Dr Karim Bahou is Head of Innovation at Sister, Manchester’s new innovation district. In this role, he spearheads the global development of Sister’s ecosystem, working with senior leaders from Bruntwood SciTech and The University of Manchester to accelerate the growth of ambitious start-ups in Manchester and beyond.

Karim brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of academia and industry. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Imperial College London and has conducted research at Imperial, CSIRO in Australia, and the University of Liverpool. Alongside his academic career, he has held senior consulting roles at Plexal and FIS360 Ltd., where he specialised in building partnerships between government, academia, industry leaders, and SMEs to drive technological innovation.

His career reflects a strong commitment to enabling innovation, nurturing entrepreneurial ecosystems, and supporting organisations to translate cutting-edge research into real-world impact.