Riyada: Business, Tech, and Innovation in MENA

This month, the Riyada podcast featured the talented men and women advancing MENA’s film scene to better understand how creators in the region fare against the global media industry. To conclude, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with film director, writer, and poet Hind Shoufani. Hind’s life experiences in Damascus, Amman, Beirut, Dubai, and NYC have shaped her values, stories, and career trajectory, while celebrating her Palestinian identity.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Sherry Carlin, who serves as Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Jordan. MD Carlin discussed USAID’s extensive programs targeting youth economic empowerment, breaking down barriers to women’s employment, and addressing issues related to climate change and water scarcity, among other efforts. 

Ali Jaafar, head of the film division at MBC Studios, produced numerous films, including The Swimmers (2022), King of Thieves (2018), and The Idol (2015). Ali discussed his transition from journalism to production and desire to elevate diverse narratives from the Arab world to regional and global audiences.

في هذه الحلقة نواصل تركيزنا على صناعة الأفلام و الفنون في منطقة الشرق الأوسط مع مخرجة أفلام أردنية وداد شافقج. ركزت أعمالها على قضايا المرأة و حقوق الطفل و غيرها من القضايا الإجتماعية. تشمل اعتمدتها الإخراجية الفيلم الوثائقي القصير هوية 000 و فيلم الراكب الأخير الذي كشف حقيقة اللاجئين السوريين الذين فروا من مخيم الزعتري في شمال الأردن. استمعوا لهذا النقاش الشيق مع وداد هنا.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Amin Matalqa, a pioneering filmmaker from Jordan. Amin’s first film, Captain Abu Raed (2008), won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award and was the first Oscar submission from Jordan. He’s gone on to direct other films and TV shows, including Disney’s soccer drama The United (2012) and Jinn (2019), Netflix’s first Arabic show.

Romouz Sadeq joined the Riyada podcast to discuss her transition from the corporate to startup world in Jordan. Romouz is the Founder & CEO of Mrayti – or ‘My Mirror’ – the Arab world’s first specialized mobile beauty salon. Mrayti delivers beauty services and products to customers’ homes, offices, and gatherings at any time and at any place.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa sat down with UNICEF’s youth expert at Jordan’s country office, Giorgia Varisco, to learn more about what she sees as the most pressing challenges and promising solutions facing youth. Giorgia detailed the organization’s work to address Jordan’s high youth unemployment - particularly among women - with an emphasis on preparing young people for the world of work.

Dalia Said, Co-Founder and Learning Director at ElRehla, is a young social entrepreneur from Egypt. ElRehla - or ‘The Journey’ - hosts unconventional networking experiences outside of urban settings, bringing together founders, industry leaders, and corporate teams for a reflective and habit-changing retreat. The organization aims to create a more connected community of professionals in Egypt and across MENA. 

Hamad Al Awari is a young stand-up comedian, entrepreneur, and marketing expert from Qatar. On this episode of the Riyada podcast, Hamad shared his decision to pursue an unconventional career route in the MENA region, later inspiring other young people to join the media and arts. He also discussed the importance of enhancing digital literacy so MENA’s youth can take advantage of emerging opportunities, especially in the post-Covid global economy.

At the Doha Forum held in March, MEP Director Merissa Khurma sat down with His Excellency Mohammed al Mannai, Qatar’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology. HE Minister al Mannai shared the importance of digital transformation in today’s global economy and Qatar’s strategy for expanding access. This episode of the Riyada podcast features their discussion.

في هذه الحلقة من بودكاست "ريادة" تحدثت مريسا خورما مع محمد عبيدات، المدير التنفيذي لمركز الملكة رانيا للريادة و هو منظمة غير ربحية تأسست عام 2004 للمساعدة في تطوير ودعم ريادة الأعمال التقنية في الأردن. تحدث محمد عن خبرته الشخصية في عالم الريادة في الاردن و المنطقة العربية و عن البرامج و النشاطات المختلفة الذي ينظمها المركز التي استفادت منها آلاف من رواد الأعمال والمهنيين والطلاب في جميع انحاء الأردن. استمع هنا! 

This episode of the Riyada podcast looks at one of the main features of the workforce development challenge in the MENA region: the skills mismatch. One organization dedicated to closing this gap is Edraak, a massive open online course (MOOC) platform and key initiative of the Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan. Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Shireen Yacoub, CEO of Edraak since 2017, who leads the company’s skills strategy, preparing youth for the digital economy.

MEP Director Merissa Khurma introduces her new co-host of the Riyada podcast, Imad Shawa. In this discussion, Merissa spoke with Imad about his journey as an entrepreneur in Amman, Jordan, and the decision to launch his own podcast, Howdy Arabia. 

ضيف الحلقة  سليم نجار ، رجل أعمال سوري في عمان ،ومؤسس موقع «شرقي شوب»  ،المتجر الالكتروني،الذي  يساعد الحرفيين في الأردن للوصول إلى شريحة واسعة من الزبائن. إستمع إلى قصة سليم الملهمة في عالم الريادة و الإقتصاد الرقمي. إستمع هنا!

Dr. Yazan Hijazi joined the Riyada podcast to share his insight as the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence at Al Hussein Technical University (HTU) in Amman, Jordan. He discussed HTU’s efforts to reform, modernize, and upgrade technical and vocational education to be more in sync with labor market demands. 

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, host Merissa Khurma spoke with Tala Al Kurd, a psychotherapist in Jordan and host of the podcast ‘Yalla Nehki’, translating to “let’s talk”. This conversation delves into Tala’s efforts to increase awareness and demystify concepts around mental health.

As the Ready to Launch series, a joint collaboration between Riyada and Amman-based podcast The Straight Up Start Up, comes to a close, Merissa Khurma interviews co-host Rajae Sahouri about his key takeaways. Over the last six months, Merissa and Rajae interviewed 19 entrepreneurs and stakeholders in MENA’s entrepreneurship ecosystem to better understand its evolution and trajectory. Tune in to this conversation on Rajae’s impression and his next steps.

In May, the Riyada podcast will explore the future of education and Edtech in the MENA region. To kick it off, Arwa Shafi and Haitham Al Humsi from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) discuss the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, and the many opportunities available to young innovators. 

This episode features environmentalist activist and entrepreneur Safa’ Al Jayousi to discuss climate change and security in the Middle East and North Africa, one of the world’s most water-stressed regions and the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. With that come concerns of economic consequences and potential implications for political stability and security. Safa’ shares her insight from more than 10 years in environmentalism, mobilizing, training, and campaigning at the grassroots level in Jordan and across MENA.  

تستضيف هذه الحلقة الناشطة البيئية ورائدة الأعمال صفاء الجيوسي لمناقشة تغير المناخ والأمن في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، وهي واحدة من أكثر المناطق التي تعاني من الإجهاد المائي في العالم والأكثر عرضة لآثار تغير المناخ. وتأتي مع ذلك المخاوف من العواقب الاقتصادية والآثار المحتملة على الاستقرار السياسي والأمن. تشارك صفاء رؤيتها لأكثر من 10 سنوات في مجال البيئة والتعبئة والتدريب والحملات على المستوى الشعبي في الأردن وعبر منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا.  

في هذا الشهر سنبحث في رواد الأعمال الذين يركزون على المجتمع والاستدامة للتعرف عن عالم ريادة الاعمال المليئ بالرياديين والرياديات الذين تحركهم أسباب اجتماعية و / أو اقتصادية و / أو بيئية مهمة. نور أبو جبارة ، مؤسس SHEE ،شركة استشارات معنية بالتمكين الاجتماعي والإنساني والاقتصادي ، وحنان شاهين ، الشريك المؤسس والرئيس التنفيذي لشركة Bloom ، أول شركة ناشئة في الأردن “التجربة قبل الشراء" تنضم إلى هذه الحلقة للتحدث عن تقاطع المؤسسةوالنشاط.

This month, the Ready to Launch series looks at social and sustainability-focused entrepreneurs to learn more about how the startup world is buzzing with men and women who are driven by important social, economic, and/or environmental causes. Noor Abu Jbara, founder of SHEE, a Social, Human, and Economic Empowerment hub, and Hanan Shahin, Co-Founder & CEO of Bloom, Jordan’s first “try before you buy” startup join this episode to speak about the intersection of enterprise and activism.

في شهر مارس ، ركزنا على ريادة الأعمال لدى النساء في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا ‏احتفالًا بشهر تاريخ المرأة في الولاياتالمتحدة.  من المواضيع المشتركة التي ظهرت هو التحدي الذي يواجهه المرأة في الحصول على التمويل لبدء الأعمال التجارية او الرياديةوتنميتها.  نستعرض في هذه الحلقة أحد القادة الأردنيين في القطاع المصرفي الانسة نور جرار ، الرئيس التنفيذي لسيتي بنك في الأردن.  سلطت نور الضوء على دور القطاع المصرفي في النهوض ‏بدور مشاركة المرأة في القوى العاملة ، وتشاركنا في رحلتها الخاصة و‏كيفيتناسب دورها مع ‏بيئة رياده الأعمال

In March, we’ve focused on women entrepreneurship in MENA to commemorate Women’s History Month. A common theme that emerged is the challenge for women to access finance to start, and grow, a business. This episode features one of Jordan’s leaders in the banking sector, Nour Jarrar, the CEO of Citibank in Jordan. Nour sheds light on the role of the banking sector in promoting women in the workforce, and shares her own journey and where she fits in the ecosystem. 

This episode looks at the budding entrepreneurship ecosystem of Iraq with the two co-founders of Five One Labs, Patricia Letayf and Alice Bosley. Five One Labs is an international incubator that works to help entrepreneurs in conflict-affected countries launch their businesses.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Maryam Hassani, co-founder of Dubai-based Hydro Wind Energy. This clean tech startup was listed among the top 100 startups shaping the fourth industrial revolution by the World Economic Forum. Maryam discussed her experience as a woman innovator in a historically male-dominated sector and encourages other young women to seek out opportunities in science and technology.

Today, we zoom into the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Jordan and explore how women fare. We are honored to be speaking with Reem Badran, a Jordanian trailblazer who recently won a prestigious award as one of the world’s most successful women in business. Reem was also an elected board member of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in 2009 and 2013, becoming the first and only woman in Jordan to be elected for this post since 1923. 

In February, the Ready to Launch podcast featured key stakeholders in the MENA entrepreneurship ecosystem to survey opportunities and challenges facing the region’s innovators. On the last interview of the month, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Yehia Houry, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Tunisia branch. Flat6labs is MENA’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm that invests in more than 100 innovative and technology-driven startups annually.

تحدث المضيفان المشاركان ميريسا كورما ورجاء ساحوري مع ركيزة أساسية أخرى لمنظومة ريادة الأعمال في الأردن ، ديما بيبي ، الرئيس التنفيذي لمنظمة الشباب الأردنية. في عام 2018 ، أنشأت إنجاز حاضنتها الخاصة mySTARTUP ، والتي تدعم رواد الأعمال الناشئين وأعمالهم. لمعرفة المزيد عن الحاضنة ، تحدثوا مع عبد الله الغويري الذي يعمل على مشروع Edtech الناشئة Safi الذي يركز على إنشاء مجتمع عبر الإنترنت من نظير إلى نظير لمشاركة المواد التعليمية.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Tambi Jalouqa, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Propeller Inc, a Jordan-based venture capital firm. Tambi discussed his mission to leverage technology startups to address the major challenges facing MENA’s economy and entrepreneurship scene, and the issues that remain particularly difficult to overcome, such as the gender gap in locally-led companies.

Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri chatted with another key pillar of Jordan’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, Deema Bibi, the CEO of the Jordanian youth organization. In 2018, INJAZ set up its own incubator mySTARTUP, which supports budding entrepreneurs and their businesses. To learn more about the incubator, they spoke with Abdullah al Ghwairi who is working on his Edtech startup Safi that is focused on creating a peer-to-peer online community to share educational materials. 

سنركز هذا الشهر في Ready to Launch  بودكاست عن ريادة الأعمال في منطقة الشرق الأوسط و شمال أفريقيا على البيئة الريادية في الأردن و المنطقة، ميزات النظام الريادي، التحديات الذي يواجهها، والفرص التي يقدمها للشباب و الشابات. افتتحنا الحوار حول هذه المواضيع مع مروان جمعة، الريادي الأردني المحنك، و وزير الإتصالات السابق، و الذي يعتبر أحد الركائز الأساسية لنظام ريادة الأعمال بصفته عضو في القطاع الخاص و مستشار لمختلف المجالس الاقتصادية الملكية.

في الحلقة السادسة من بودكاست -------- تحدث المضيفان مريسا خورما و رجائي ساحوري مع ريم السمرات، رائدة تصميم سيارات من الأردن. يعود شغف ريم بالسيارات إلى السن الخامسة عندما أهداها والدها كتالوج BMW. منذ ذلك الحين و هي مستمرة في مسيرتها لتصميم السيارات و أسست أول ستوديو للتصميم المركبات في الشرق الأوسط. استمعوا لقصته الملهمة و التي لا تخلوا من التحديات و خاصة كونها إمرأة في مجال و قطاع ذكوري -  تقليديا.    

On this episode of Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Reem al-Smeirat, a pioneer in automotive design. Reem’s passion for automobiles dates to age five when her father gifted her a BMW catalog. Since then, she founded the first transportation studio in the Middle East and hails as the region’s first female car designer. This accolade does not come without challenge, though, as women entrepreneurs still face discrimination and pushback from society.

To kick off 2022, the podcast hosted a discussion on Arab youth, their aspirations for the future and key obstacles they faced in 2021. Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Sunil John, Founder & President of ASDA’A BCW about the latest findings of the Arab Youth Survey. The co-hosts also spoke with Eli Habib, Co-Founder & CTO of the Middle Eastern streaming service Anghami, to share his reactions and insight on this deep dive into where youth stand in the Arab world.  

في الحلقة الثانية من السلسلة المشتركة  بين ريادة بودكاست من مركز ويلسون و الستريتب سترتب في الأردن ، تحدث المضيفان ميريسا خورما ورجاء ساحوري مع فؤاد جريس ، الشريك المؤسس لشركة مقسم في الأردن . روى فؤاد قصته الملهمة . كيف شكلت تجربة والده تفكيره حول المخاطرة وبدء عمله الخاص ، وهي رحلة بدأها في المدرسة الثانوية واستمر في العمل على الرغم من التحديات على طول الطريق. اليوم ، تدعم أعماله تشغيل المؤسسات الصغيرة والمتوسطة الأخرى في المنطقة

In this episode of Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast, a joint series by the Wilson Center’s Riyada and the Straight Up Start Up, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Fouad Jeryes, the Co-Founder of Maqsam in Jordan. Fouad father's experience shaped his thinking about taking risks in starting a business, a journey he started in high school and pressed on in spite of the challenges along the way. Today, his business supports the operations of other SMEsin the region.