Women Entrepreneurs in Lebanon: On the next phase!

Tomorrow’s Youth Organization, in partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, J.P. Morgan, and the Rene Moawad Foundation are so pleased to announce the 10 women selected to move into the next phase of the WEL project! Phase 1 began  with 46 women participating in an intensive 4-day Business Training. Based on training participation and aptitude, 20 women were selected to move into Phase 2, which involved one-on-one coaching/training with the BIAT team and the production of SMART Business Plans for each of the women.

Now we are pleased to announce the 10 women who will move into Phase 3 of the project, which will include ongoing trainings in Business, English language and IT as well as an incubation period with assistance on access to finance, furthering their business ideas and skills!

Meet the selected women:

• Ms. Asma Ayoumi: Asma is an expert in the tasty creation of olives using specific recipes, blends and herbs. Her unique take on traditional olives offers her a nice niche in the local market.
• Ms. Sahar Abou Doleh:  Sahar’s honey from the Lebanese Cedars is a favorite of her local community and she is ready to expand her business and to provide the special Cedar Honey all across Lebanon and perhaps even to other parts of the world!
• Ms. Maysa Kassem: Maysa identified a real need in her local community for a stationary shop, focusing on fax, photocopy and printing services, in addition to stationary materials.
• Ms. Lamia Sawan: Lamia is a real leader and has been working with women in her local community for many years, with a focus on traditional Lebanese mouneh.
• Ms. Howayda Sharaf al Dine:  Howayda is going to take her traditional Lebanese cuisine into every home through an innovative Catering Service!
• Ms. Aziza Abdel Rahim: Aziza had a very successful small business to produce dairy products for her local community but lost her resources through the course of the war in 2007. Now she is ready to get back on her feet and start her business again!
• Ms. Rima al Rachid: Rima has a successful Tile Manufacturing Company and she would like to scale up and increase her client base.
• Ms. Soumaya Jokmak: Soumaya’s sweet creations of dried fruit products, with chocolate and in traditional Maamoul are a delicious treat! She is ready to take her product to the next level with her newly acquired business skills!
• Ms. Layali Chaaban: Layali is a master at flower bouquet design and has an existing flower shop that she is excited to scale up! She has traditionally worked with plastic flowers, but due to local demand, is ready to incorporate fresh flowers, in addition to the design skills she already has.
• Ms. Salma Ajaj: Salma has 35 years of experience in traditional Lebanese handicrafts, crochet and tricot. We can call her an expert! She already has employees and a successful business and is ready to scale up to access a larger customer base.

We wish them all the best of luck in this next phase!