Maissa Ballout Shamshoum wins Entrepreneur of the Year at Influencer Magazine Awards 2026

Maissa Ballout Shamshoum received Entrepreneur of the Year at the Influencer Magazine Awards E3 on Oct. 25, 2026, recognizing her work building innovation ecosystems and scalable pathways for talent. The award spotlights her leadership at Hasoub, her venture investing role and her cross-border work connecting founders, capital and institutions.

Why it matters: - The award recognizes work that goes beyond a single company or investment. It spotlights ecosystem-building as a driver of economic growth, founder development and long-term value creation. - Maissa Ballout Shamshoum’s win also highlights Arab participation in technology and entrepreneurship in Israel and across global innovation networks.

What happened: - Maissa Ballout Shamshoum won Entrepreneur of the Year at the Influencer Magazine Awards E3 on Oct. 25, 2026. - The honor was presented for her work unlocking emerging innovation ecosystems and building pathways from talent to globally scalable companies. - Shamshoum is based in Nazareth, Israel, and serves as CEO of Hasoub. - Hasoub is one of Israel’s leading organizations advancing Arab participation in technology, entrepreneurship, venture creation and innovation.

The details: - As CEO of Hasoub, Shamshoum leads a non-profit tech ecosystem and community for Arab society. - Hasoub connects the path from campuses and community to accelerators, angel investment, policy and global networks. - Shamshoum orchestrates collaborations across governments, corporations, investors, academia and founders. - She also serves as an International Partner of the World Business Angels Investment Forum. - She is an Advisory Board Member at Falcon Innovation Fund, a global deep tech investment fund based in Abu Dhabi. - Her investment focus at Falcon includes Artificial Intelligence, Deep Tech, Physical AI and Frontier Engineering. - Her sector focus spans infrastructure, energy, logistics, medtech, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. - Shamshoum connects founders, venture capital firms, family offices and strategic partners across the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Asia. - Before Hasoub, Shamshoum was VP Finance, Procurement and IT and a Board Member at Dollar Shave Club. - In that role, she led finance, procurement, IT, M&A support, risk management and operational efficiency during a period of rapid growth. - Her prior leadership roles also include Golden Care Dushi Group, Tefron Ltd., Rivulis Irrigation, Babcom Centers and EY’s High Tech Division. - Shamshoum founded Lumena Capital Group, which supports startups as a strategic director, advisor and connector. - Lumena Capital Group helps founders with go-to-market strategy, capital raising, financial resilience and global scaling. - Shamshoum is a Certified Public Accountant. - She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from the University of Haifa. - She also holds an Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she initiated the Kellogg MENA group. - Her career spans more than 20 years across corporate finance, M&A, fundraising, investments, governance and impact-driven growth.

Between the lines: - Shamshoum’s work sits at the intersection of capital, technology and purpose, with an emphasis on building institutions rather than only startups. - The recognition suggests growing attention to ecosystem builders who can convert overlooked talent into investable companies and durable economic infrastructure. - Her portfolio spans nonprofit leadership, venture investing and advisory work, which gives her influence across multiple points in the startup pipeline.

What's next: - Shamshoum is likely to continue expanding Hasoub’s ecosystem work and her cross-border investment network. - Her focus on founders, investors and strategic partners points to more collaboration across MENA, Europe, the U.S. and Asia. - The award adds visibility to her mission to build scalable ventures and unlock overlooked talent.

The bottom line: - Maissa Ballout Shamshoum’s win recognizes a career built on connecting people, capital and ecosystems to create lasting economic impact. - More information is available at the publication's website.