Women Entrepreneurship Week 2017

LAU Beirut and Byblos

The Institute of Family and Entrepreneurial Business at the Adnan Kassar School of Business (AKSOB) and the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) are participating in the fourth annual worldwide celebration of Women Entrepreneurship Week 2017, October 14 through 21, 2017, an initiative started by Montclair State University to recognize and promote women entrepreneurs. Six amazing and inspiring guest speakers are invited to share their experiences with business students at LAU Beirut and Byblos.

Event Schedule

Speakers

Hana Alireza

Hana Alireza is a multi-passionate entrepreneur and mother of three. In 2012 she co-founded Qi Juices, the first company to bring the “green juice” trend to Lebanon and to deliver a cold-pressed organic juice cleanse. Her past experience includes co-founding Bayt.com, the online recruitment company in the Middle East; working at Organic, Inc, during the 90s Internet boom in New York City; and producing the award-winning documentary Seeds. After six years as a partner at Bayt, she sold her share to a U.S. hedge fund and worked as a freelance consultant, writing for several magazines, consulting on the $2 million renovation of the AUB Archaeological Museum and also serving on its executive committee. She was also part of the founding group of volunteers of the Brave Heart Fund for its first seven years, during which the fund helped cover the cost of life-saving surgeries for 1,300 children with heart disease. In 2012 she brought international women’s thought leader and public speaking trainer KC Baker to Lebanon from the U.S. for a three-day intensive retreat. The event attracted CEOs, psychologists, teachers, designers, philanthropists and businesswomen from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, UAE and Kuwait who learned to overcome their fears in a safe and supportive environment, and launch their messages with style and confidence. Hana holds a BA in Old World Archaeology from Brown University and a master’s degree in Islamic Art & Architecture from Oxford University.

Carine Daher

Carine Daher is the co-founder of GarageLuxe s.a.l, a startup that has gained a firm reputation in little time. A creative and fast growing business in the region, GarageLuxe is an e-commerce platform that sells new and pre-owned luxury brands for women. Carine received her bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in banking and finance from the Lebanese American University to start a five-year journey in the banking industry. She then moved into her family business, specialized in international trade of raw materials, and managed the finance department for five years. A mother of two young girls and passionate for fashion, Carine decided it was time to venture into the entrepreneurial world. She partnered with a longtime friend to co-found GarageLuxe. Carine lives in Lebanon and her future with GarageLuxe is promising and full of exciting plans.

Leila Fakih

Leila Fakih is a Lebanese who grew up in Dubai and graduated with a BA in Political Science from AUB. She worked for HP in Dubai for 10 years managing Consumer Sales Business across the Middle East, where she grew the sales team to 17 staffers and increased the consumer business by 60%, all while completing her MBA. She then shifted away from the corporate world, left Dubai for Paris and Lebanon and explored the art and design fields, working for Canvas Magazine as a business development manager and then setting up the marketing department at Nada Debs Furniture. Upon settling in Lebanon, Fakih co-founded Qi Juices in 2010 with Hana Alireza, the first organic juice bar to open in Lebanon, and after six rollercoaster years Fakih decided to change her career path to the field of education. She is now completing a diploma in special education at AUB. Fakih has three children, all under 8, and still drinks Qi’s organic juice all the time.

Roula Moussa

An Arab Venturesome Investor and Innovator. Roula started at a very young age right after her graduation from engineering school as an entrepreneur and turned challenges of being a Woman in Tech into opportunities. She founded Netways the pioneer of internet technologies and innovation in the MENA region and successfully grew the company by acquisitions and joint ventures to achieve global reach.

Her contributions have been acknowledged and lauded, repeatedly, with honorary awards that include “The Lebanese Outstanding Women” in 2012 and “The Forbes 200 most powerful women in the Arab world” listing in 2014.

Roula realized the importance of the knowledge economy and focused on innovation, technology advancement and Entrepreneurship as key driving forces behind economic growth and building the technology expertise of the MENA Youth.

Roula contributed in founding the Lebanese Association for Rural development and the Talentways program that are working to help youth discover their talents and pursue further opportunities in the ICT industry.

She is constantly creating and supporting innovative initiatives that are experimenting with new approaches to global problems, including the changing nature of employability and the socio-economic development of the MENA region.

Her main challenge remains Lebanon’s advancement, to that end she has conceptualized a Digital Platform “Diasporaid” to capitalize on the enormous potential of Lebanese diaspora to contribute to employment and economic growth in Lebanon on a bigger scale.

Sarah Hermez

Sarah Hermez is a Lebanese fashion designer born and raised in Kuwait. She pursued dual degrees in fashion design at Parsons the New School for Design and media/cultural studies at Eugene Lang the New School for Liberal Arts in New York. Merging the two worlds, she is passionate about bridging the social and the creative industries. Hermez moved to Beirut in 2010 and launched Creative Space Beirut (CSB), a free school of fashion design providing quality creative design education to talented individuals who lack the resources to pursue a degree at increasingly costly institutions of higher learning. She continues to direct the program and act as mentor to the students. Sarah is also the co-founder and designer of brands SECOND.st, a socially conscious brand with a progressive take on the classic shirt, and of CSB ready-to-wear. A percentage of the profits of both brands go back to support the free school.

Mina Hussein

Mina Hussein, a Lebanese entrepreneur since 2012 is co-founder and managing partner of GarageLuxe s.a.l, a leading e-commerce platform that sells new and pre-owned luxury fashion brands. Mina received her BS in Graphic Design from the Lebanese American University in 2001 and earned a spot as an art director in Paris, specializing in branding and packaging of luxury products in the food and cosmetics industry. After 12 years in this field, Mina ventured into an innovative business to introduce the notion of smart shopping into the region. As such came GarageLuxe, which Mina established along with a longtime friend. In addition to her current business, Mina is a family-oriented person with two children. She is a fashion addict and a contemporary art enthusiast. She lives in Lebanon.