What’s on tap at the Milken Middle East and Africa Summit: Day 2

☀️ Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of The Circuit’s special coverage of the Milken Institute’s 2024 Middle East and Africa Summit. Read here what to expect today as the conference wraps up with discussions on the transition to renewable fuels, regulating digital finance, controlling the costs of health care and investing the Gulf’s sovereign wealth.

The agenda opens today with brief remarks from U.S. Ambassador Martina Strong, who came to Abu Dhabi a year ago and has been a key Biden administration representative in the Middle East.

Following Ambassador Strong onstage, Michael Milken returns to kick off Day 2’s proceedings in a conversation about the future of world financial markets with TPG’s James Coulter, promising to hit on topics including deglobalization, decarbonization, and digitization.

Milken will also lead the conference’s concluding session in a chat with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, one of the country’s most influential leaders as Managing Director and Group CEO of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, and a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council The conversation promises to touch on how the UAE, Saudi Arabia and their Gulf neighbors have become a dominant force in the investment world, with venture capitalists and hedge fund managers making pilgrimages to tap their financial resources.

Other headliners today include U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, the former mayor of Los Angeles, who will join investors and real estate developers on a panel about the future of the world’s cities, with discussions on sustainable transportation, smart infrastructure and enhanced livability.

Among the showcase activities during the Summit has been interviewing and whittling down the list of competing startups for the annual $1 million Milken-Motsepe Fintech Prize, which aims to expand access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets. Nominees have been making pitches this week in hopes of competing in the final round taking place at the Milken Institute’s flagship Beverly Hills conference in May, where the prize is presented.

In an interview with The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie, Margaret O’Connor, the chairperson of Mauritius-based Launch Africa and a judge for the Milken-Motsepe award, said the program is a major incentive for the continent’s young companies. “I actually have goosebumps because we’re at a moment in time where we’re building systems to create systematic connectivity,” O’Connor said. ”The GCC needs African talent – AI talent and entrepreneurial talent and business talent. GCC also needs access to African markets [while] African entrepreneurs need access to GCC markets and capital.”

Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, told a packed ballroom that she’s proud of the progress made by the Biden administration in advancing medical care and education about women’s health after years of neglect. “I remember going to my husband and saying, ‘Joe, this can’t go on.’”

Actor Ed Norton, who is U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, on “The Art of Storytelling” in a lunch discussion yesterday: “To get people involved in the story, you have got to make it transparent and about them. People respond well because of the authenticity of the story. When everyone sees that everyone is working from their heart, they will put in their efforts.”

Grant Verstanding, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Red Cell Partners during a panel on artificial intelligence: “The whole world changed after Newton. The whole world will change after AI.” 

Read our full recap of Day 1 at the Milken Middle East Africa Summit here and subscribe to our Daily Circuit newsletter for the latest on the Middle East business landscape each day here.

What’s on tap at the Milken Middle East and Africa Summit today

☀️ Good morning and welcome to The Circuit’s special coverage of the Milken Institute’s annual Middle East and Africa Summit. I’m Jonathan Ferziger, here with Omnia Al Desoukie at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort to offer some guidance through the thicket of news, banquets and buzz coming at you over the next two days in Abu Dhabi.

Up Front: Michael Milken will take the stage today right from the beginning, moderating the opening session at 9 a.m. on “Navigating a Changing Global Economy.” Anchoring the panel is Prince Turki Al Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief and Ambassador to the U.S., now Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.

Curtain Call: Milken will also wrap up the conference in its final session tomorrow when he interviews Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO and Managing Director of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and a member of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council. Al Mubarak is also Chairman of soccer clubs Manchester City, Melbourne City and Dubai City.

Late Addition: Just before the opening bell, it was announced that Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, will drop by Saadiyat Island for a 20-minute conversation focusing on women’s health care, one of her main initiatives in the White House.

Wall Street Wizard: Investment bankers, hedge fund managers and bond traders always form the core of Milken Summits. Among those taking part in the Abu Dhabi edition are Guggenheim Partners’ Alan Schwartz, Golub Capital’s Lawrence Golub, Goldman Sachs’ Stephanie Rader, Eldridge Industries’ Todd Boelhy, TCW’s Katie Koch and Brightstar Capital’s Andrew Weinberg.

Lights, Camera: Hollywood has come to the Middle East in the person of actor Edward Norton, who will talk about “The Art of Storytelling” during a Milken Summit lunch discussion. Also appearing with him is Elie Saab Jr., CEO of Lebanese couture house ELIE SAAB.

Hush-Hush: While speakers on the main stage talk on-the-record in panel discussions that are live-streamed, much of the Milken Summit action takes place behind closed doors in sessions where participants expect that they won’t be quoted. Among the participants in an invite-only roundtable on sovereign wealth funds today is Samer Haj-Yehia, the former Executive Chairman of Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank, who was the only Arab chairman of a publicly traded Israeli company. He is now Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Nevo Investment and ExBorder Partners, and consults with businesses both in Israel and across the Middle East.

Innovation Finance: Kanika Singh, the Milken Institute’s Director of Innovative Finance and moderator of two panels, told The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie that the organization is working with businesses and institutions in the region to “explore market failures and financing gaps that have economic or social consequences.” She said the Institute is working with partners to “address gaps across the spectrum, from investing in infrastructure, in emerging markets, renewable energy, water security, and developing green financing.”

Who, what, where: Keep track of all the conference’s panel sessions, lunch talks and evening receptions by downloading the Milken Events app on your mobile device. The “Matches” and “Business Card” features are especially useful to connect with fellow delegates listed in an alphabetical directory.

Before today’s opening of the two-day Milken talkfest, early-arriving delegates mixed over drinks at the St. Regis’ Buddha Bar last night, chatting over light music from a DJ, with a view of the beach stretching along the Gulf coastline.

“For us, Milken is this perfect intersection of people who are in our industry, doing similar work,” said Tre’ Scott, Co-Founder of Folk Media Group, which is based in New York and London and invests in entertainment businesses. “But the best part of it is being around people who think differently from you, who see the world from a different angle and you start to collaborate.”