Michael Askew is Co-Founder and CEO at Belong, a social networking app that connects people within cities to combat loneliness and build community.

Michael worked as Project Lead at Al Tayer Group and served as Head of Projects at Food & Entertainment Co., part of Fawaz Alhokair Group, where he lived in Riyadh for seven years before moving to Dubai.

Michael and co-founder Matthew Gaziano started Belong in 2019 after experiencing firsthand the difficulty of making friends and building social connections in new cities. The platform addresses the loneliness epidemic, with over 58% of American adults reporting feelings of loneliness.

Belong has raised $3.5 million in total funding, including a $1.5 million pre-Series A round in 2023. The platform has grown to over 350,000 users across Dubai, New York, and San Francisco.

Belong solves real-world loneliness by helping people meet like-minded individuals and discover their cities through groups, events, and community activities. The company is scaling operations across the GCC and expanding in the US market with strong growth metrics.