Yara Hamdar joined Berytech in July 2021 and currently holds the role of Acceleration Manager. She leads on the Agrytech, Cleantech, and ScaleSmart startup accelerators within the Act Smart Innovation Hub. Since joining Berytech, she has supported more than 50 early-stage and growth-stage startups across idea conceptualization, MVP development, commercialization, and investment readiness. She also manages the Scaling Agri-Food Innovations (SAFI) program where she has supported the operational and commercial growth of 8 SMEs.
Yara is a Transportation Engineer (AUB, ME 2016) with in-depth experience in the business and startup realms by both practice and education. In 2014, she co-founded Quest, a transportation infrastructure consultancy company. She managed the company operations and a diverse portfolio of regional highway and airport projects, and consulted authorities on expenditures exceeding 300 million USD.
She holds an MBA from ESA Business School with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship (2020) and a Masters in Management from ESCP Business School (2020). In 2020, she joined AUB as a Management Consultant to support the establishment of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Hub for Digital Teaching and Learning.
Yara has taught courses on engineering business management, sustainable engineering design, and waste management under the ProGreen Diploma – a joint program between AUB, LAU, and AUC.