The west has one narrative around the Middle East based on political instability and sectarian unrest. In parallel, and little understood, a new generation has come of age in the region, as around the globe, never knowing a world without technology. While these tools of connection, collaboration and innovation have changed the political dynamics on the ground, a second revolution is happening in parallel. Young entrepreneurs are starting companies by the thousands, creating solutions to local and regional problems, and building world-class competitive products and services. They are, in fact, taking control of their economic futures from the bottom up. Schroeder will share the stories of some of these startups, and describe the broader ecosystem challenges and opportunities changing in the Middle East. And he will show that as we move to a world -- within a decade -- of five billion people accessing broadband, the Middle East is a lens into a massive shift we should all be engaging in now.
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Event Details
Speaker: Christopher Schroeder
Chair: Professor Mark Schankerman, LSE
Date: Wednesday 02 October 2013
Time: 18.00 - 19.30
Location: The Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Attendance: This event is free and open to all, however please arrive early in order to ensure your seat.
Speaker
Christopher Schroeder is a U.S.-based internet entrepreneur and venture investor, having run washingtonpost.newsweek interactive and co-founded healthcentral.com. He has also backed a dozen startups in the last three years, and is an investor in a leading Silicon Valley venture capital funds. In 2010, he wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post about the start-ups in Dubai, and was subsequently invited by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to judge a start-up competition in Cairo one week before Tahrir Square. He is on the boards of advisors of the American University of Cairo School of Business and regional start-up resources Wamda and Oasis500. He lives in Washington, DC.