My first real job was a “lab rat” — a researcher and an associate scientist at the University of California in San Francisco. It was great, but there was something missing. I was stuck researching little things while the big things were taking place across town. That’s when I discovered my interest in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, and that is what I have pursued ever since. In 2008, I moved to Dubai because of the many opportunities in these areas. I founded Innovation 360, an innovation management firm, to help regional enterprises and governments improve their innovation strategy, execution and leadership. In addition to organizational innovation, I began to see the need for innovation in the entrepreneurial sector. I involved myself in events like Startup Weekend, and after couple of years I started TURN8, a seed funding and incubation program for startups. We started as a collaborative corporate innovation initiative with DP World, a leading multinational port operator. The Mission: Bring innovators from around the world to the UAE to foster a global innovation culture and invest in game-changing ideas with commercial potential. Today, TURN8 is a best-in-class venture fund investing in early-stage technology startups.
Kemal Hassan
Committed to collaborating globally to empower the economic development of the world by fostering innovative financial instruments for SMEs, innovators and start-ups.
