Mohammed Ashour
Mohammed Ashour is the Co-founder and CEO of Aspire Food Group, a global pioneer in insect agriculture. Aspire targets markets that utilize insects for applications in nutrition, biomedicine and agrochemicals with a vision to alleviate global food insecurity. Under his leadership, Aspire Food Group is building the world’s largest cricket production and processing in London, Ontario with significant support from prominent investors including JC2 Ventures, TELUS Ventures, and Northern Private Capital. Aspire has a research facility in Austin, Texas.
Aspire was launched in 2013 after Mohammed led a team of five students from McGill University to defeat over 10,000 teams from around the world to win the prestigious US$1M Hult Prize presented by President Bill Clinton. With expertise in business development, finance and strategic partnerships, Mohammed leads Aspire’s growth internationally.
Mohammed is a leading voice in alternative protein, social enterprise and innovation entrepreneurship. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Forbes, Fox Business News, the Economist, Wired, CNET, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Fast Company. He is a frequent speaker at global conferences.
Mohammed is the recipient of the Specialty Food Association Visionary Leader Award and the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award. In 2015, he was recognized as a “Top MBA Impact Maker” by McGill University and in 2016, inducted to the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
Mohammed holds M.B.A. and M.Sc. (neuroscience) degrees from McGill University and a B.Sc. degree in Life Sciences from the University of Toronto.
Mohammed and his family live in London, Ontario.
Title of keynote presentation:
The alternative protein landscape: promises and challenges faced transitioning from start-up to scale-up