Featured participants

In 2014, Dai cofounded bike-sharing startup Ofo in Beijing. The company, which lets users rent a bike through its smartphone app, is expanding rapidly across the country after raising hundreds of millions of dollars from a list of powerful investors including Coatua Management, Chinese ride-sharing service Didi Chuxing, and Russian billionaire investor Yuri Milner. Dai, a Peking University graduate, is eyeing international markets too. In December, Ofo announced that it would put 20,000 bikes in California's Silicon Valley and in London.

Considered one of the most influential foreign entertainers in Korean show business, Okyere works to bridge the gap between Korea and Africa and change local misconceptions about Africans in general. Working his way up from exchange student to regular panellist on a popular variety show, Okyere gained fame for his wit, joviality and expressiveness of his points of view. He also helped open a school in his native Ghana and cofounded a campaign to connect cultures through food and fashion, designing t-shirts with illustrations fusing dishes from Korea and Africa.

When arriving in Australia from Syria on a humanitarian visa, Dacho could speak English, had a master's degree in web science and 8+ years of work experience. Still, he found it impossible to break into the employment market. He cofounded Refugee Talent with Anna Robson, to help other refugees find jobs in their new home countries. By leveraging online tools, the startup aims to connect refugees with companies who are looking to hire them as statistics show that 85% of refugees remain unemployed within the first five years of their arrival.

Kazmi raised $100 million to seed Collegiate Capital, a venture firm that focuses on fintech, cybersecurity, energy and gaming; he's Europe's youngest founder and managing partner of a VC fund of that size. He started his first business, a game called U-Design, at age 16; he also now serves as CEO of the Oxford Accelerator, a business incubator hosted by the prestigious university.

Zali is a Pakistani filmmaker who was nominated for a Student Academy Award in 2016 - in the narrative category - for his documentary on suicide bombers, 100 Steps - Sou Qadam. He's gone on to win several other accolades at international events including the Miami Independent Film Festival and the Accolade Global Film Festival. He is a communications graduate of Northwestern University's Qatar campus.

Fulcher is the founder and CEO of RingMD, a platform that connects a global network of doctors and patients through digital products -- including an app, remote-diagnostics wearable technology and a chatbot. Its platform allows for audio and video calls and lets the patient send messages through a secure system. A serial entrepreneur, Fulcher took up coding at age 7, launched his first business by 13, and has been acting as a mentor to startups at both Founder Institute and Startup Chile. Based in Singapore and with offices across Southeast Asia, RingMD has also expanded to the U.S.

Shabibi is the cofounder and CEO of Machine Ventures, a Philippines-based incubator providing financial support and management guidance to people trying to start their own businesses in the country. One of the first companies it hatched is HeyKuya, a text-based personal assistant system with more than 35,000 users. Originally from Iran, Shabibi is a successful serial entrepreneur who founded two startups -- in music streaming and sports media -- before moving to the Philippines.

Katrina Razon is an entrepreneur who is the Managing Partner of Third Culture Music + Media, an experiential marketing agency and serves as a Director at Wonderfruit, Thailand's premium lifestyle festival focused on sustainability. With over ten years of experience in the music industry, Katrina has consulted and collaborated on multiple festival brands around the world. In 2016, she launched KSR Ventures as an investment vehicle toward entertainment ventures, technology and biotechnology. Her passions include philanthropy, surfing and sharing music as a DJ. 

Singapore's Privi Medical is a medtech startup that makes transformative medical devices. Their flagship solution is a disposable, drug-free cure for low-grade haemorrhoids that can be used by the sufferers in the comfort of their homes. Since the solution is drug-free, it will be especially helpful to pregnant women -- a group where the incidence of this problem is particularly high. Sina Raja cofounded Privi Medical in 2014, and last year the startup raised $1.1 million in seed funding.

Together with her husband, Eom launched Solidware, a startup that uses big data and machine learning to help financial companies give better credit scores -- and thus, customers a better chance at getting loans. The duo quit their well-paying jobs and bootstrapped the fintech startup at their home, cooking for their employees to save costs while developing an artificial intelligence solution that would analyze financial companies massive customer databases. They were acquired by Korea's Yello Financial Group (now named DAYLI Financial Group) last March, and plan to expand into Japan and France.

In 2011, Douglas cofounded beverage company, Nexba with his friend Drew Bible. Their mission was to create a line of refreshing and healthy drinks that are low in sugar. Nexba is now one of Australia's fastest growing drinks companies, selling their low-calorie products at more than 3,000 outlets, including Coles supermarkets and Virgin Airlines. Douglas is Nexba's Brand Director and oversees sales.

Zhang's Poputar makes smart guitars that can be remotely controlled with its smartphone app, which shows users how to play by lighting up corresponding LED lights on the instrument. In 2015, it raised $1.2 million in angel investment from China's Zhen Fund.

Jianbo cofounded CellRobot in 2014. The startup makes customized modular robots from its lithium battery- powered modulars, which can be rearranged into as many as 100 differently shaped robots. With CellRobot's smartphone app, users can set their speeds and control them for simple tasks such as filming video, watering plants and pouring wine! Yang holds a master's degree in mechatronics engineering from Beihang University in Beijing

A finalist for the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 award, Seira was one of 20 finalists who beat 3,600 applicants that competed in Milan. Her dishes, including an elegant smoked duck, are designed to capture the beauty and rich color of Japan's four seasons.

Since relocating to the Philippines 4 years, Schemm has been focused on his passion for building and consolidating creative culture in his half-native Philippines. He does so through his agency Third Culture Music + Media, and through his ongoing passion for the music and event industry in the wider South East Asia region. Through his agency, he applies the same forward thinking ethic – derived from his background in brand and trends consulting – to push boundaries in the realms of branding, digital, events and marketing, with a stellar list of clients including Diageo, Gatorade, Philippine Airlines, Air Asia, Stoli, Miller Genuine Draft, Wonderfruit Festival and Sonar Hong Kong to name a few. Together with some partners, his latest venture is a cocktail bar named 20:20, with an adjacent nightclub, XX XX, dedicated to quality dance music. Since launching in 2016, the venues have hosted names such as Kevin Saunderson, Objekt, Roy Davis Jr, Kitsuné,. DJ Nobu and Telephones amongst others.