We’ve just concluded the WeMENA 2017 Program! Congrats to our four top winners- UpFuse, NaTakallam, Jaleesa and Alternative Solutions! Scroll down to read more about our winners and finalists.
APPLY NOWWeMENA empowers and equips women entrepreneurs to solve the future’s most difficult problems. Through a business model challenge, WeMENA accelerates innovative solutions that will help eight cities across the Middle East and North Africa build resilience and better adapt to chronic stresses and shocks. Contestants in this challenge will receive business training, guidance from mentors in the Silicon Valley and beyond, and the chance to compete for a share of $150,000 in cash awards.
For this round, WeMENA is looking for entrepreneurs whose ideas build resilience in one or more of the following cities: Beirut, Byblos, Ramallah, Amman, Cairo, Alexandria, Tunis, Casablanca.
Network with mentors from Silicon Valley and around the world
In-Person Workshops & Webinars
Training in business skills, design-thinking, resilience-thinking, networking and pitching
Final Winners receive grants from a pool of $150,000 prize money
Resilience is the ability for individuals, communities and systems to survive, adapt and grow in spite of stresses and shocks. From the impacts of climate change, to an influx of refugees, cities across the MENA face a growing number of environmental, social and economic challenges, which each bring change and uncertainty. Building resilience requires a forward-thinking, interdisciplinary and proactive approach to preventing and reducing the effects of inevitable challenges, rather than dealing with the aftermath of these stresses later.
As the region continues its fast-paced urbanization, city residents will become increasingly more exposed to the adverse effects of climate change, and subject to social, economic, and financial stresses and shocks. In order to build more resilient cities capable of withstanding such hazards, we are looking for women entrepreneurs who are innovating in the following categories:
Ventures in this area will address inefficiencies in agriculture, and will improve food systems to provide better food security for all
Ventures in this area will improve reliable access to electricity, will introduce sustainable energy resources, and will help preserve and restore the environment
Ventures in this area will improve access to water and to sanitation for all
Ventures in this area help create more resilient urban spaces through better connectivity, housing quality, and improves the resilience component of new and existing infrastructure
Ventures in this area improve government transparency and civic engagement
Ventures in this area improve their communities’ health systems and make them more resilient
Ventures in this area use cutting-edge technology to build more robust services to customers, improve financial inclusion in their communities, and help the government better deliver services to those in need by leveraging data
Ventures in this area reduce the bottlenecks in the job market, and improve social cohesion and outcomes
Ventures in this area help communities better prepare themselves in the face of natural disasters, flooding, and extreme weather, among others
Starting Dec 6th, WeMENA will welcome submissions from around the world!
Dec 6 - Jan 17
Submit your application through the YouNoodle platform.
Jan 17
Submissions close and judging period starts.
Feb 20
200 women entrepreneurs will be notified to join WeMENA200, a network for training and mentorship.
Feb 20 - Mar 20
WeMENA200 will develop their project ideas with guidance and resources from mentors.
April 1st
Top finalists will be selected to pitch at the Grand Finale event.
April 29th - 30th
Top winners will be selected to win a share of $150,000 prize money.
On April 29th & 30th, we gathered in Casablanca, Morocco for the WeMENA Grand Finale. Thirty-three WeMENA Finalists from eight cities- Alexandria, Amman, Byblos, Beirut, Cairo, Casablanca, Tunis and Ramallah- came together to pitch for a share of USD $150,000. They were joined by WeMENA Champions, investors, experts and entrepreneurs from across the region.
Meet our four WeMENA 2017 winners, whose innovative projects are building resilience throughout Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and beyond.
1st Place: USD $50,000
Up Fuse
Yara Yassin & Rania Rafie
2nd Place: USD $40,000
Jaleesa
Angela Solomon
2nd Prize USD $40,000 Natakallam
Aline Sara
3rd Prize USD $20,000 Alternative Solutions
Selma Ben’akcha & Meriem Nadi
Congrats to our six other top finalists, who were selected to pitch on Day 2 of the WeMENA Grand Finale. They are each awarded a trip to the United States to continue their leadership and training.
Helping youth seize opportunities.
Capital-free Solar Energy Electrification program for Rural-Communities.
An integrated digital healthcare platform making information accessible.
Light up your skills with memorable CVideos.
Procuring Smarter, Not Harder.
Hire & freelance your way-out.
Learn more about all of our WeMENA Finalists, who were chosen from a selective cohort of 200 women to pitch their projects at the Grand Finale. Each entrepreneur brings distinct and promising solutions that builds resilience in their cities.
E-shop gathering contemporary designers from MENA region.
Remote Automation Monitoring System for Intelligent agriculture.
Connecting households with handymen and women.
Crowdfunding for social Impact Initiatives through Art.
Energizing your waste.
A Banking Service For Everyone.
First Arabic mobile application for Diabetic patients.
Open your eyes, see your city differently.
Personalized career readiness platform for university students.
Consume less, consume better!
Livable cities' hub connecting youth and heritage.
SME's Digital Platform for managing eco-friendly initiatives.
Creating ecofriendly and socially responsible textile from PET Bottles.
Light up your skills with memorable CVideos.
An integrated digital healthcare platform making information accessible.
Digital Health Home for Refugee Families.
Empowering young girls with leadership and entrepreneurship skills.
Hire & freelance your way-out.
Connecting language learners and refugees worldwide.
Procuring Smarter, Not Harder.
Recyling palm waste to combat deforrestation.
Transforming industry leftovers into furnishing solutions.
Jaleesa is creating 100,000 babysitting jobs.
See a doctor anywhere, anytime, for free.
Accessible mental health therapy for underserved communities.
Smart insole for diabetes patients.
CheckMe minimizes the waiting time and tightens doctor-patient relationship.
Up-fuse designs and produces environmentally and socially responsible fashion bags.
We enable sustainable cities through civic tech.
The region's trusted source of expert advice for moms.
Helping youth seize opportunities.
Entrepreneurship academy to diversify sectors of production.
Capital-free Solar Energy Electrification program for Rural-Communities.