Othmane Bennis - عثمان بنيس

Othmane Bennis has over 8 years of work experience, starting in 2014 as the Founder and Managing Director of MORASIA Trading & Consulting LTD. From 2015 to 2016, they worked as a Digital Marketing & International Growth professional at XCUBE Engineering & Construction (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd.

In 2016, Bennis joined XNode 创极无限 as the Business Development & Growth Director, where they built and nurtured an open innovation ecosystem in Shanghai. Othmane also served as the Managing Partner, Corporate Innovation Co-founder, and Program & BD Director of XNode Corporate Innovation Programs (XCIP), facilitating and accelerating corporate/startup investments and partnerships.

In 2018, Bennis became the La French Tech Shanghai Partner at XNode, supporting the French tech startup community and organizing events. Othmane also advised innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives as an Innovation/Entrepreneurship Advisor at French Foreign Trade Advisors (CCEs).

From 2019 to 2021, Bennis worked at Forward Partners as a Venture Builder & Entrepreneur in Residence, helping corporate innovators and intrapreneurs innovate like startups. During this time, they launched Level8app, an online startup accelerator built on the lean methodology.

In 2019, Bennis also held roles at Allianz Trade, first as the Head of Digital Partnerships at Euler Hermes Digital Agency, where they incubated and accelerated breakthrough ideas at the intersection of insurtech and fintech. Later, they became the Head of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), Digital Partnerships, and Go To Market at Allianz Trade Group Transformation & Innovation, investing in fintech, insurtech, and embedded finance startups.

Most recently, in 2022, Bennis joined Qatar Insurance Group as the SVP - Head of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) at Digital Venture Partners. Their responsibilities include investing in early-stage insurtech startups, building an insurtech VC platform, and developing insurtech startups in the MENA region.

Othmane Bennis completed their education at various institutions. In 2001, they attended the Institut Emmanuel d'Alzon Officiel, where they completed preparatory classes for Business and Management School. From 2003 to 2006, they studied at Paris ESLSCA Business School, obtaining a Bachelor Degree in Business and an MSc in Finance. In 2006, Othmane pursued further education at the Ecole de Guerre Economique – EGE, where they earned a Master's Degree in Competitive Intelligence & Strategy.