The Learning Curve Podcast | Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.

I LOVE it when I have conversations with young, vibrant and ambitious young women who do not have limiting beliefs or are glazed over by 'what has happened before'.  Rahmeh is that 'driven' woman who is powering through the social norms and making change. She adapting technology to meet social changes, she's riding her own learning curve and taking the best of what she is learning and taking action.   She is Rahmeh, a young pharmaceutical student who happened upon an problem she faced and realised she could make a difference to many more women too in Jordan.  Rahmah Abu Shweimeh is the Founder, Team CEO and Social Communication and Networking Strategist for SheCab, a Jordan based taxi service run by and for women.  As both for profit company and female empowerment initiative. SheCab offers a safe and trusted transportation service for Jordanian women and female tourists, creates new job opportunities and encourages advocacy among Jordanian women.In this interview we speak with Rahmeh who is at the very beginning of her idea and she shares with us the inspiration, the direction and her plan to get it going.  Her key area of importance include the safety of the women passengers and the women drivers. Her vision is to enhance the transportation service in Jordan and as a women rights activists she keen to firmly put women's strengths and their opportunities firmly on the front seat so more women can benefit.this is her story, her journey and her mission.

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The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​Who LOVES to be pampered?  That feeling of bliss and relaxation after you have had a great thai massage or the light and clean feeling after that facial or wax treatment.  Isn't it just wonderful?!  Well my next guest, Natalya Koroleva, is the Founder & CEO of Wellclubs, a wellness & Beauty E-Commerce Platform. They are helping you connect with your next wellness treatment easily and more efficiently.  From a customer point of you WellClubs, helps you search and find treatment you need at the time and cost you want.  From a partner point of view, her platform streamlines the business to customer connection and opens up another revenue stream.Natalya is an ambitious, strategic entrepreneur living in Abu Dhabi. Originally from Russia, her early career was in Health Economics. Her husband was offered an opportunity in Abu Dhabi and thus she found herself wondering what she would do next.  The Entrepreneurial energy of the UAE helped fuel her own ambitions and the development of the Wellclubs concept and now is building a platform that helps customers find treatments and businesses reach out to more customers in a very competitive health and beauty industry. Her BIG vision for her business is to take it across the GCC and beyond.In this episode we talk about the strategic development of Wellclubs, how she is on her own learning curve journey as she is learning and growing with her business within one of the MENA regions fastest growing industriesThis is her learning curve story.

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​The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​Three words I would use to describe Rola and those are Driven, passionate and curious.  She's one lady that loves a challenge and this is totally reflected in her achievements.  She is the Co-founder of MICEit.co - an online solution for event bookings & Management. She's the Founder of Friendture, a one-stop location platform for group activity creation, invitation and management. She's a founding member of Girls in Tech Jordan AND she's an Hadafi Ambassador, a Women Entrepreneurship Programme.  Her background isnt technology. She comes from a Commercial Management background in the travel industry but didn't want to be an employee her entire life. She wanted to build something and make a difference.  Her inspiration for everything she does is Steve Jobs!  He is her hero and her go to person when ever she's feeling low and demotivated. She's learnt not to procrastinate and just get things done and done today!  When she needs help, she simply asks. She learnt that if she cant' fix something or she has a weakness in an area, she fills it by asking someone to teach her or share their knowledge.Rola is making waves in Jordan, she's learning, moving forward and striving to see more women in Jordan become part of the technology industry.  In this episode we go behind the scenes of what she does and how she does it.  ​​This is her learning curve story.

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So last week  - I had a new 'first' in my life!  I walked across the desert from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi.  We were supposed to do 120km but unusual stormy weather across the UAE cancelled 2 days of our journey.  The experience was such a mix bag of emotions. From exciting and nerves at the beginning, too 'I don't want to do this anymore' in the middle, too feeling overwhelmed and teary that we had achieved our objective at the end.The Women Heritage WalkThe Women’s Heritage Walk (WHW) from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi honors the women of the United Arab Emirates who made this journey twice a year not so long ago.  Forty-four women retraced this historical trek. Expat women accompanied Emirati women walking in the footsteps of their ancestors who helped sculpt this country. This experience was a celebration of the past and an invitation to shape a vibrant future.My 'Sand sisters' and I took on the dunes of the desert and during the whole walk I was able to assimilate many feelings and thoughts that I could relate back to daily life for women as entrepreneurs!  Women pushing forward, making change and taking action to evolve and grow.  Through this journey I noted words and phrases said by the ladies that reflected life and our work life and how it doesn't matter what you are doing there are key skills that apply everywhere!

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The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​Cherine has such a beautiful energy. She has learnt so  much  through her own entrepreneurial journey that she opens up and shares with us. She shows us her vulnerabilities, her fears, struggles, her Vast Vision, her power to push self doubt to the curb and live the life we feel most passionate about.Growth and learning are like her middle names and she blends that with her creativity to help create a light but conducive structure around her daily life and her coaching schedule.With all that she is a people person, she's one of those people that you feel comfortable with, telling your life story too and then she helps you recognise the chapters which brought most learning to you so

Check out her part 1 of our interview here.

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​The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​When you think about taking the plunge to entrepreneurship, what are the thoughts that come into your head? Obviously there is a lot of success, passion and positivity, but behind that there's also 'the big fear'.  The fear of failure, getting out of your comfort zone, the doubt, the worry.  There is lots that starts to grow when you start to think about. But what's it really like to be that person, on your journey, having to trust your own intuition, having to trust your own choices and feel that every step you make is closer to your dream and yet you still carry that down.  My next guest, Chérine Kurdi is going to take us on her own journey. That takes us from when she started to have niggly feeling in her career to when she became the transformational coach that she is today. She has built a business that she loves and something that lights her up.  This is her story in a two part series and this part one is the beginning of her entrepreneurial learning curve.

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The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​Victoria's Eureka moment was 'focus everything you do on the clients'.  That thinking and direction has guided her through all the work she has done.  Victoria Tomlinson is Founder and CEO of Northern Lights PR & Marketing.  Victoria's entrepreneurial career is enviable.  She's one of the BBC's expert women, she's one of the world's top leadership experts, she sits on a couple of boards, mentors a number of top executives and she's an author.  I was pretty impressed!  [Her Bio below shares more of her business profile].What I learnt from my interview with Victoria is that she has two key drivers.  First, her ability to listen, understand and deliver what her clients need to be successful and secondly she's always in a position of learning.  Between her team and herself they are constantly sharing, learning, building, testing and evaluating so that they can consistently be of great service to their clients.  Even in the interview Victoria says that she is still very much at the beginning of her learning curve which I thought was interesting given she's been an entrepreneur since 1990. But it is all about attitude and prospective.Her secret social weapon of choice is Blogging. This has been a strategic tool in helping her business evolve. She carries a small book where she writes down questions and ideas about future topics to blog about that come straight from conversations with clients and people.  She loves to be of service to her community and add value where she can.Victoria share her story, her journey and really brings home the fact that failure is just a dip in our learning curve and that learning, challenges, achieving our goals and time will lead us to success.  This is Victoria' Learning Curve Story

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The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​I'm always amazed and in awe of people that have the 'let it go and surrender to the flow of life' thinking and are able to talk and walk that path.  Carolin is one of those people and with it she not only succeeds in the business world but she's has also impacted many others too.  Carolin is the Founder & CEO of two great businesses but deep down she is a teacher, someone who wants to transition energy and knowledge from her or someone she connects with, to you.  She loves to empower women and help them on to their road to success.  She recognised a gap in the market when she moved to Qatar. She could see that women who had  aspirations and ambition were not being catered for, so she took the plunge herself and started a community for women where they could get together, share ideas, create connections, support each other and ultimate empower each other. That small idea has scaled itself with more collaborations and more partnerships which has been key in the development of her coaching and empowered communities.All her businesses are ultimately about creating cultures and environments which focus on connection.  Even when I asked her the question about competition, she rephrased it because she doesn't believe in the concept of competition. She prefers complimenting each other and collaboration.  I shared my new word which blends competition and collaboration.  She liked it!Carolin moves energy, she finds connections and builds bridges between them.  Her other passion is Dance, as she is also a dance therapist. This is her go to space when things are not flowing as they should.  Her long term goal is to facilitate 'real' connections with people because she understands that we are spending too much time at the computer, connecting with people but we are not satisfying our craving for real human connection.I really enjoyed my conversation with Carolin.  She left me with lots to think about and Im sure she will have that same impact on you.This is Carolin's Learning Curve Story!

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The Learning Curve Podcast - THE Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East.​'I love it when people come passed in the Mall or in a cafe and say thanks for helping me find a job'.  Its for that reason Elsbeth loves what she does.  She strives to connect Women to jobs in Qatar and further their career.Elsbeth is the Founder & CEO of Global Women Qatar, Qatar’s first and only recruitment agency to focus exclusively on the recruitment of women.  Elsbeth and her partner recognised a gap in the market for a service focused on the recruitment of women.  A very niche area but they discovered that companies were looking to employ more women in Doha to diversify their workforce.She has faced a number of challenges in the 4 years the company has existed but Elsbeth has tackled her learning curve of business activities and she has been determined to make her company work and be recognised in the market as a quality recruitment company. Elsbeth is a people connector. She studies the requirements of the companies she works with and her potential candidates so she can make the right impact in both areas.  Her gut feeling is a powerful tool in her kit. ​This is Elsbeth Learning Curve Story!

How would you make your community more sustainable?  Make it not just about creating economic growth and the creation of jobs [which will happen] but more about creating multiple layers of economic, social and environmental value where you and your community all benefit?  Does this sound like something you could do or want to be part of?My next guest, Dina Sherif, is on that mission.  She is passionate about finding better ways that serve everyone better and her vision is focused on creating sustainable societies.  Her goal is to see her business be leading the way in the commercialisation of social innovations.Her second business called 'Entrepreneurs with Impact Ventures' is all helping entrepreneurs who build businesses that tackle major issues in society, so entrepreneurs that focus on key industries like Education, Energy, Healthcare and Environment. She wants her business to be seen as the entity that changes the mindset of individuals and businesses within growth markets.Her third project is at the core of everything she does.  Its aim is to see more women in business. Women are an untapped market and businesses are missing out on potential economic growth.I thorougly enjoyed my convesation with Dina. She's an Economist, a Researcher, definitely a thought leader and change maker in Egypt and beyond. She is passionate, driven and was full of great nuggets of insight and experience.  She is  one women to watch in the coming years to see how her philosophies, her studies and business insight for this region develops.

More Interviews with Women Entrepreneurs in the Middle East 2015 & 2016