She is Next

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A 50,000 grant to take your business to the next level.
An exclusive mentorship program designed to help you grow and shine.

Visa’s She’s Next Grant Program 2022 Alumni

Founder of ImInclusive

Hafsa Qadeer is a social entrepreneur who founded ImInclusive, a 360 disability-inclusive employment solution in the UAE. Her brother's disability inspired her to create the job search platform in effort to reduce inequalities and bridge gaps between employers and people with disabilities. Since its launch as a community initiative, ImInclusive has provided employment opportunities to people with disabilities in healthcare, hospitality, retail, and more. No other social enterprise with the same model exists across MENA and the majority of its team members (4 out of 7) identify as people with disabilities. Qadeer is also a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and a Vital Voices by Visa Global Fellow. Her efforts in disability inclusion have also earned ImInclusive recognition from the C3 Companies Creating Change Program.

Founder of MindTales

In the early stages of her career, Viktoriya Aksionova moved to the UAE to work for a sovereign wealth fund and gained more than a decade of experience in the asset management industry. With a desire to make a difference in the health tech industry, and first-hand experience with common workplace setbacks, Viktoriya realised that what she was trying to overcome mostly stemmed from a limited growth potential mindset. So, she started MindTales, with a mission to transform the region's workplace wellness landscape. The company's main objective is to help individuals and organizations develop a growth mindset that encourages experimentation, innovation, and risk-taking through science-backed activities and coaching. With nothing but positive feedback from clients, Viktoriya is determined to continue making a positive impact through MindTales.

Founder of Kashida Design

Realizing the dwindling trades of local craftsmen in the Levant alongside the scarcity of contemporary, high-quality local design brands spurred the start of her company, Kashida. At age 23, Mirna Hamady co-founded Kashida, a boutique design studio specializing in bespoke furniture, home accessories and corporate gifts featuring contemporary Arabic calligraphy. The company answers a growing need for specialized niche design with a strong cultural context and retains high-quality global standards of production and finish. Mirna hopes to one day scale Kashida internationally as a proud Middle Eastern home décor brand.

Founders of Shift Eco

Shift Eco is a platform that curates honest & impactful eco-friendly products. It helps consumers and organisations go green. Sukriti and Namrata started their company with a mission to make eco-friendly living easy, so everyone can shift to a more sustainable lifestyle. The pair noticed a huge shift in demand for conscious products where consumers wanted to choose better alternatives for their health and the planet. Shift Eco was started to address the pain points of consumers to choose more eco-friendly alternatives by building knowledge and awareness about sustainable living, making vetted products easily accessible and by providing platforms for consumers to discuss key topics about sustainable living. Shift Eco also works with organizations and helps them build an internal culture of sustainability. Their vision is to build a socially responsible culture so that conscious choices become second nature to each of us.

Sukriti Verma and Namrata Budhraja from Shift Eco

Founders of the Waste Lab

The Waste Lab is a women-owned, impact-driven, and data-led startup in the UAE that works with households and businesses to reduce food waste through nature-based solutions. Lara Hussein and Ceylan Uren, the co-founders of The Waste Lab, started from their home. Although they practiced recycling at home; they could not find a convenient solution to ensure their food scraps would not go to waste and end up in landfills. They soon realised they could turn the planet’s biggest problem, food waste, into a solution that helps regenerate the soil through the application of compost. This would also lead the way for more regenerative farming, food security, organic produce and reversing climate change. With a waiting list of B2B clients, they are looking to scale up and meet the growing demand.

Lara Hussein and Ceylan Uren from The Waste Lab

Practical Business Skills

The Practical Business Skills program by Visa offers free educational resources and interactive tools to help business owners start, manage and grow their small businesses. The program is focused on helping forward-thinking entrepreneurs thrive via a variety of resources available in both English and Arabic.

Learn more about the program