Mentor Hours

Meet the minds behind the unicorns and get advice from people who’ve done it all before. Mentor Hours connects rising startups with established experts for 45-minute meetings.

Apply to join our ALPHA startup programme in 2025.

Attendees standing around a table in the Mentor Hours area of the event

What is Mentor Hours?

Mentor Hours is a series of pre-scheduled, 45-minute meetings between our high-level attendees and startups.

Mentor Hours has four distinct tracks: lead, engage, build and grow. Each track has a specific focus and mentors with relevant expertise to ensure you discuss the issues most important to your startup.

Mentors spend 45 minutes coaching startups in a group session. This mix of backgrounds means the session will be shaped by individual and collective experiences in the startup community.

Mentor hours with Brenda Wilkerson, AnitaB.org, during day three of Web Summit Qatar 2024Elliott Denham of Dtec Ventures at Mentor Hours during day one of Web Summit 2022
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Lead
Master the art of leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship and hiring. Our attending CEOs and managing directors will share their experience on enhancing leadership capabilities while optimizing your team’s personal growth and company strategy.
Engage
Learn how to tell your story to the world. Our attending brand experts will share their personal experience of marketing, brand identity, social engagement and public relations. This is your chance to ask questions you can’t ask the media or your customers.
An illustration of the outline of a circle against a solid background.
Build
Learn more about product development, software, hardware, big data, UI, UX or front/back-end development. Our attending engineers, data scientists and product designers will share their extensive personal experience on all things tech.
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Grow

Raising capital or just need financial guidance? Quiz our attending investors and top-level fund managers on the dos and don’ts of financial management, or ask your burning questions about negotiating investment or applying for a business loan.

Meet some of our 2024 mentors

Josh Rodger
Josh Rodger
PrincipalHambro Perks MENA
Aspa Lekka
Aspa Lekka
Founder & COOJOKR & Alpine
Michael ByungSun Hwang
Michael ByungSun Hwang
ChairmanBigbang Angels
Sabina Babayeva
Sabina Babayeva
Hub LeadTenity
Ricky Tejapaibul
Ricky Tejapaibul
Managing Partner and CEOTech Wildcatters
Christian Facey
Christian Facey
Co-founder, CEO & WriterAudiomob
Poonam Balan
Poonam Balan
FounderTACT+Invest ESG Ventures
Rabea Ataya
Rabea Ataya
Founder & CEOBayt.com
Brenda Darden Wilkerson
Brenda Darden Wilkerson
President & CEOAnitaB.org
Phillip Sanders
Phillip Sanders
PartnerNew Media Ventures
Sharifa AlBarami
Sharifa AlBarami
Media personality, Digital Industry Consultant & InvestorFreelance
Mikayel Vardanyan
Mikayel Vardanyan
Co-founder & Chief Product OfficerPicsart
Christine Vincent
Christine Vincent
Venture PrincipalShell Ventures
Ramzi Farah
Ramzi Farah
Managing PartnerRazor Capital
Tarek Seif El Nasr
Tarek Seif El Nasr
Head of Venture GrowthFalak Startups
Ilkay Demirdag
Ilkay Demirdag
Venture PartnerSente Ventures
Mohammad Al Eskandarani
Mohammad Al Eskandarani
CTOMEmob Plus
Noha Shaker
Noha Shaker
Founder & Secretary GeneralEgyptian FinTech Association
Khalid Aboujassoum
Khalid Aboujassoum
Founder and CEOElse Labs

Watch the highlights from Web Summit Qatar 2024