Endeavor MENA
Endeavor MENA is the Middle East and North Africa grouping of the non-profit Endeavor, with country offices in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and a Global Hub in Dubai.
Industry: Entrepreneurship support | Location: Cairo, Egypt
About Endeavor MENA
Endeavor MENA is the Middle East and North Africa regional grouping of Endeavor, a non-profit that supports high-growth entrepreneurs. Endeavor's own office list does not show a separate MENA entity. It lists country offices in Egypt and Jordan (launched 2008), Lebanon (2011) and Saudi Arabia (2012), a Global Hub in Dubai launched in 2025, and offices in Morocco (2014) and Tunisia (2017).
Endeavor was founded in 1997 in Buenos Aires by Linda Rottenberg and Peter Kellner and is headquartered in New York, according to Wikipedia. Endeavor announced the Saudi affiliate on 18 July 2012 as its fifth in the Middle East region after Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
Amr El Abd leads the region. His speaker biography says he became Endeavor's regional managing director for Africa and the Middle East in December 2023, after joining Endeavor Egypt as chief executive in June 2022, and that he was appointed adviser to the Egyptian prime minister for entrepreneurship in 2024. TechScoop's September 2026 report on Egypt's Entrepreneur Awards identifies him as regional managing director of Endeavor MENA and one of three jury members.
Endeavor's office page names Yana El Dirani as managing director of the Dubai hub, Lateefa Alwaalan for Saudi Arabia, Tamer Al-Salah for Jordan and Vera Abouchar for Lebanon.
Leadership
- Yana El Dirani, Managing Director, Endeavor Global Hub Dubai
- Lateefa Alwaalan, Managing Director, Endeavor Saudi Arabia
- Tamer Al-Salah, Managing Director, Endeavor Jordan
- Vera Abouchar, Managing Director, Endeavor Lebanon