Karima El Hakim

Karima El Hakim is Partner, Africa at Plug and Play Tech Center, where she leads the firm’s venture capital activities across the continent and drives the expansion of its open innovation and corporate partnerships in African markets. Her investment and advocacy work spans fintech, cybersecurity, smart cities, and industrial innovation, with a strong emphasis on building scalable, market-driven ecosystems that connect capital, policy, and technology.

Karima is actively engaged in shaping AI application and development across African markets, working through programs, enablement accelerators, and government partnerships to translate emerging technologies into scalable, ground-level impact.

Karima is an MIT Foundry Fellow (2025) and Co-Chair of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. She serves on the Board of EGX Holding Company for Financial Markets’ Development, the holding company of the Egyptian Exchange, and on the Board of Value SMEs, a financial services company focused on SME lending. She also serves on the inaugural Advisory Committee of the Financial Regulatory Authority’s FinTech Regulatory Sandbox for the 2026–2027 term.

Previously, Karima held leadership and ecosystem-building roles at Fawry, Falak Startups, Orascom Development Holding, and Danone, building experience across financial technology, entrepreneurship, investment, corporate innovation, and business development.