Evert Faber van der Meulen is an institutional fundraiser with over 15 years of experience in programme development, proposal writing, and consortium building. Over the years, he has raised tens of millions of euros for a variety of projects. He also designs and conducts trainings in fundraising, theory of change development, and monitoring, evaluation and learning. His areas of expertise include entrepreneurship and job creation, arts and culture, and media and civil society.

Evert holds an MPhil in Islamic Studies and History from Oxford University, as well as an MA in European Union Studies and a BA in History from Leiden University. He has been a lecturer on the external relations of the EU at Leiden University but also loves nothing more than to flaunt his knowledge of remarkable facts about Islamic history, and get into comparative discussions about German philosophers and Sufi mystics. Evert currently spends his time between Egypt, Tunisia, and the Netherlands. 

Katie Bentivoglio has over a decade of experience working at the intersections of social impact, community building, and creative expression in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. She has a strong background in ecosystem building, strategic communications, and creative industries, especially developing and operationalising new initiatives across disciplines and geographies. Her interests include imagining futures, facilitating novel collaborations, and beautifully proofread documents.

Katie holds a Masters of Science in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a dual Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Middle Eastern, Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University. She was selected for the Junior Fellows programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Presidential Associate Programme at the American University in Cairo. She is also a three-time recipient of the Critical Language Scholarship for Arabic studies.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Katie has called a number of places home, including New York, Cairo, London, and Tunis. More recently, she can usually be found living somewhere along the Mediterranean, brushing up on obscure grammar, or jumping into the sea.

Leila Charfi has over 20 years of global and cross-cultural experience in Africa, Europe, and North America, and has been an active participant in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem since 2008. She has launched and managed several organisations and incubation/acceleration programmes providing technical and financial support for startups and SMEs such as the Microsoft Innovation Center in Tunisia Yunus Social Business Tunisia and Impact Partner.

She has also fundraised $5 million EUR from donors and investors, including the EU, the AfDB, and the IFC, mentored over 100 entrepreneurs, and advised over two dozen entrepreneurship support organisations across Africa. Previously, Leila worked for six years in Canada and France as a software developer and project support manager in the wireless divisions of Nortel Networks and Alcatel Lucent.

Leila holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from ENSI Tunisia, an MSc in Telecommunications from the University of Ottawa, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.

Finally Leila is also interested in the ecological transition and circular economy. She volunteers with Tunisie Recyclage, a waste management NGO, and the Association Tunisienne de Permaculture, an NGO promoting agroecology.

Ines Khedira has been exploring the fields of non-formal education and social development as an instructional designer and facilitator since 2013. Prior to joining New Silk Roads, she spent over ten years working for a variety of Egyptian non-governmental organisations, where she experimented with, and observed, the various ways in which art can be used in education and how people learn in a range of modalities and contexts.

More recently, Ines has focused on building the capacity of facilitators, designing interesting and challenging curricula, and exploring the world(s) of education technology and online learning. In tandem, she has been incorporating theories of change, including Future Thinking, Theory U, and Transformative Scenarios, into her work across different contexts and topics. She holds a MA in English Education from University College of London, where her research focused on the use of film in the classroom.

In between, Ines has cultivated her lifelong fascination with stories and storytelling through filmmaking, writing children stories and podcasting.

Arthur Steiner has over 15 years experience in managing programmes in digital rights, civic space, arts and culture, and freedom of expression.

Arthur is committed to strengthening cultural organisations, foundations, civil society, and social enterprises to maximise their effectiveness and make them future-proof. Previously, he worked at Hivos, where he managed various strategic grantmaking programmes such as the R.O.O.M program and the Mideast Creatives Program.

Arthur established  Digital Earth, a research fellowship supporting young creatives, technologists, and activists worldwide through educational initiatives, decentralised residencies, and public programmes in Beirut, Dakar, Paris, Moscow, Dubai and Shanghai.

Recently, he led various research programs for New Silk Roads. For example a study on just and sustainable technologies in tropical forest countries for the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), a study on impact investment in arts and culture for the DOEN Foundation and he was editor of Vertical Atlas, a book about technological developments’ influence on 21st century geopolitics.

Arthur also likes to curate art exhibitions and events in museums and art spaces worldwide.

Trained as a scientist, Safa Omrani is now working at the intersection of technology, art and community building. Since joining New Silk Roads in early 2022, Safa has contributed to impactful projects spanning climate action, the green economy, entrepreneurship, and culture. She has played a pivotal role in organizing high-profile events such as the Green Growth Summit 2024, developing strategic communication plans, and highlighting stories of innovation and resilience through meaningful collaborations.

Safa holds an engineering degree from the National Engineering School of Tunis. She was also a recipient of the U.S. State Department Thomas Jefferson Scholarship, an exchange programme through which she studied technology and engineering management at Saginaw Valley State University.

Born and raised in Tunisia, Safa has made homes in Syria, Mauritania, France, and at one point, Michigan. She is also the founder of Khyoott, a unique embroidery business that uses traditional techniques to create modern art pieces.

Farah works at the intersection of social entrepreneurship and impact funding across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), connecting visionary changemakers with the resources they need to scale. Since 2022, she has been with New Silk Roads, helping impact startups and enablers secure funding and build stronger, more sustainable programs. She also trains teams in proposal writing and program development, turning bold ideas into fundable realities.

Previously, she worked with Hivos and GFA Consulting Group, supporting entrepreneurs tackling big challenges—green innovation, migrant-led businesses, job creation, and community-driven spaces. She is also the co-founder of Noss e Noss, a collective for and by Dutch-Egyptian women that explores bicultural identity through word, image, and sound.

Farah holds a BA in Arabic Studies and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Amsterdam. She splits her time between Cairo, Amsterdam, and, more recently, Khobar—three cities that keep her inspired and always on the move.

Mutaz Alnaas brings an extensive background in social entrepreneurship, impact strategy, and innovation. As the former Impact Lead at Hivos' GreenWorks programme, Mutaz created a diverse range of impact measurement tools in collaboration with over a dozen business support organisations and contributed to mentoring and evaluating the societal impact of over 300 startups in Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia. As a Research Associate at Voluntas, Mutaz also oversaw entrepreneurship ecosystem programme evaluations in Libya, as well as conducted research on climate policy and business innovation in 10 countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.

Mutaz holds an MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics and BA in Economics and Data Science from Macalester College. He divides his time between Tunisia and Libya.

Nada Beshir is a connector of worlds and a weaver of networks. With over a decade of experience in entrepreneurship and innovation, and deeply curious about the people behind the work, Nada bridges local wisdom with global insights.

Since joining New Silk Roads in early 2022, she has focused on supporting impact-driven organisations through fundraising, programme design, research, and capacity building workshops tailored for startups and SMEs across North Africa and Jordan. With a vast network and genuine curiosity, Nada strives to achieve meaningful impact through collaboration and creativity.

Nada holds an MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics and a BA in Business Administration, Finance and Economics from the American University in Cairo. Nada lives in Cairo.

Elyssa Koepp is a project assistant with expertise in data sampling, analysis, monitoring and  evaluation, research assessments, and training and course design.

Elyssa's multicultural background has enabled her to work across various countries, supporting refugees through NGOs in Canada, France, Greece, and Germany, grant writing for a Tunisian think tank, and conducting in-depth research on Tunisia's social, economic, and political landscapes for international organisations. She is also passionate about promoting Tunisia’s rich culture and heritage to an international audience, advocating for sustainable and eco-friendly local tourism that highlights the country’s unique offerings.

During her time at Voluntas Advisory, Elyssa worked on high-impact projects across North Africa, including evaluating an aviation security program in Libya, EU PVE programming in Tunisia, and developing crisis response plans in El Kef and Kebili for UN Women. Elyssa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from McGill University and a Master’s in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Elyssa lives in Tunisia.

Ahmed Moghazy is a film director, writer and producer. He first embarked on his filmmaking journey after a career shift from engineering to film. His path led him from creating digital advertisements and music videos to a profound passion for filmmaking.While studying film as a Chevening Scholar in the United Kingdom, he produced his first short narrative film and his first feature documentary, which toured the world through various film festivals

With over 8 years of experience in filmmaking across diverse formats, including short fiction films, commercials, music videos, digital content, and documentaries, Ahmed has left his creative mark in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and the UK. His work in particular is a testament to his dedication to increasing representation in media and fostering narratives that break down cultural barriers. 

Ahmed holds a BEng from Kafr El Sheikh University and an MA in Directing Fiction from Central Film School in London. Ahmed currently lives in Cairo and works extensively across the region.

Helga Delaere works in the field of cultural entrepreneurship, international cooperation, social impact, and creative industries.

She is the co-founder of New Silk Roads and served as the director until 2022. During this time, Helga initiated several new programmes, such as Afkar Fellows, the Bavaria Expedition, and Future Labs. 

Previously, Helga was the business director at the creative collective Lima Limo, project leader of the first conference on broad prosperity in the Netherlands, community architect of Enviu- creating world changing companies-, and project manager of the first regional Coworking Summit in Tunis.

She holds a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Amsterdam, where she studied cultural anthropology and sociology. She lives in the Netherlands.

Dorothé Bongaerts-Stubbé is the Chair of the New Silk Roads board. In her work, she  thrives to guide others with creative resilience to grow both personally and professionally. She  has worked as a candidate-civil law notary, a team manager, a project manager, a coach, and several other positions along the way. Her extensive experience includes working with larger corporations, changing teams, young professionals, and even children. 

She holds a Master’s of Law from Leiden University and  is currently initiating a new consultancy company, Helix Felix, which aims to  empower resilience in society, organisations, and people’s lives. Dorothé lives in the Netherlands.

Boudewijn Niels is a partner with Atlas Tax Lawyers, where he heads the M&A/National practice. Boudewijn is an all-round tax lawyer and specialises in advising the tax aspects of transactions, projects, and investments, as well as day-to-day tax advice to Dutch-headquartered corporations. He also possesses extensive knowledge in the field of Dutch corporate tax, income tax, real estate transfer tax, and international tax.

Before joining Atlas in 2015, Boudewijn worked in the Amsterdam and Dusseldorf offices of two UK-based global law firms as an M&A tax lawyer for seven years. He studied Tax Law and Corporate Law at Leiden University, followed by a postgraduate course in International and European Tax Law at the International Tax Center Leiden. He also holds a BSc in Economics and Finance from the University of London/London School of Economics.

Boudewijn joined the board of New Silk Roads in 2014 and regularly visited New Silk Roads projects across Europe and North Africa.