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Episode 21: Abeer Abu Ghaith

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00:00 / 1:06:55

Abeer Abu Ghaith is not only a social tech entrepreneur but also an influential speaker and activist. As the founder and CEO of MENA Alliances and former co-founder of StayLinked, she has dedicated her life to driving positive change. Raised in a refugee camp and shaped by conflict, Abeer leverages her entrepreneurial and technical expertise to make a global impact.

Through MENA Alliances, Abeer is revolutionizing the job market by bridging gaps and connecting talented professionals across the Middle East and North Africa with world-class job opportunities using remote solutions that overcome physical, political and cultural barriers.

Despite facing challenges stemming from both normal business cycles and the disruptions brought on by wars and conflicts, Abeer has successfully created over 700 digital technology opportunities for underprivileged and underemployed individuals. Additionally, she has established partnerships and contracts with more than 70 clients worldwide, resulting in a 300% increase in revenue. The digital technology solutions, products, and applications developed by her company have significantly elevated the average salaries of her tech talent in the local market by almost 40%.

Prior to committing fully to MENA Alliances, Abeer worked tirelessly with local, regional, and international NGOs and donors. Her efforts included initiatives to enhance women’s participation in the labor market and decision-making positions, support youth and women’s employment and entrepreneurship, and increase internet and computer literacy among these groups. Furthermore, Abeer served as a Computer Networking Instructor at Palestine Polytechnic University.

Abeer holds a degree in Computer Systems Engineering and a Master’s in Business Innovation with Entrepreneurship from London University. She has also earned scholarships to get transformational and cross cultural leadership certificates from Harvard Business School and INSEAD University.

*This episode was filmed on the 4th of May 2023

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Episode 20: Dana Khatib

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00:00 / 57:02

Dana Khatib is a marketing and business management expert with a passion for developing innovative strategies to drive growth and success. Dana graduated from the University of Jordan in 2007 with a degree in economics, and her passion for marketing led her to pursue a career in this field.

Dana began her career as a Marketing Coordinator for one of the big 5 distributor FMCG companies in Jordan – Interbrands/ Fattal group. During her time in this role, she was responsible for managing the brands of Reckitt Benckiser, and she quickly gained valuable experience in managing marketing campaigns and working with key stakeholders to drive growth.

In 2011, Dana noticed a gap in the market for promoters, ushers, and sales teams, and she decided to start her own marketing agency to specialize in these areas. This experience allowed her to gain extensive knowledge in managing marketing campaigns and working with big clients such as Samsung Levant, Orange Telecommunication, Nissan automotive, Kia automotive, and GMK.

Dana’s entrepreneurial spirit and her keen observation of the market needs led her to establish herself as a leading figure in the marketing industry. She has worked with a wide range of clients, including some of the biggest brands in the Levant region, and her work has been recognized for its innovative and effective approach.

Dana has also gained valuable experience working on a twinning project for the EU as a Marketing and PR specialist, and as a Regional Director of Marketing for PROCAPITA, an international management consulting firm. These roles have equipped her with valuable skills in project management, strategic planning, and leadership.

Today, Dana continues to be a leader in the marketing industry, and she is constantly seeking new ways to innovate and drive success for her clients. Her diverse background in marketing, business management, and project management, combined with her entrepreneurial spirit, makes her a valuable asset for any organization.

*This episode was filmed on the 3rd of May, 2023

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Episode 19: Josline El Kholy

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00:00 / 1:10:26

Josline El Kholy brings over a decade of experience as the co-founder of Jozee Boutique, a sustainable fashion brand based in Cairo. With a focus on designing modern, comfy, Boho Chic women’s garments, Jozee Boutique emphasizes Egyptian heritage and culture. Their garments are produced in workshops in Cairo and embellished by local artisans from various regions of Egypt, incorporating traditional embroidery and fabric weaving techniques. Additionally, they utilize fabrics handwoven on traditional looms in Upper Egypt, specifically in Qena and Sohag.

Josline’s role extends beyond co-founding the boutique; she serves as a strategic leader, overseeing business strategy, market identification, product design and development, marketing, and team management. Through Jozee Boutique, she also provides a platform for local designers, NGOs, and artisans, showcasing their work to both local and international markets.

In her previous role as a Development Consultant, Josline specialized in empowering artisans to create marketable products, thereby increasing job opportunities. Her expertise includes market research, creative design, and business development, with a strong track record of successful collaborations.

Prior to her entrepreneurial ventures, Josline accumulated 15 years of experience in the telecom industry in Egypt, holding various roles in planning, strategy, and product/retail marketing. Her responsibilities included channel marketing, international and roaming commercial strategy, marketing strategy and financial planning, and financial and planning analysis.

Josline holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Cairo University and is skilled in strategic thinking, financial planning, personnel management, product development, and market research.

*This episode was filmed on the 17th of April 2023

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Episode 18: Reem Al-Franji

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00:00 / 1:16:40

Reem is the co-founder and managing partner of Habaybna.net, an Arabic-language digital platform that aims to empower Arab parents of children with developmental disabilities and caregivers with the skills and knowledge they need to improve the skills of their children with developmental disabilities and help them improve their skills, with the goal of helping them have a meaningful life.

As founders, Habayebna.net emerged from a special experience with her two children, who suffer from developmental delays. After she and her husband had been on this journey with them for the past 10+ years and met many other parents like them from several countries in the MENA region, they realized that being a parent of a child with a delay requires a lifelong adjustment and requires constant learning, guidance, encouragement, and support.

Hence, the Habayebna.net website was launched in December 2017 with only 140 video clips in the video library. In October 2018, the company began connecting parents with specialists for consultations through a simple system they developed to schedule and monitor calls separately from the website.

Reem works with special education and rehabilitation professionals to provide practical strategies and information that are easy to understand and apply in the daily lives of parents with children with developmental disabilities.

In 2019, with an award from Expo 2020 Dubai, Reem, along with her team, developed the technological infrastructure for the habaybna.net website to provide specialized Arabic content, online consultations, and the e-learning system in one place. The Habaybna application was also launched. Net on mobile phone.

With habaybna.net we provide three main services to parents:

1. A video library that includes more than 800 videos by specialists in special education and rehabilitation.

2. Specialized online courses based on a micro-learning approach to teach parents how they can teach specific skills to their children.

3. Online consultations so parents can easily connect with special education and rehabilitation professionals for 1:1 guidance.

Currently, habaybna.net has more than 5,000 visitors per month, with more than 7,000 registered users, and provides more than 1,000 calls to parents in Jordan.

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Episode 17: Maha Manaf

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00:00 / 1:13:13

Maha always had an eye for arts; as a little girl her notebooks were home to sketches of fairy tales and places she would soon come to visit. Graduating as an Architect in 2004, Maha began her hectic career and longed for another creative window.

With her camera as her new sidekick, Maha saw the world differently through her lens; one without boundaries. Starting from Abu Dhabi, trekking in the Himalayas or stopping to take in the beauty of the Canadian Autumn, Maha captured images, memories and feelings from all over the world.

Having relocated to Toronto 10 years ago, Maha was excited about this new chapter. To date she’s been part of five group shows and three solo exhibitions.

She is now looking to do more with her photography, to inspire, grow & get inspired.

For more about Maha, please check the following links:

www.mahamunaf.com

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Episode 16: Rola Mohammad

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00:00 / 56:14

Rola Mohammad is the co-founder and CEO of ViaVii, an AI-powered travel experience recommendation engine. ViaVii relieves travelers from the hassle of finalizing the last leg of their trips. ViaVii was selected as one of the 22 finalists of the MENA Innovation Challenge of 2020.

Rola is an innovative and performance-driven entrepreneur with a deep passion for products and over a decade of experience in business leadership. In 2014, Rola was selected as one of the top 10 innovative startups in the Gulf region by Hadafi Women Entrepreneurship Competition and was chosen to be their ambassador. She serves as a founding member of Girls in Tech—Jordan Chapter, which is focused on empowering, engaging, and educating women in the technology sector. Rola is a fellow with Open Hands Fellowship & IVLP US State Program, and her latest achievement is winning Challenge 22 competition, focused on enabling technology and innovation for World Cup 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

* This episode was filmed on May 2nd, 2023.

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Episode 15: Ruba Al-Zu'bi

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00:00 / 59:53

Engineer Ruba Al-Zoubi is a Green Strategist 🌿🌱
In this episode, Ruba shares with us personal and professional stories and observations far from the usual boundaries.✨

Ruba is a staunch advocate and a global leader in the fields of climate mainstreaming and green economy. She has enjoyed over 22 years in public, private, non-profit, and international organizations integrating environmental sustainability into policy and socio-economic development. Ruba continues her journey with a renewed drive to share knowledge and create change within people and institutions. In this episode, Ruba shares personal and professional stories and insights beyond usual boundaries.

* This episode was filmed on April 17, 2023.

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Episode 14: Dina Abdul Majeed

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00:00 / 57:19

Dina Abdel Majeed is the founder and CEO of Mothers 360, which she created to support and empower mothers in the Arab world through a mobile application that is considered a smart assistant for mothers. During her twenty-year career, Dina worked for several international companies, and what inspired her to create this platform was that she was the mother of two children. Through her experience, she felt that there was a huge gap in supporting mothers digitally, and since then, her passion and goal have been to help mothers in quick, easy, and reliable ways.