Tarek El Kady is a leading entrepreneur in his native Alexandria, Egypt. Born and raised in Alexandria, Tarek has worked
in the U.S. as a part-time web designer before launching his first company called WebArchitect. After a successful
decade in this business, he launched Markade which focuses on marketing, advertising and branding. Eventually, he
started Cactus which is an event management and on ground activation agency. Lastly formed KD Group which manages
the operations of the three agencies and their clients which are local, regional and global.
Since 2015, Tarek has shaken the entrepreneurship & technology worlds by hosting Techne Summit in Alexandria, Egypt.
And in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The event was lately attended by more than 21,000 attendees, 300+ Speakers, 800 Startups,
and 200 investors from 70 countries.
Techne Summit is a multi-industry focused investment & entrepreneurship event that aims to impact multiple sectors
and stakeholders of the startup community through showcasing different technologies and their application in each
industry.
Back In December 2016, Tarek announced the launch of “Alexandria Angels”, the first Alexandria based Angel Network.
Consisting of a select group of founding members, all experienced in business and enthusiastic about entrepreneurship
in Alexandria, the newly established network seeks to invest in promising, high-growth startups in Alexandria and the
Nile delta region from mid next year onwards.
In February 2017, Tarek launched the first of its kind nation-wide annual roadshow to empower entrepreneurs all over
Egypt “Techne Drifts” – Three drifts that are in the format of a road show which kick-started by Upper Egypt, as a one-
day summits in three different cities Assiut, Sohag and Aswan. Then Delta in three other cities Mansoura, Zagazig and
Tanta. Then Canal Drift in Suez and Port-Said respectively. The drifts program has been running for 3 years in a row
lastly in March 2019.
Co-founded and Chaired by Tarek, the Mediterranean Business Angel Investment Network (MED Angels), the first
Mediterranean-wide network of angel networks, was officially launched on September 30th, 2019 at the iconic
Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The event took place in the context of Techne summit, the Mediterranean leading Tech
conference.
Tarek is passionate about helping young people start their businesses. As Founding Curator of the Global Shapers
Community Alexandria hub, he spends most of his time “giving” to the next generation of business owners in the
region.
Tarek was awarded in 2019 by the American University in Cairo’s Venture Lab in recognition of his efforts as one of the
prominent contributors to the entrepreneurial & investment ecosystems for their outstanding support.
He was appointed as Senator at the Grand Assembly of the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) and was
representing Egypt in the Global Startup Committee of the Grand Assembly in 2020
