Abdallah Abu-Sheikh, Co-founder and CEO, Astra Tech

Abdallah Abu-Sheikh is globally renowned for launching ground-breaking futureready platforms centered on sustainability, mobility, and digitalization. As the co-founder and CEO of Astra Tech, a UAE-based technology investment and development group, Abdallah is spearheading the launch of a revolutionary new app-based ultra platform, which will bring together select consumer technologies, products, and services, and is specifically designed to address the “platform fatigue” many users are experiencing today. Another of his highly successful projects is Rizek, a localized digital marketplace launched in 2020. Rizek aims to meet the lifestyle needs of UAE residents through verified service providers. Abdallah also leads Barq, a first-of-its-kind tech-driven network of electric vehicles built to serve the MENA region’s last mile delivery sector. As the co-founder and CEO of Barq, he heads a team that offers groundbreaking solutions to address the transport industry’s much-needed demand for efficiency, comfort, and rider safety. He is often invited to speak at regional and international platforms such as TEDx, delivering speeches on start-up culture and fundraising, business strategies, digital transformation and more. Looking back, Abdallah is a global citizen. He spent his younger years between England and China, with a family presence in The Gambia in West Africa. Abdallah’s earlier projects were focused on renewable energy and achieved $700 million in assets within three years of entering sub-Saharan Africa. He studied at Dalhousie University in Canada, where he acquired a degree in Accounting and Finance. His approach to business took on a renewed perspective after life-changing incident in 2014 that left him bound to a wheelchair for three months. This further strengthened his resolve to practice mindful leadership.