WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
Bahraini women have constantly grappled with the hurdles imposed by culture, gender gap, and the long-established investment systems in place in society. But despite these challenges, Bahraini women have managed to empower themselves, seize economic opportunities when able and raise their profile as entrepreneurs as competitive and influential as the opposite gender.
In this issue, BEntrepreneur acknowledges the Bahraini women entrepreneurs who have created a positive impact in their special fields of endeavor, and made significant advancements whether big or small, modest or life-changing across the country’s business and economic infrastructure.
MUNA AL HASHEMI
in: Muna Al Hashemi
Muna Al Hashemi is acknowledged as one of the most powerful Arab businesswomen. She had also been ranked as no. 15 in the Forbes ‘Middle East Most Influential Women 2018’, her fourth consecutive year on the list. She is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Batelco Group; a member of the Board of Directors of Umniah, Batelco Bahrain’s sister company in Jordan; and a Board Member of the Supreme Council for Women.
NADA & NOOR ALAWI
www.annadaonline.com
Nada & Noor Alawi, founders of Annada e-Commerce Trading, received special citations as the Best Arab Startup Business, female category at the Mohammed bin Rashid Awards for Young Business Leaders and the 2016 Bahraini Female Entrepreneurship Deal from Her Majesty Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa.
FATIMA EBRAHIM
www.valopay.com
Fatima Ebrahim established Valopay, an online platform that offers consumers a simple, easy and secure system for making online payments instantly, and at the same time enables merchants to sell their products online easily. During a former stint as Community Manager at Kipinhall, she was featured in Forbes and won the 2014 NYU Entrepreneurs Festival Pitch Competition.
DANEH AL-RAYES
www.t-linx.net; www.FeLocal.com
Daneh Al-Rayes is the woman behind T-Linx Technology Solutions, a technology consultancy firm that offers innovative sustainable technology solutions across different sectors customized to address each client’s specific requirements. Daneh is the co-creator of Bahrain’s first bilingual online directory for local businesses, FeLocal.com; and is a founding member of Bahrain Smart Cities Society which links up tech professionals in smart cities.
ALAA ABDULRAHEEM
butterflytechnology.co
Alaa Abdulraheem is the Founder & General Manager of Butterfly Technology. She won third place at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Global Competition 2014 held at the University of Washington, out of 34 teams with a total of 125 students from various countries. Her winning product is the Nail Polish mixer, a combination of a patented, Wi-Fi enabled device and a universal Windows app that delivers custom nail polish on-demand in 50 seconds.
WAFA AL OBAIDAT
www.obaiandhill.com
Wafa Al Obaidat is a recipient of the StartUp of the Year award in 2015. She is the brainchild, creative director and founder behind Obai & Hill, a PR and Design agency made up of young emerging creatives in the design, PR and marketing fields. The agency’s creative consulting services were met with high demand in the UK after her online publication, Sketchbook Magazine, became an overnight success. Since then, Obai & Hill relocated to Bahrain to serve GCC clients with bespoke creative services and solutions.
NAJMA GHULOOM
www.majra.me
Najma Ghuloom is co-Founder and writer at Majra, an online platform designed for jobseekers and fresh graduates with easy and friendly search facilities to find job openings in companies and apply to them in an instant.
PARWEEN KAZEROONI
www.mks.edu.bh
Founder and Chairwoman of the Modern Knowledge School, established in 1995 to provide quality education through an American curriculum that also offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program for students in Grades 11 and 12.
SHAIKHA TAREEF
chess.bh
Shaikha Tareef is the CEO and owner of Bahrain Chess Academy, established in 2012 with the purpose of introducing Chess as a teaching tool in the schools of Bahrain and to help the children develop their talents by creating an optimal environment for the improvement of students professional chess skills.
DR. REEM ALSHAIBA
aesthetica-bh.com
Dr. Reem Alshaiba is a Cosmetic and Restorative Dentist , who is also the Founder of Aesthetica Dental Center, which provides dental services at reasonable rates in a fully digital dental centre.
SARA SHEHAB
ig: @body.jar
Sara Shehab is the Co-Founder of the Body Jar, a startup that creates handmade natural and organic based body cosmetics that are totally chemical-free. Sara was a second prize winner at Tamkeen’s Mashroo3i competition, 4th edition.
DR. SARA AL-REEFY
www.londonbreastcarecentre.com
Dr. Sara Al-Reefy, breast surgeon, founded the London Breast Care Center which provides innovative breast care services to women in a caring and compassionate manner. She’s the first Arab female surgeon who received a breast oncoplastic fellowship from the UK and is a recipient of the Female Entrepreneur of the Year award.
MARWA ALJABER
www.madcosmetics.co.uk ig: @madcosmetics
Marwa Aljaber established Mad Cosmetics to provide customers with unique hand-made cosmetic products at affordable prices.
DR. RANA AL-AMMADI
www.dr-rana.com
Dr. Rana Al-Ammadi is a medical consultant in the field of Family Medicine, Sports Medicine and Aesthetic Medicine and winner of the 2017 Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award. She is the owner of Dr. Rana’s Aesthetic Health Center, a state of the art cosmetic and laser centre offering non-invasive evidence based aesthetic procedures.
MARIAM ABDULRAHIM
www.purpleswirlcafe.com purplepatchouli.com
Mariam Abdulrahim is the owner of Purple Swirl Cafe, Purple Patchouli Boutique and Salon, Blow Dry Bar & On The Glow. Mariam is a Bahraini entrepreneur inspired to bring to the GCC the world-class, service-oriented businesses abroad.
FATIMA AL KHUNAIZI
www.dmcafe.com.bh
Fatima Al Khunaizi is the proud owner of Decorating Memories bakeshop and confectionery, which makes custom designed and made to order sweets and chocolate products that can be customized or personalized for any occasion.
MAYSSA AL-GHAWAS
ig: @PlayWorksBH
Mayssa is the Founder of Playworks Decor, and is a Furniture Designer & Decorator who specializes in customized personal spaces for work and play.