At the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Paris Norriss, the founder of Rise UAE, discusses how his program connects experienced mentors with aspiring entrepreneurs to work through individual challenges and push the ecosystem forward.

In starting Rise UAE, Norriss felt that there needed to be a space where entrepreneurs could interact with those who have achieved, learning from experience rather than academia. He finds that it’s not knowledge or information that brings success, but the ability to motivate, communicate, and command a room that can make a differenct.

In this chat, Norriss explains how Rise UAE vets and matches mentors, and discusses some of the top challenges that entrepreneurs in the region face. “Entrepreneurship is a lonely world, so it’s nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of,” says Norriss.