Husain Makiya

Husain Makiya is a driven entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of YOUGotaGift, a digital gift card company based in Dubai, UAE.

He launched YOUGotaGift in 2013 with a bold mission to revolutionize the gift card experience by providing a personalized, secure and seamless digital marketplace that caters to the ever-evolving needs of consumers and businesses alike.

Under Husain's dynamic leadership, YOUGotaGift is transforming prepaid cards to Branded Currency across gifting, incentives and payments to drive acquisition, build engagement, and increase loyalty, for businesses. With a network of 1000+ global brands, 2500+ corporates and 50+ major Loyalty programs, he is instrumental in driving the company's exponential growth and expanding its footprint across the Middle East and North Africa region.

In addition to his work at YOUGotaGift, Husain is a passionate advocate of technology-enabled entrepreneurship. He began his entrepreneurial journey when he co-founded Zawya.com, a leading business intelligence platform, in 1999, which he managed for over a decade until its acquisition by Thomson Reuters. In 2011, he co-founded Honeybee Tech Ventures, an incubator for digital ventures, where he serves as a Partner and a board member.

Husain is an active member of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA Europe) and the Gift Card and Voucher Association (GCVA UK). He holds an MBA and a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Imperial College London.