Muhamad Salam

Chief Executive Officer @ Mena Franchises

About

Serial Entrepreneur | Franchise Expert | Startup Mentor | Community Builder I am a passionate serial entrepreneur with a proven track record of launching and scaling businesses across various industries. As the founder of Mena Franchises, I specialize in franchise brokerage, development, and consulting—connecting global brands with investors and opportunities in the MENA region. I also lead Meraki Ventures, a cutting-edge marketing and advertising company leveraging technology and AI to revolutionize the way brands connect with their audiences. Beyond building my own ventures, I’ve had the privilege of mentoring numerous startups through incubators and accelerators, helping founders refine their strategies, scale their operations, and raise funding. Supporting innovation and entrepreneurship has always been at the heart of my work. As a founding member of 1001 Businessmen, a premier networking community, I strive to empower entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors through impactful connections, exclusive events, and knowledge sharing. My mission is to inspire, support, and create opportunities for businesses to thrive in a fast-changing world. Let’s connect to explore how we can collaborate and build the future together.

Country

Iraq

City

Erbil Governorate

Industry

Management Consulting

Skill

Financial Accounting, Economics, Leadership, Interpersonal Skills, Analytical Skills, Franchising, Lean Startup, Food & Beverage, Social Media Marketing, sales, Small Business, Sports Nutrition, Marketing, Business Networking, Digital Marketing, Self-employment, Entrepreneurship, Sales Management, Marketing Strategy, Start-up Ventures

Experience

Chief Executive Officer

Mena Franchises

2024-2 - Present · 2 yrs 8 mos

Founding Member

1001 Businessmen

2024-1 - Present · 2 yrs 9 mos

Chief Executive Officer

Meraki Ventures

2019-11 - Present · 6 yrs 11 mos

Irbīl, Iraq

Organizer

Kurdistan Startup Summit

2020-9 - 2022-1 · 1 yr 5 mos

Arbil, Iraq

Organizing the biggest entrepreneurial event in the region. Global Entrepreneurship Week which is an international event held in more than 180+ countries. Making Sure the event is held successfully for 2 years in a row.

CEO/Founder

Darekmealprep

2017-6 - 2019-10 · 2 yrs 5 mos

Iraq

Darek meal prep is the first healthy restaurant & meal prep company in kurdistan/iraq which i founded in 2017 for the people who want to better the quality of their life and fitness

Sales Manager

Natural Pharma

2016-1 - 2017-1 · 1 yr 1 mo

Iraq

Medical Sales Representative

ESB

2015-3 - 2016-2 · 1 yr

iraq

Education

Harvard Business School Online

2023-2 - 2023-8 · 7 mos

CORe (Credential of Readiness) is a 150-hour certificate program on the fundamentals of business from Harvard Business School. CORe is comprised of three courses—Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting—developed by leading Harvard Business School faculty and delivered in an active learning environment based on the HBS signature case-based learning model.

University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH)

Business Administration and Management, General

2023-10 - 2025-10 · 2 yrs 1 mo

The Executive Master in Business Administration is a two-year, 180-credit, professional degree, studying an in-depth array of the latest management theories, frameworks and techniques of how to manage organisations. The programme has a strong focus towards linking theory to management practice.