physical, political, and cultural barriers.

Despite facing challenges from normal business cycles and disruptions brought on by wars and conflicts, Abeer has successfully created over 700 digital technology opportunities for underprivileged and underemployed individuals. She has also established partnerships and contracts with more than 70 clients worldwide, resulting in a 300% increase in revenue. Abeer’s efforts have significantly elevated the average salaries of tech talent in her local market by almost 40%.

Suhair is a technologist, design activist and thought leader in culture and innovation. She is the founder of open-ended design, a platform and incubator for ideas and projects at the intersection of technology and creativity. In over a decade at Google and Google Arts & Culture, Suhair led initiatives which merged cutting edge technologies with arts, design, culture, education and environmental sustainability. She sits on the board of trustees for the Design Museum, Sadler’s Wells, Studio Wayne McGregor and the advisory committee of the British Library. She is a lecturer in the Master of Architecture program at Central Saint Martins.