Interview with Ms. Samira Mansour

Samira is yet another one of the 20 women currently participating in the WEL project in North Lebanon and below we share with you our interview with Samira!

What is your personal background?

My name is Samira Ibrahim Mansour, from South Lebanon, I am 55 years old. I live with my husband and my four children in Kfarhabou, North Lebanon. I have a B.A in French Literature, and recently I am a member in a women’s association in my village.

What is your business idea?

As I have mentioned before I am from the South and my husband is from Kfarhabou, and both regions are know for having olive tree. My family owns lands that have olive tree but we have an annual problem in marketing the product. As a result, I have planned to get the benefits of having the raw material on one side, and having the skills of doing soap with different scents on the other side. Consequently, when I heard about the WEL Project, I directly applied, in order to enhance my skills, get benefit of the BIAT training experience, and to create a new network for the sale of my products.

Moreover, I am planning to have a brand name in order to be able to compete with others. I should mention here that in order to compete I have used a different technique in using the olives: the olive soap with different scents and I have worked on quality control and proper hygiene conditions.

Furthermore, one of the challenges that I have faced is that I need capital to buy all the needed equipment in order to be able to compete with others. One of my strengths is that my family has a good network, thus I am waiting to finalize the process of having a brand name in order to market the product through this network and the network created through the WEL Project.

What kind of experience do you have?

I have participated in several exhibition all over Lebanon which gave me the skills of negotiation, how to market a product, as well as getting some communication skills. I have participated in intensive trainings on food processing, as well as hygiene, organized by RMF in collaboration with Atayeb Al Rif, a local mouneh cooperation and brand.

What is your dream or ambition?

Since I was young I have a tendency toward commerce as well as a dream of owning my own company. I have been trained with the WEL Project on several topics that enhanced my skills about business. I am sure that I have this ambition because my husband has his own business, and 2 of my children have degrees in Business Management. As both my husband and my son have their own businesses, I plan to have my business in order to prove myself and to let the society benefit from my skills and talents.

Good luck, Samira, and all 20 women of the WEL project!