Women Power Podcast with Wafa Alobaidat

Basma Tawakol is an entrepreneur and Founder of Dayra with over 12 years of experience working with tech startups and community service organizations. Dayra is a platform promoting ethical and sustainable fashion retailing. The startup was recognized in several mega-events in sustainability and entrepreneurship, got incubated several times, and won multiple grants. Basma was also the co-founder of Ezbet Project, a collaborative project between the University of Stuttgart in Germany and Ain Shams University.Basma Tawakol’s startup was recognized in several mega-events in sustainability and entrepreneurship, got incubated several times, and won multiple grants. Starting her professional career in a fast-growing technology startup ‘’Cloudypedia Google premier partner’’, a young dynamic working environment enabled her to hold managerial positions at a young age and work on diverse projects between Cairo and Dubai, her most rewarding and most recent role was holding the position of Deputy General Manager at '' Mahrati.com '' .She has participated in several programs and events related to youth empowerment as a mentor and lecturer to talk about entrepreneurship. Basma also volunteers in an NGO called ''Bena2'' serving underprivileged villages in Upper Egypt by providing acceleration and incubation programs.

Dr. Maliha Hashmi served as the Executive Director and Co-Head of the Health, Wellbeing and Biotech Sector at NEOM, where she also served as the Executive Director for all Strategic Partnerships. She also served as the Deputy Chair of the NEOM Covid-19 Leadership Taskforce.Maliha Hashmi, is also an esteemed delegate of the V20, where V20 is a global platform of value experts and practitioners that has come together on the sidelines of the G20 presidency to actively engage with the process of the Group of Twenty (G20).She is also a regular contributor for Forbes. Recently, Dr. Maliha Hashmi, was selected and recognized as one of the Top Seven Most Talented Emerging Female Health Leaders of the MENA region. Dr. Maliha Hashmi has held Senior Executive roles in various sectors and globally renowned organizations and is a well-known name in the region for health & wellbeing. Dr. Maliha Hashmi is listed as one of the top 20 women in the Nation in the United States of America for her achievements making it into the Who’s Who in America List.

In this episode, Munira Almuammar dives deep into her career trajectory and fanning her entrepreneurial spirit which led her to creating Barakah with her co-founders. From working at BUPA to her creative role at MDLBEAST, she gives us an insight into her life and what it's like working as a Product Manager in MDLBEAST records, as well as managing Barakah as the CMO. She talks about her passion for discipline, her drive to do better, juggling multiple roles and helping create a more sustainable environment through her impactful mission with Barakah.Munira Almuammar is a Multi-versed professional and entrepreneur with a strong experience in operations, product management & digital transformation. Working in multiple industries from health insurance to entertainment and leading on strategic projects across the board. With a strong passion for innovation, sustainability, and food; Munira co-founded the first surplus marketplace platform in KSA-Barakah. Listen to her episode, out now!

In this episode, Danielle shares poignant stories of her life and her turning point with her career and personal life. She talks about her passion for photography, fashion and being a creative individual all on all with the hunger to make it big. She featured in the new 2022 Netflix docuseries called, The Most Hated Man on the Internet, where she tells her own horrific story of non-consensual intimate image abuse online. Green aims to use her platform as a way to provide truth in storytelling and hope to a world in need of strong, female voices creating change. Her goal is to cultivate a  community of changemakers by sharing victor's testimonies and provide resources for victims so they can begin their victor Journey.Danielle Green is an award-winning creator in the fashion, beauty, lifestyle and wedding industries. She is a branding consultant with a niche in art direction under her own agency and master photographer and owner of L A Y E R S, an adventure photography company based in the United States. You can see her work in numerous publications including Southern Living, Martha Stewart, British Vogue and Brides magazines to name a few. Listen to her inspiring story!

In this episode, Tatiana Rahal dives deep into her career trajectories and shares how she climbed the success ladder to become Talabat UAE’s first female managing director. She talks about being driven to be a good team leader while providing more value to partners and clients. She also stresses on the importance of having a strong internal and external support which is vital in helping you achieve your goals and make the impossible possible.Tatiana Rahal is the first female Managing Director of talabat UAE, the region's leading online food delivery and q-commerce platform. She started her career in New York City working on data analytics for global brands as Mazda, Visa, and Bristol Myers Squibb.After four years, Tatiana joined a top tier management consulting firm in the MENA region where she got the opportunity to work on a diverse set of projects in Berlin, Dubai and Qatar. However, wanting to follow her passion for food and technology, Tatiana decided to join talabat UAE in 2017 as Corporate Performance Manager before moving to Oman as Managing Director in 2019. Listen to her episode, out now!

In this episode, Yolanda Lee shares how Uncommon was originally conceived as an invite-only dinner series in response to a desire for conversation and connection with other women in leadership, many of whom worked in male-dominated environments. As each event grew and continued to resonate with these women, Yolanda took the leap to leave her leading role in a high growth startup to make leadership less lonely for female leaders and see more women owning and making decisions. She talks about her ultimate goal - to help women in leadership achieve success not just in their careers, but give them the confidence to build their dream life and continue to propel every generation after.Yolanda Lee founded Uncommon in April 2021 as a private leadership network for the next generation of female leaders in Singapore. Having lived in 10 countries, she saw there was more that connects than divides and wanted to see what change she could help make for women beyond her role in the corporate world. Yolanda’s passion for technology and personal experience as a woman in senior leadership led her to spend the past two years building a comprehensive product that will empower and uplift women leaders through a blend of coaching, peer support and community programming. Uncommon also builds their own technology that will utilize machine learning to hyper-personalize the leadership development experience for each member. Listen to her episode, out now!

Sawsan Chammas Haber, has made her mark in the interior design world since 1996, first as the main designer at one of the prestigious firms in Beirut, then within Dubai based Dipiugi interior design Studio, by handling highly luxurious projects that she has designed and executed in the UAE.In this episode, she talks about her road to success and life as an entrepreneur and how she established her own furniture brand specialized in kids interiors, K-Kids. This eventually led her to securing two furniture franchises to the UAE: the Italian Giovanni Sforza and Estetik Decor, a Turkish brand.Sawsan Chammas Haber is an Entrepreneur and interior designer who has made a name for herself in the interior architecture space through an aesthetic style where she perfectly draws the contours of elegance in both sleek contemporary and classical luxury. Sawsan has been featured in many magazines since her early beginnings like Emirates home, OK Middle East, Lamasat and many others. But it was in 2009 that she started her TV appearances as a weekly guest on MBC morning show for more than two years discussing various subjects related to her field that made her a known public figure.She organized many workshops and videos in collaboration with some international brands such as Ferrero Rocher Middle East and Swarovski, Dubai speaking about different design-related subjects giving home styling tips. Tune into her episode to know all about her story!

In this episode, Anisa Ismail explores scaling a social impact startup and persevering through all the ups and downs in her journey. She takes us through her life story that was filled with figuring out a way to be able to be a catalyst for change for the people around her and then finding her way to becoming an entrepreneur. She shares how she brought her most loved venture The Unplugged Initiative to life then pivoting to KidsUnplugged and eventually scaling it to Playcation. Anisa Ismail is an entrepreneur and Founder of The Unplugged Initiative. Being passionate about teaching, she moved abroad to pursue her dream career. She worked in a variety of Education establishments for 6 years which led her to creating KidzUnplugged - a social impact startup focusing on creating spaces for children to disconnect from devices and connect with each other. Two years later she expanded the business and created The Unplugged Initiative - the world’s first ever community center focused on digital wellness for young children, teens and young adults. She is also the Author of a digital detox parenting book titled 'How Electronics Stole Childhood. She is also an award nominated Entrepreneur, and has been featured in several National publications for her work in the UAE community. Listen to her episode now!

Listen to this invigorating episode with beauty and wellness entrepreneur Miriam Abadi as she takes us on her inspiring journey of finding her path and owning it in the competitive beauty industry. From leveling up in a corporate space to eventually finding her true calling as an entrepreneur, Miriam shares it all. She talks about the importance of curating authentic content as a social media personality and also stresses on being in touch with your most genuine self in order to achieve that.Miriam Abadi is an entrepreneur, influencer and editor. She is the Founder of Middle East’s first ever dedicated beauty and wellness platform Tru and Beyond. Miriam is on a mission to strip away boundaries, stereotypes and filters to unveil an exclusive new definition of beauty and wellness. With a massive following on Instagram, Miriam uses her influence to share authentic, real-life content that resonates with her audience. Known to speak openly about her pursuit of mental, physical and spiritual wellness, Miriam uses her social media channels to promote a mindset that places community and well being above all else. Listen to her episode, out now!

In this episode, Fatima Al Banawi talks about donning multiple hats as a creative visionary. From an actress to director and a profound storyteller, she has done it all. She dives deep into the challenges it required to make a mark for herself as a woman from the MENA region segwaying into a space like arts and entertainment. Fatima Al Banawi is an internationally acclaimed actress and storyteller whose starring role in the feature Barakah Meets Barakah, was foundational for Saudi cinema. She was selected by Time Magazine as part of its Young Generation Leaders List (2018) for her storytelling ventures that highlight the intimate tales of life in Saudi through her project The Other Story. Fatima was also selected as a jury member at the Feature Film Competition within the 11 edition of the Malmo Arab Film Festival. In addition to that, she has officially become the brand ambassador for the French luxury manufacturer Cartier International SNC.Listen to her inspiring episode, out now!

In this episode, Maha Gorton discusses her profession as an entrepreneur and brand consultant.  As a working mother, she shares how she has structured her life to be her own boss and created her own path to achieve a work - life balance. She talks about how Little Farasha was founded, an accessories brand which was born out of her own needs as a mother and all the things she desired for her children. Juggling between multiple roles, Maha aims to utilise her platform in a purposeful way by highlighting the importance of sustainability and raising awareness about women’s rights and wellness.Maha Gorton is a luxury brand consultant, content creator, designer and mother of 3. After studying Business Management at Manchester Business School, Maha merged her passion for creativity with her business background, in 2012 she launched the online kids wear and accessories brand Little Farasha. Maha’s love of fashion and style led her to working with numerous international fashion houses and luxury brands as a content creator and ambassador, and most recently, she has expanded the scope of her work to include holistic consulting for luxury brands internationally. Maha’s personal journey allows her to use her platform to raise awareness for causes close to her heart such as sustainability, women’s rights, health and wellbeing. Listen to her episode, out now!

In this episode, Karen Osman shares how her passion for thrilling storytelling led her to publishing an array of bestselling crime thrillers. From her journey in writing to what it took to become a successful author, she dives deep into it all. She talks about all the diverse experiences she had from travelling extensively, teaching and working in sales & marketing space, which led her to recognize her passion for writing and publishing her novels. She is on a path to help other authors develop their writing skills by inspiring them through her own creative writing process. Karen Osman is a best-selling novelist and writing coach. She won an award at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature for her first crime-thriller novel, The Good Mother. Since then, The Good Mother and her second novel, The Home were both number one bestsellers.​ Karen launched her signature online writing course, Kick Start Your Book with Karen, designed for budding authors to help write their books. The course also offers a six-month one-to-one coaching programme. She also has a book club by the name Karen’s Book Club, a free online book club where she shares reading recommendations, giveaways, and a behind-the-scenes look into her author life.

In this episode, we unravel Mona Khashoggi’s passion for showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world through the medium of live theater. She shares how multicultural background and upbringing has influenced her to create and produce shows with traditional musicals and costumes. She talks about how she wanted to do more that would help the young people in the west understand and love the middle eastern culture that she was promoting for more than 20 years. Believing in what she wanted and getting inspired by the great singer of the Arab world Umm Ul Kulthum helped recognize her true calling and led her to write and produce her own international play based on the life story of Umm Ul Kulthum. Mona Khashoggi is a theater and film producer, playwright and prominent patron of the Arts. She specializes in reviving cultural stories from the Middle East and bringing them to international audiences. Mona's passion has always been to promote the art, culture and music of the Middle East. Mona produced and wrote the play Umm Kulthum & The Golden Era. She is also working on new ballet and musical productions supporting young Saudi talent as well as working on short films and documentaries. Mona won the best script of short play at Ithra, and just wrote her first novel: Jaffa Orange Groves.

In this episode with Aya Ahmad, we dive into her entrepreneurial journey as a third generation diamantaire. She shares the inspiring story behind creating Fyne from scratch and everything that goes behind the scenes of designing sustainable and timeless pieces by utilizing lab grown diamonds. From being a solo Founder to investing in her brand and scaling it, she shares her creative process of crafting exquisite jewellery pieces with an aim of empowering women through her elegant and eye-catching collections. Moreover Aya sheds light on the importance of ethics and sustainability that are the hallmarks of her brand Fyne. Aya Ahmad is a third-generation diamantaire, Founder and Creative Director of Fyne Jewellery. She is on a mission to revolutionise the diamond industry through her empowered jewellery brand, Fyne. After starting out as one of the few women in the rough diamond trade, she saw a space for sustainable, ethical, and accessible jewellery. This saw her launch Fyne Jewellery: the first lab-grown diamond jewellery brand in the UAE. The brand prides itself on crafting sustainable, accessible and timeless pieces that can be passed down for generations.

This episode provides a glimpse into the life of a multicultural entrepreneur whose journey is fueled with her passion for beauty and glamour. Haifa Addas, Founder and CEO of Instaglam shares her unique story from a multicultural background to working as a marketer for luxury brands, a journey that inspired the inception of Instaglam. She talks about how she envisioned Instaglam as a platform that would empower and build a community of beauty professionals truly changing the way people utilize beauty services. She believes in the power of learning from failures and advises to never give up.   Haifa Addas is the CEO and Founder of Instaglam, an online platform that brings beauty experts together under one roof, and closer to anyone’s reach. She sowed the seeds of a unique business idea through her passion and great sense of appreciation for beauty and glamour. INSTAGLAM envisions revolutionizing and simplifying the way we use beauty services. Previously, she also worked as a marketer for luxury brands like L’Oreal, Lancôme, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and also styled a number of celebrities for leading Pan Arab magazines. She is on a mission to give artists the opportunity to reach their potentials in every way possible through Instaglam.

In this episode with Sara Chemma, we dive into her entrepreneurial journey as the Founder of Citron, a brand cultivated to fulfill the needs of mothers and their children. As a mompreneur she recognized the region’s need for sustainable and innovative leakproof lunch boxes that led her to switching her career path from co-heading MBC ventures to sowing the seeds for Citron. She talks about the expansion of Citron over the years and her personal  funding strategy. Sara Chemmaa is the CEO and Founder of Citron, a Dubai based brand that creates and supplies innovative mealtime products to families. Inspired by her own children’s needs, Sara founded Citron in 2017 after she identified a clear need in the market for stylish and leakproof lunch boxes. Previously Sara co-headed MBC Ventures and was a senior team member of MBC Group Strategy & investment team in Dubai. She also worked as a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company and was an investment banker with Societe Generale.

This episode with Dalal Alrayes gives you an elaborate insight into the world of fintech and scaling a fintech startup! Dalal shares her experience working in corporate and how her transition into entrepreneurship was nothing short of challenging. The idea of pursuing something different which could bring change in the region led her to sow the seeds for Spare, a financial platform which helped change the financial mindset of people. She discusses having a huge diverse team at Spare and how the app Spare offers unique solutions and enables its customers to track their spendings which in result could bring financial awareness. Moreover she shares her thoughts on the growth of fintech in the region.Dalal Alrayes is the co-founder and CEO of Spare. Spare is a personal finance application, designed to improve your spending habits and help you grow your savings as well as pay bills and transfer funds. Dalal has always been a serial entrepreneur and prior to founding Spare, she worked as an investment manager at Global Investment House’s private equity team, where she helped a variety of companies across the Middle East increase their value by turning around their operations, restructuring management, and redefining their product offering. Before that, Dalal worked in hedge fund investing. Listen to her episode, out now!

In this inspiring episode with Loulwa Bakr, we get all the scoop behind her successful career in corporate finance, investment banking and VC. Loulwa aims to be a role model for all the young women emerging out of the MENA region with big dreams to make a name for themselves in an industry that is heavily male dominated. She shares how she pivoted and trusted her gut to answer her true calling and lead a notable journey in finance and onwards to becoming a partner at Chrome Advisory.Loulwa Bakr led a notable career in corporate finance and investment banking spanning 15 years, culminating with heading the investment banking division of Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia. As an industry pioneer, she participated in various CMA committees that reviewed regulations at the inception of the CMA, and led some of the landmark transactions in Saudi capital markets. In addition to being recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, she is currently an independent member of the board of directors of Reyl Finance (MEA), an independent member of the board of directors and investment committee of Jahez (Saudi Arabia) and a member of the advisory board of Columbia University’s Global Centers (Amman).

In this episode, Audrey Nakad shares her passion for education space and early experiences of tutoring. She mentions how that phase made her realize she wanted to do more and make a difference in society by reshaping the education system. The need to transmit knowledge and support the development of students and help them reach their full potential led her to start an online tutoring platform Ostaz. She talks about its inception and its purpose of connecting students with tutors in the region. She has a great vision and perseverance to bring change in the future of learning and teaching through Ostaz that will eventually create opportunities for youth. Audrey Nakad is the co-founder and CEO of Ostaz. The #1 online private tutoring platform in the MENA that provides you with the right teacher to help you achieve your learning needs.  In 2019, she was listed on Forbes 30 Under 30. She sold her 1st startup, a painting business in Montreal while she was 18.She was also a part of a rotational leadership program in one of the leading insurance companies in North America “Sun Life Financial” where she developed her leadership and strategy skills.

This episode with Fajer Al Hashel focuses on mental strength and equality among people regardless of their abilities. Fajer discusses her career shift and  experience from working in the banking industry to becoming a special education teacher. She advises parents to pay attention to the psychological aspect of children requiring specific necessities. She is on a mission to assist parents in raising and understanding children the right way. Fajer is the founder of the Fajer Al Hashel education institute for educational services and consultations and she’s also a speaker at the Women Power Summit. She has been featured in a number of publications as well as news channels. Fajer works with organizations like Shamsaha and disability awareness to recognize her contributions as a special education teacher. She is the author of children’s books and has 12 years of experience with designing educational programs for children. Listen to her episode now!