Ep 5: Dubai Tech - Ray Dargham

Dubai Wave Podcast

For episode 5 of the Dubai Wave Podcast, we are thrilled to present Dubai's ultimate tech insider, Ray Dargham, founder of the region's top tech conference, the Step Conference, taking place April 5-7 at the Dubai International Marine Club.
Produced by Dr. Spencer Striker, Digital Media Professor at the American University in Dubai, the show is created with the help of a talented student production team at AUD.
A man of great energy and many talents, Ray is the Co-Founder and CEO of the STEP Group, a new media & technology company whose products include news and digital content platforms (stepfeed.com and yallafeed.com) as well as the Step Conference - the largest technology and startup conference in the MENA region. In our thoughtful discussion, Ray provides the lay of the land of the Dubai tech scene, and tells the story of how he created the Step Conference to become the SXSW of the Middle East, and how he has scaled it up, year after year, forming a nexus for the Dubai tech industry. He also provides insight into his growth strategies around his popular, innovative content platform, stepfeed.com, which promises a whole new way of publishing and sharing news in the Middle East. For anyone interested in understanding the emerging Dubai tech scene, check out our awesome conversation with Ray Dargham, Dubai's ultimate tech insider.

The concept with Dubai Wave is to look at big picture Dubai. Each episode will focus on a unique topic, such as Dubai Fitness; Dubai Social Media; Dubai Food Scene; Dubai Music, etc., with the goal to illuminate a 360-degree viewpoint of all the exciting things happening here, the gem of the Middle East. The impressive guest list to date includes the founders of two of Dubai’s most popular food blogs (Dubai Foodie Scene); the founder of Dubai’s most influential MMA gym, Tam Khan (Dubai MMA); successful entrepreneur, Anas Bukhash (Dubai Entrepreneurship); the editor of What’s On Dubai, Laura Coughlin (Dubai Magazines); the host of Virgin Radio, Brent Black, (Dubai Radio). Previously, Dr. Striker, with help from talented Digital Media and MBRSC students, launched a successful podcast called Digital Media & Tech in Dubai, focused on the Dubai tech industry, with eight episodes to date, featuring some of Dubai’s most exciting digital thought leaders.
Hosted by:
Spencer Striker, PhD, Digital Media professor at the American University in Dubai
https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerstriker
& Basma Abdou, AUD Digital Media student
Special Guest:
Ray Dargham, Co-Founder & CEO of the STEP Group
https://stepconference.com/
Special thanks to Reina Dib and Joy Semaan of the AUD Marcom Team
Produced by Spencer Striker, PhD
Edited by Peter Moussa
Crewed by Rami Hawa
Audio engineering by AUD Digital Media’s own Anil Mathew James