CAIRO – 4 March 2018: Dozens of successful Egyptian women entrepreneurs spoke about their startup projects, obstacles and hopes at the “SHE CAN’18” summit, the largest event in Cairo supporting female entrepreneurship.
SHE CAN ’18 was held at The Greek Campus during March 2-3, 2018 with the cooperation of The National Council for Women, bringing together successful women who have overcome personal, career and gender-related obstacles to create unique, impactful projects.
Egypt Today picked up a number of inspiring stories of successful women-led startups to be narrated on the stage of “SHE CAN’18.”
The Doodle Factory
Two Egyptian girls at the mid-twenties, Yasmeen Khamis and Farah El Masry, were inspired by their previous work at an NGO to fundraise for a cause.
Their social startup, The Doodle Factory, arranges painting sessions with sick children and uses their drawings to create everyday lifestyle products such as casters, notebooks, and backpacks for consumers as a constant flow of funding.
Co-Founders of the Doodle Factory Yasmeen Khamis and Farah El Masry during their speech at the SHE CAN’18 summit - Courtesy to Entreprenelle Facebook page
The headstrong duo kicked off their project in March 2016. The company is currently money aiming to fund surgical operations for two poor children with heart disease. The pair are also collaborating with a charity organization to build a library at a school in Upper Egypt.
“We are trying to build and enter the system of ‘purpose for purchase’ into the Egyptian market, which means that you can buy a product that you needs and, at the same time, offer help to another human being or organization,” Khamis said during her speech at SHE CAN’18.
Up-Fuse
Yara Yassin and Rania Rafie co-founded the social startup Up-Fuse in 2013, in aims to promote a sustainable and eco-conscious lifestyle by designing and producing environmentally and socially responsible products supporting local communities in Egypt.
Out of their passion for sustainability, the girls set out to design a product with the art of upcycling. They do not only target the Egyptian market; they managed to export recycled bags to some foreign countries.
All of Up-Fuse’s products are produced in Cairo, from recycling plastic bags to Egyptian Organic Cotton. Working with the NGO Roh El Shabab, they were able to teach recycling practices to sixteen Egyptian poor women from Manshiet Nasser, a Cairo mega slum, in return for money and education. The sixteen women are now employed at Up-Fuse, earning a stable income.
Co-Founder of the Up-Fuse Yara Yassin during her speech at the SHE CAN’18 summit - Courtesy to Entreprenelle Facebook page
“It was never easy; we spend a long time seeking funding and are looking for shops to sell the bags. I always think the main obstacle is that we are girls,” Yassin said at the event.
Yassin racked up the top prize at the WeMENA competition, a business contest designed by the World Bank to support and boost female entrepreneurship in the region, and named a Gender Pioneer at the Detox Conference in Geneva in celebration of the UN Environment Day.
Oasis Community Center
A mother of three children, Sally Hafez founded sustainability education center Oasis Community Center in 2013. Based in Giza, the center’s focus is renewable energy, recycling and furthering environmental awareness.
Inspired by her passion for the environment, Hafez succeeded to provide a joyful and sustainable environment in which the younger generation, children and youth can learn about gardening, up-cycling, and recycling, among other environmental issues.
Co-Founder of the Oasis Community Center Sally Hafez during her speech at SHE CAN’18 summit - Courtesy to Entreprenelle Facebook page
“One of the oasis’ main goals is to allow youth to be part of the solution for environmental sustainability in Egypt by educating and encouraging them to adopt more sustainable lifestyles, implementing simple habits to separate waste as well as save energy and water,” Hafez said.
Mermaid
Gehad Abdullah, an accounting graduate from Ain Shams University, found lacking standardized cleaning services an opportunity for business. Launched in 2015, Abdullah’s startup is already reaping success.
Abdullah said that acting as a middleman between homeowners and domestic workers can help prevent mistreatment and abuse in the workplace.
Co-Founder of Mermaid Gehad Abdullah- Courtesy to Entreprenelle Facebook page
“As legislation does not legally protect domestic workers from exploitation and abuse, and does not provide any kind of insurance to them, we aim to establish a startup where we can preserve their rights and establish proper work conditions for them,” Abdullah said in her SHE CAN’18 speech.
In order to book a home cleaner, the platform accepts requests and schedules them, setting the rate according to the size of the house and number of rooms.
Orcas
Amira El Gharib, 25, co-founded Orcas, Egypt’s first babysitting and tutoring agency offering high-quality educational and childcare services throughout Greater Cairo in clients’ homes during 2014. Orcas offers three main services: babysitting, language service and tutoring.
“We shifted from an offline agency to an online platform and a mobile app,” Gharib said in her speech, adding, “[through the application] you connect with babysitters and tutors in your vicinity.”
Co-Founder of the Orcas Amira El Gharib during her speech at SHE CAN’18 summit - Courtesy to Entreprenelle Facebook page
With over 40 speakers, several panel discussions, an exhibition area and live music, SHE CAN’18 set the bar for women empowerment events in the region.
The event included interactive activities that include one-to-one mentorship clinics provided by over 40 mentors from different fields sharing their experiences and answering attendee’s questions.
The event highlighted successful women who have conquered personal, career and gender-related obstacles sharing their stories to encourage the next generation.
SHE CAN’18 provided much-needed networking opportunities for young women, while providing workshops and mentorship clinics essential for every woman who wants to start a new business, as well as workshops and mentorship clinics crucial for every female entrepreneur’s success.
For entertainment, there was live music, a kid’s area, an exhibition area and some tasty food for the attendees during the two days.
“The main idea behind SHE CAN is to help women and girls understand what entrepreneurship is, the opportunities that lie ahead of them in different fields, and how to transform their ideas into real projects having the required knowledge and experience,” Entreprenelle Founder Rania Ayman stated in a press release.
“One of the biggest issues that cause a gap in the entrepreneurship field is that women are unaware of the available resources in the market, that’s why Entreprenelle acts as the link connecting women to all available resources in one place.”
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