Abbas Kazmi

Abbas Kazmi is a multi-award-winning serial entrepreneur and investor who founded his first of several successful companies at 16. Abbas has been chosen as a Forbes 30Under30 Standout, as a Maserati 100, as one of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards Entrepreneurs' Champions of the Year, and as one of startups.co.uk’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year and Business Growth Enablers, to name just a few amongst many other awards. He has been appointed as a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Fellow and as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Ex-BlackRock working across EMEA and the US, Abbas co-founded both the Oxford Accelerator and $100 million VC fund Collegiate Capital, and is an IC member of, advisor to and LP investor in several funds in EMEA including BlackWood Ventures. He is now co-founder of the first VC between Central Asia and MENA, SABAH.Fund.

Abbas sits on several boards, often being called upon to share his insights and expertise. He was recognised and selected by the UAE's VP and Deputy Prime Minister, Sheikh Mansour, as an Arab Youth Pioneer. He has also been appointed as an Entrepreneurship Expert at Oxford's Saïd Business School and Investor in Residence at London Business School. Passionate about blockchain and AI technologies, Abbas has been in the space since 2014, investing in and building many exciting projects. He advises the UK Government as a co-founding Advisory Board Member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Metaverse and Web 3.0 and several Azerbaijani government ministries through SABAH.HUB. He is also a Helena Group Fellow and one of the youngest fellows at the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

An academic scholar both at Westminster School and Oxford University and a VC Fellow at London Business School’s Newton Venture Program, Abbas is Chairman of the illustrious Oxford Guild, the world's largest university society, hosting the likes of major CEOs, celebrities and Nobel laureates from Sam Altman and Kanye West to Woody Harrelson, Malala etc. He is also co-founder of the Horizon Global Network, the All In startup diversity pledge, the Global Fintech & Blockchain Conference, Europe2SiliconValley Trip and the Spirited Network Covid relief platform. He regularly judges leading startup competitions such as MIT InnovatorsUnder35 and speaks at top universities and conferences globally such as the WEF Annual Summit at Davos, Forbes 30Under30 Summit, Milken Institute MENA Summit and many more.