Habib Haddad

Habib Haddad
Born 1980 (age 35–36)
Beirut, Lebanon
Education MS Electrical Engineering , University of Southern California, BS Computer and Communication Engineering, American University in Beirut
Known for Wamda, Yamli, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Angel Investor
Awards 2009 Young Global Leader,[1] 2011 Top Innovator under 35,[2] 2013 Arab Creativity Award,[3] 2013 Distinguished Alumni AUB,[4] 2016 AUB History Maker[5]

Habib Haddad is a serial entrepreneur, early stage investor, and ‘startup activist’. He is the cofounder and CEO of Wamda, platform of integrated programs that aims to accelerate entrepreneurship ecosystems throughout the MENA region. He is also a Venture Partner of Wamda Capital, a growth capital VC fund, with investments in startups like taxi-hailing app Careem, LittleBits, and Jamalon.

In 2007 Habib founded Yamli, the leading Arabic transliteration and smart search engine.[6] In 2011, Yahoo! acquired a license to Yamli’s technologies.[7] He is also the founder YallaStartup, one of the first support organizations for MENA Entrepreneurs.

He currently holds a Research Affiliate position at the MIT Media Lab where he focuses on the science behind building a community. Habib is also an active angel investor. He is also the founding engineer of Mok3 (now EveryScape), an MIT spin off building image based modeling products.

Habib won numerous awards. In 2009, the World Economic Forum recognized[8] Habib as a Young Global Leader and was named as a top innovator under 35 (TR35) by the MIT Technology Review in 2011.[9] The Arab Thought Foundation awarded him the "Arab Creativity Award" in 2013.[10] The same year, the American University Beirut honoured the entrepreneur as a distinguished alumni[11] and, in 2016, counted him among its AUB History Makers.[12]

He has also often spoken on the opportunity entrepreneurship represents for the MENA region, as well as demonstrated his support to causes via technology, founding Relief Lebanon to support relief efforts during the 2006 war. Habib also co-created Alive.in, a website that brought 100s of translators to transcribe and translate voicemails from the Egyptian protesters after the government shut down internet.[13]

Habib sits on various boards of startups and nonprofits and regularly speaks on innovation and entrepreneurship.

References

  1. ↑ "Yamli.com Founder Habib Haddad on World Economic Forum`s 2009 Young Global Leader List". Reuters. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  2. ↑ "MIT Technology Review: Innovators Under 35 Pan Arab". www.mitefarab.org. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  3. ↑ "Arab Thought Foundation announces the winners of "Arab Creativity Award" and "Most Important Arabic Book 2013" - Zawya". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  4. ↑ "AUB - 2013 - Eight outstanding alumni honored by Faculty of Engineering and Architecture". www.aub.edu.lb.
  5. ↑ "History Makers". 150.aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  6. ↑ "Habib Haddad - Co-founder @ Yamli | CrunchBase". www.crunchbase.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  7. ↑ Butcher, Mike. "Yahoo! Licenses Platform To Reach Out To The Arab Web". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  8. ↑ "Yamli.com Founder Habib Haddad on World Economic Forum`s 2009 Young Global Leader List". Reuters. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  9. ↑ "MIT Technology Review: Innovators Under 35 Pan Arab". www.mitefarab.org. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  10. ↑ "Arab Thought Foundation announces the winners of "Arab Creativity Award" and "Most Important Arabic Book 2013" - Zawya". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  11. ↑ "AUB - 2013 - Eight outstanding alumni honored by Faculty of Engineering and Architecture". www.aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  12. ↑ "History Makers". 150.aub.edu.lb. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  13. ↑ "Q & A With Middle East Entrepreneur Habib Haddad | The Mark News". pioneers.themarknews.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
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