Fanera

Founded and scaled Fanera, the MENA region’s first AI + Web3 fan engagement platform, transforming football fans into active content creators and revenue earners. Positioned Fanera at the forefront of digital sports innovation, combining Generative AI personalization, LLM-powered content discovery, and blockchain monetization models.

Key Achievements & Impact:

LLM & AI Personalization: Implemented Large Language Models (LLMs) and ML algorithms for personalized content feeds, intelligent search, and fan sentiment analysis — boosting retention 4x (avg. 41 mins daily use).

Predictive Engagement (ML): Designed predictive ML systems to forecast fan activity, optimize gamification, and improve matchday engagement.

Web3 Monetization: Pioneered fan-first monetization models with NFT content sales, loyalty tokens, and blockchain-based rewards, creating new revenue streams for fans and clubs.

Global Scale: Grew Fanera to 1M+ daily views, 500K+ app downloads, and 60K+ monthly uploads across 15+ markets.

Funding & Investor Relations: Raised $800K+ from OTF, Flat6Labs, and WeFunder, positioning Fanera as a leading sports-tech startup in the MENA region.

Ecosystem Partnerships: Built alliances with football influencers, federations, and tech accelerators (Hub71, The Garage, UAE Pro League) to expand adoption.

Awards & Recognition: Winner of Challenge 22 (World Cup 2022 Host), HH Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award (2024), and recognized as one of the Top 20 SportsTech Startups globally.

Leadership & Culture: Scaled a cross-functional team (product, engineering, growth), fostering a culture of innovation, agility, and impact.

CEO Leading Web3 & AI-Powered Fan Engagement Platform

STORYME

Led strategic advisory for Storyme, an AI-first creative storytelling platform, driving business growth, AI integration, and early-stage fundraising. Contributed directly to refining product-market fit, strengthening investor positioning, and advancing the platform’s technical capabilities.

Key Achievements & Impact:

AI Strategy & Implementation: Architected the integration of Generative AI, LLMs, and NLP to enable automated content structuring, intelligent story-building, and Right-to-Left (RTL) language support, expanding accessibility across MENA markets.

Product Innovation: Defined the AI-driven product roadmap, aligning features with evolving market needs by embedding no-code design tools, personalization, and automation into the platform.

Go-to-Market Leadership: Designed customer segmentation strategies, revenue models, and market entry plans, accelerating user adoption and positioning Storyme for scalable growth.

Investor Relations & Fundraising: Spearheaded the creation of AI-focused investor narratives, including pitch decks and financial models, which enhanced visibility among seed and angel investors.

Agile Product Development: Instituted lean, feedback-driven workflows to accelerate iteration speed, improve user testing cycles, and validate AI-driven features.

This role combined AI innovation, product leadership, and business development, advancing Storyme’s mission to democratize digital storytelling through intelligent, GenAI-powered tools.

AI Business & Product Innovation Strategist

Feedo.ai

Founded and scaled Feedo.ai, an AI-first SaaS platform that automates applications, tenders, and funding submissions through Generative AI, LLMs, and intelligent autofill tools. Positioned Feedo at the intersection of AI productivity, product innovation, and startup enablement, helping entrepreneurs, students, and organizations save dozens of hours per application.

Key Achievements & Impact:

Product Management & AI Innovation: Directed the full product lifecycle from ideation to MVP, embedding LLMs, NLP, and predictive AI, enabling users to complete applications 70% faster and reduce form errors by 40%.

Customer Discovery & Product-Market Fit: Conducted 150+ customer discovery interviews and validation loops, refining personas for startups, job seekers, and scholarship applicants. Achieved 40% repeat usage within 3 months, signaling early product-market fit.

GTM & Growth Strategy: Designed and executed a go-to-market plan with targeted acquisition campaigns, early access waitlists (2,000+ signups), and partnerships with 5 accelerators/universities, driving rapid early adoption.

Dashboard & Data Management: Architected a smart application dashboard that now manages 1,000+ applications, with features for tracking, auto-populating forms, and progress visualization.

Investor & Market Positioning: Developed the AI-driven vision narrative that secured acceptance into multiple accelerator programs and positioned Feedo as a scalable SaaS play in global AI productivity markets.

Agile Execution: Built and led a 5-person cross-functional team, implementing lean workflows that cut feature iteration cycles from 4 weeks to 1 week through data-driven prioritization and user testing.

Founder and Executive Director of AI & Digital Transformation

Project Rozana

I worked with Project Rozana to support their health diplomacy mission by introducing AI-driven solutions and business development strategies that expand access to critical healthcare services across borders.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

AI Strategy & Integration: Advised on the adoption of artificial intelligence tools to streamline data analysis, predict patient needs, and support resource allocation in cross-border medical initiatives.

Business Development: Identified new partnership opportunities, built cross-sector alliances, and supported funding strategies to scale the organization’s healthcare impact regionally.

Digital Innovation: Explored scalable digital platforms to enhance coordination between patients, medical transport services, and healthcare institutions across the Palestinian-Israeli context.

Impact Focus: Helped align technology solutions with Project Rozana’s health diplomacy model, reinforcing trust, transparency, and cross-community collaboration.

This engagement combined my expertise in AI, digital health solutions, and strategic growth to support Project Rozana’s mission of bridging healthcare gaps through innovation and collaboration.

Business Development & AI Consultant

Blockliz

At Blockliz, I served as a Web3 & AI Marketing & Business Development Consultant, leading initiatives across token launch strategy, AI-powered growth tools, influencer marketing, and blockchain advisory services.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

AI-Powered Campaigns: Integrated AI tools for audience targeting, predictive analytics, and content generation to enhance campaign efficiency and ROI.

Strategic Marketing: Designed and launched go-to-market strategies for Web3 projects including NFT collections, staking platforms, and token utilities.

Token Launch Execution: Advised on tokenomics, positioning, and multi-phase community growth plans for emerging Web3 tokens.

Influencer Partnerships: Built and scaled regional ambassador programs and KOL partnerships across MENA and Asia to increase awareness and adoption.

Business Development: Sourced high-potential leads, developed proposals, and secured partnerships for Blockliz’s blockchain consulting services.

Community Growth: Led XP-based campaigns via Zealy and Galxe, optimizing onboarding journeys and leveraging AI-driven segmentation to increase engagement and retention.

Skills: Artificial Intelligence (AI) · Web3 · Token Launch · Blockchain Strategy · Business Development · Influencer Marketing · Community Growth · AI Marketing Automation

Web3 Marketing & AI Business Development Consultant

Zimam Palestine

Led the design, development, and rollout of a youth-focused digital platform powered by AI, connecting young people in Palestine with jobs, workshops, and entrepreneurship programs. Positioned the platform as a scalable solution for youth empowerment through technology, AI-driven personalization, and digital inclusion.

Key Achievements & Impact:

Product Leadership: Defined the product vision, user journey, and roadmap, aligning platform features with Zimam’s mission to empower youth in the digital economy.

AI-Powered Matching: Architected and deployed intelligent recommendation algorithms (AI/ML) to match users with jobs, events, and content based on skills, interests, and location.

Personalization & Insights: Integrated AI tools for content personalization and automated recommendations, while enabling data insights to guide program design and measure outcomes.

Measured Results: Connected 2,000+ youth to opportunities in the first 3 months, demonstrating clear product-market validation.

Capacity Building: Designed and delivered workshops on pitching, startup ideation, and digital skills, engaging over 100 youth participants.

Strategy & Rollout: Partnered with the Zimam team to drive strategic adoption, user engagement campaigns, and impact measurement frameworks.

This role combined AI innovation, product strategy, and social impact, unlocking opportunities for young people through practical AI applications and entrepreneurial capacity-building.

AI & Product Development Consultant

Overview:
Directed IBM’s regional sales and market strategy, overseeing the full sales cycle, account development, and team leadership across multiple verticals. Delivered multi-million-dollar growth through a combination of enterprise solutions, client success, and data-driven forecasting.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

Grew annual revenue to $5 million by defining sales strategy, optimizing product distribution, and leading high-impact market campaigns.

Led client-focused sales initiatives for IBM’s artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio, including Watson-powered solutions, driving enterprise adoption across finance, telecom, and government sectors.

Designed and delivered AI-focused enablement sessions and workshops for internal sales teams and external clients, equipping them with practical knowledge to position IBM’s AI technologies effectively.

Directed the sales of IBM’s software and digital transformation solutions, managing territories, quotas, and go-to-market execution across the region.

Increased IBM’s market share by 5% through account expansion, competitive positioning, and industry-specific solution selling.

Built and nurtured long-term relationships with key clients, consistently exceeding customer satisfaction benchmarks.

Managed forecasting, performance reporting, and pipeline analytics, delivering high-accuracy predictions and identifying growth opportunities.

Collaborated cross-functionally with product, marketing, and technical teams to align sales strategy with business goals and client needs.

Mentored and developed a high-performing team, fostering consultative selling techniques and a culture of ownership.

Led Strategic Sales & Market Expansion in Tech Solutions and AI 

Sabbar Organization

Founded Sabbar, a nonprofit digital platform dedicated to empowering less fortunate Palestinians by sharing their stories through video, fostering awareness, empathy, and direct community support. Positioned Sabbar as a pioneering tech-for-good initiative blending storytelling, product innovation, and digital engagement.

Key Achievements & Impact:

Visionary Leadership: Spearheaded the creation of a digital storytelling platform, connecting hundreds of families with global donors and supporters while showcasing the power of technology for social impact.

Community Reach: Facilitated the sharing of 50+ impactful stories, directly funding 10+ family cases with over $80,000 raised to provide critical support.

Volunteer Network: Recruited and managed a community of 100+ volunteers, building a mission-driven culture with strong accountability and collaboration.

Product & Platform Innovation: Defined the product roadmap, user journey, and content workflows, ensuring stories were produced, distributed, and measured with impact-driven KPIs.

Growth & Stakeholder Engagement: Developed outreach and partnership strategies that expanded visibility and mobilized community engagement, positioning Sabbar as a trusted nonprofit brand.

Operational Strategy: Oversaw fundraising, financial planning, and program execution, ensuring platform sustainability and scalability.

Founder | Nonprofit Visionary | Head of product

SoukTel

As CTO and co-founder of Souktel, I led the end-to-end design, development, and scaling of digital platforms that connected job seekers with employers across 15 countries and 4 continents. My role spanned technology strategy, AI-driven product innovation, business intelligence, and international expansion, positioning Souktel as one of the first large-scale digital job-matching platforms in the MENA region and emerging markets.

Key Achievements & Impact:

Product Architecture & Scale: Designed and implemented the platform’s core architecture, scaling to serve hundreds of thousands of job seekers and match 350+ candidates monthly through mobile-first and SMS-based technologies.

AI/ML Integration: Pioneered early AI-powered matching features using rule-based logic, multilingual intent analysis, and later piloted machine learning models to predict employment outcomes — laying the foundation for personalization and insights.

Conversational AI & UX: Integrated AI-driven SMS chat flows that guided users through applications, reducing dropout rates by 30%, significantly improving conversion in low-connectivity regions.

Data & BI Strategy: Embedded real-time analytics, dashboards, and reporting tools to track KPIs, optimize employer-jobseeker matches, and support donor/government reporting requirements.

Product Leadership: Defined and executed the technology roadmap, aligning with market needs, local regulations, and strategic partnership opportunities.

Agile Team Leadership: Built and managed cross-functional teams (product, engineering, customer success), driving Agile delivery and continuous product rollouts across multiple geographies.

Global Expansion: Spearheaded localization, compliance, and product enhancements to support international growth, adapting to diverse market conditions while ensuring platform reliability.

CTO | Led Global Expansion to 15 Countries | AI and Product Innovation Strategist

Palestine Telecommunications (Paltel) Group

As the youngest Head of Product at Paltel, Palestine’s leading telecom provider, I oversaw the development and optimization of high-impact digital services, handling 3M+ daily transactions. My work focused on streamlining operations, launching customer-centric products, and driving digital transformation across key business units.

Key Achievements & Impact:

Product Leadership: Managed end-to-end product development for high-traffic telecom systems, ensuring scalability and reliability for millions of users.

Operational Efficiency: Tripled service efficiency by redesigning product workflows, cutting bottlenecks, and improving time-to-resolution across core services.

Data & BI Innovation: Introduced rule-based automation and data-driven analytics for customer service, enabling faster query resolution and reducing support load by 20%.

Product Roadmap & Delivery: Developed dynamic product roadmaps, prioritized features, and coordinated launches across engineering, marketing, and customer service.

Customer-Centric Enhancements: Leveraged customer insights and market data to guide product improvements, reducing churn and increasing adoption of digital services.

Performance & Recognition: Delivered measurable improvements in system uptime, user satisfaction, and processing speed, earning Employee of the Month recognition among 1,500 staff.

AI Head of Product | Increased Efficiency 3x | Handled 3M Transactions Daily

I’m a 5X award-winning entrepreneur and product growth strategist who thrives at the intersection of Web3, AI, and innovation. Over the past 15+ years, I’ve built six companies (with two successful exits) and led product, tech, and marketing teams across startup and enterprise environments. Along the way, I’ve developed 50+ international solutions and digital products used by millions.

At Fanera, I built a Web3-enabled fan engagement platform from scratch, scaling it to 1M+ daily views, 500K+ users, and $800K+ in funding. We didn’t just build an app — we created a movement that empowers fans to monetize their voice through NFTs, predictive games, and AI personalization.

Previously at Souktel, I scaled job platforms to 15 countries, and at Paltel I led product strategy for over 3M daily telecom users. At IBM, I directed $5M+ in enterprise sales, combining strategic planning with hands-on execution.

To deepen my expertise in AI, product leadership, and data-driven innovation, I completed advanced training in Generative AI, Responsible AI, and Large Language Models (LLMs). Highlights include:

Google AI Essentials – foundations of AI, ML, and business applications.

Generative AI & Responsible AI – ethical AI deployment and real-world use cases.

Introduction to Large Language Models – design, fine-tuning, and scaling.

GenAI for Executives – AI adoption, digital transformation, and growth strategy.

Chat with Your Data (AI-SQL) – data analytics and automation with AI.

Generative AI Database Design with ChatGPT – scalable AI-driven systems.

This training strengthens my ability to bridge AI research with business impact — from designing AI-powered products to ensuring responsible deployment, compliance, and user-centric innovation.

🔹 Actively exploring executive roles such as:
CPO | CTO | CEO | VP/Director of Product, Marketing, or Innovation — especially within Web3, AI, SaaS, or digital transformation, where I can drive user growth, revenue, and innovation.

Key Skills & Keywords:
Web3 Strategy | AI Product Innovation | Growth Marketing | Startup Scaling | Product-Market Fit | Investor Relations | GTM Execution | Data-Driven Growth | Token Economy | Team Leadership | Digital Transformation | SaaS | NFT Monetization | Executive Strategy | Agile | Deep Tech | Fan Engagement

Let’s connect if you’re building something bold — and need someone who’s done it from idea to scale.

Mo Zaid Kilany

Africa Business of Sport Podcast

Africa Business of Sport Podcast - the #1 sport business podcast in Africa - delivers expert analysis of ever-evolving trends, stories and developments across the sport industry in Africa and globally. The podcast gathers and interrogates various global and African perspectives of the rapidly developing sports business ecosystem.

Co-hosted by African sport business experts Edem Spio and Jabu Mtwa, alongside Africa’s leading sport broadcaster, Shon Osimbo. 

🥇Africa Business of Sport Podcast - Africa's #1 sport business podcast.

The Africa Business of Sport Podcast is a subsidiary of the Africa Sport Business Group.

Access the podcast at:

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/africabusinessofsportpod 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/africa-business-of-sport-podcast/id1640491418

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3YvnGsFCu0HIZ7AxGpvHCH

Co-Founder, Co-Host & Senior Producer

I handle the LinkedIn and Instagram pages of the Africa Business of Sport Podcast

Social Media Manager

Africa Sport Business Group 

Leading all subsidiaries of the Africa Sport Business Group

Co-founder & Director

Toppem Sports Inc

My role entails

* Utilizing my professional network in order to promote and develop strategic business developments, partnerships, collaborations, and sponsorships for Toppem Sports.
• Utilizing my personal initiatives for full services offered and network of branded affiliates, partners, and subsidiaries in order to promote and market Toppem Sports as a trusted partner.
- Full services include but not limited to article writing, consulting, connecting, podcasts, speaking at events, video creations and any other viable services.
• Adequately support Toppem Sports with any ideas that will potentially help facilitate the growth of Toppem Sports.

Media Relations Officer

Young African Leaders in Sport

I lead communication and cooperation initiatives that fosters growth within the organisation via capacity building projects and partnership/sponsorship opportunities.

Public Relations Officer

Golden City Football Club

* Advise the Club’s Board on various technical and corporate matters with respect to managing a sports organisation as required.
* Formulate comprehensive and actionable strategies for different aspects of the club’s operations (i.e. marketing and fan engagement, brand, commercial).
* Oversee the construction of a Club culture playbook that effectively describes the culture at the Club.
* Lead Provide objective viewpoints of the Club’s operational management, cultural alignment and business performance.

Strategic Advisor

AfroSport Summit

I played the following roles at the AfroSport Summit 2023:

Interviewer - I had the pleasure of interviewing the speakers and VIP guest who attended the summit

Panel Moderator - I lead the panel titled: “Fan Engagement and Commercialization: The Opportunities & Challenges. The speakers on the panel were Cynthia Mumbo, CEO of Sports Connect Africa and Mohamed Elbadry, CEO of Kora Stats

Interviewer & Panel Moderator

Africa Business of Sport Podcast | Africa Sport Business Group | Sport Innovator | Writer | E-Sports Enthusiast

Co-founder & Senior Producer - Africa Business of Sports Podcast. 

Co-founder & Director - Africa Sport Business Group. 

MSc. International Sports Management, University Campus Of Football Business | Global Institute of Sports.

Leadership Excellence - Disney Institute. 

Hard-working, passionate, motivated, relentless, adaptive and dedicated. Through my interaction with course modules in Marketing, Leadership, Sustainability, Managing Strategy and others; as well as my experience via the Africa Business of Sport Podcast; I have developed an in-depth understanding of the role of a sports business executive – specifically in partnerships and sponsorship activation, sustainability, fan engagement, marketing, strategy and project development. 

My inter and intra personal, teamwork, leadership and adaptability skills enable me to produce high end results in all tasks and projects I’m involved in. I excel in forward thinking, dynamic organizations that enable me to utilize my creativity and passion to contribute to change. 

I am driven by the Kaizen mentality. Throughout my formal education, I have developed great communication skills through the numerous teams I have worked in at all levels. I enjoy mentoring young people, coaching and community engagement activities.

Below are my key skills:
•	Ability to effectively manage my time through careful planning and organization of work activities.

•	Ability to manage a team to effectively carry out activities and produce results.

•	An aptitude for identifying and resolving problems efficiently.

•	Ability to develop innovative ideas in any subject area (existing portfolio available).

•	Excellent communication skills that result in positive interpersonal relationships.

•	Proven ability to make sound decisions based on valid information.

•	The capacity to learn and apply new information quickly and accurately.

•	Intermediate computer skills with proficiency in MS PowerPoint, MS Word & MS Excel.

•	Leadership and coaching skills obtained during internships, volunteering and student body office positions during my undergraduate studies. 

Access the Africa Business of Sport Podcast on:

Anchor: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/afrbizofsport
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/d_pAzVst
LinkedIn - https://lnkd.in/d9DkiN4N
Twitter - twitter.com/AfrBizofSport
Instagram - @africabusinessofsport

taplio

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Mo Zaid Kilany

Edem Spio, MSc

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