2010 Digimedia.ME Conference Speaker Profile
Omar Faez Koudsi

Working hard at getting his economics degree from Brigham Young University (Utah, USA) did not prevent Omar from becoming heavily involved with the online world when it became mainstream in the US in the late nineties.

At the age of 20, after experimenting with several models online and witnessing the rise and fall of several Internet giants, Omar and his friends launched Jeeran in 2000 during their university careers.

He returned to Jordan a year after and worked at the family's software development company and established the first Network Security Center in the region. In 2003, Jeeran started showing a lot of promise; Omar decided to work on it full time believing in the potential even though it had yet to start making revenue at the time.

Five years and two VC rounds later, latest investment being from Intel Capital, Jeeran is the largest User Generated Content portal in the Middle East with several offices in the region. It is also the online community of choice among top regional online advertisers in the region.

Jeeran is currently a team of 60+ people spread among three countries.

Typically enough for many entrepreneurs working on their startups, Omar currently spends most of his time leading the growth of Jeeran by filling many roles.

He also enjoys participating in programmes such as Injaz Leadership which teaches university students about leadership and taking initiative. As for weekends (most of them!), he is fully booked for by wife and two kids.