This Egyptian dropout made it to Forbes '30 Under 30' list

Egyptian entrepreneur Hany Rashwan just made it to Forbes' 30 under 30 list. 

But, there's a catch. He didn't do things the traditional way and actually dropped out of a prestigious masters program to get there. 

A San Francisco resident, Rashwan has had countless opportunities in the tech world. The 26-year-old is making it big in the industry, having founded two startups already. 

So, how did he do it? 

In 2012, Rashwan stared Ribbon, bringing the first in-stream payments to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter via "buy buttons".

The startup was backed by $1.75 million in funding from AngelPad, Sierra Ventures, InterWest Partners, Draper Associates and others. 

He left Columbia University to launch his second startup Payout.com, allowing loan payments to be paid and received online. 

Rashwan is one of 600 "game changers" chosen from 20 different industries. The 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 is a compilation of "the most definitive gathering of today's leading young change-makers and innovators in the US."

But he is not the only Arab to grace the list.

Khaled Abdel Rahman is one of the brains behind the hit mobile game Pokémon GO. He contributed to its concept and design. 

The 25-year-old moved to California after getting his Bachelors at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. 

He then studied at the University of Southern California, where he earned a Masters degree. 

He currently teaches game development there.

Libyan Alaa Murabit is the only UN high-level commissioner under the age of 45. 

Starting medical school at 15, Murabit has been nicknamed as the "Libyan Doogie Howser" by Jon Stewart. 

Murabit later started a non-profit aimed at empowering Libyan women. 

Lebanese Sara Minkara has been legally blind since she was 7-years-old. On a visit to Lebanon, she realized how hard it is for underprivileged kids with disabilities to thrive in the developing world. 

That's when she decided to found Empowerment Through Integration, an organization that aims to help blind children in Lebanon by allowing them to learn life skills, like using a computer. 

Minkara holds a masters degree from Harvard University.

Egyptian-American Justin Zayat (Sports category) and Michelle Atallah (Science category) also made it to the list.