Marcel Dridje

Startup Ecosystem Advisor | Angel Investor | Ex Cisco Sales Executive | 4 Startup Exits

Marcel Dridje is a seasoned Executive Sales & Business Development professional with over 30 years of experience across EMEA, USA, and APAC, focusing on High-tech Startups.

Currently, Marcel coaches, mentors, and trains startups, entrepreneurs, and Business Angels in the EMEA region while serving as an Executive Advisor to Startup Ecosystems globally.

Marcel is transitioning to the GCC region, particularly based in Doha, Qatar, where he leads his advisory services through his consultancy firm, "Entrepreneur Avenue."

As a UK citizen, Marcel is bilingual in English and French and proficient in Spanish, Italian, German, and Arabic.

He co-founded and launched two major Business Angel Networks: MDBAN (Maghreb Diaspora Business Angels) and MedAngels.

Marcel is an EBAN Board Member, actively driving worldwide corporate partnership initiatives within the largest federation of Business Angel Networks.

Throughout his career, Marcel has been instrumental in supporting IT, Deeptech, and Telecom startups in the US and EMEA, with hands-on experience with Fortune 500 enterprises, Scale-Ups, and Governments.

Noteworthy achievements include contributing to the success of Airespace as the #2 WLAN in EMEA market share and positioning Cisco as the #1 WLAN vendor globally.

Marcel's educational background includes a MAP Executive Education in Merger & Acquisition from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Portsmouth.

Marcel has held various influential positions in organizations including being the EBAN GCC Ambassador, Board Member at EUROPIA CAPITAL, and President EMERITUS at Sophia Business Angels.

His previous roles span across organizations such as Entrepreneur Avenue, World Business Angels Investment Forum, Cisco Systems, Webroot, CyberFlow Analytics, and many more.

Marcel's expertise encompasses sales, marketing, communication, and management, with a strong focus on accelerating business growth and fostering entrepreneurship within startup ecosystems.