Cohorts | Barkat

Barkat Cohort 4, 11 March 2024

All our cohorts for 2023 are now fully booked out; we are now inviting female entepreneurs from MENA Region to apply for Cohort 4

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Barkat: Cohort 3, Oct-December 2023

Cybelle Maalouf

ex-Lebanon > Greece

Cybelle is the founder of ave destination weddings. She orchestrates impactful weddings in Greece, Lebanon, Spain, and beyond, guided by a set of values. These include donations made on behalf of each couple to NGOs fighting to end the global child marriage crisis and girls empowerment.

Neha Mehta

Nigeria

Neha Mehta is both the accomplished CEO of Tingo Foods and an avid explorer of life's diverse dimensions. With a steadfast commitment to excellence, Neha Mehta has steered her own businesses as a founder to remarkable heights, infusing it with innovative ideas and profound insights.

Fatima Mekdad

Lebanon

Fatima is the founder of Karima cooperative. She studied banking and also obtained a certificate in food safety, which is essential for her business .She has a variety of interests. She loves social work and serving people, for this she works in her own social organisation .

Karima expresses her love for the project, which is full of life, innovation and knowledge. She also likes to mingle with rural women and exchange experiences and pass them on to others.

Nadia Mekdad

Lebanon

Nadia is a passionate educator with 8 years of experience. Throughout her career, she’s made a significant impact on students' lives by focusing on social-emotional learning and English language and goes beyond to ensure students' success.

Currently, she’s writing her Master’s thesis on the integration of artificial intelligence in teaching. She works as a commutation officer at Al Daleel Association.

Suhad Hamd

Lebanon

Suhad is the founder of Dimples. Dimples offers nutrition services and produces healthy snacks using the dehydration process which retains the food’s original nutritional value. Their snacks are healthy yet delicious and they have become the natural substitute for sugary, salty or greasy snacks. Dimples contributes to the local community by purchasing fresh produce from local farmers and creating job opportunities for rural housewives to increase their income

BARKAT PROGRAM

Part of The Goddess Solution

BARKAT, 'blessing' in Arabic, is a social initiative to support female entrepreneurs, based in MENA region, grow as leaders and support them scale their ventures. We are curating a community of female leaders who are surrounded by an incredible blanket of support, from their friends, family, subject matter experts, investors and well-wishers and are provided the platforms to have an International Voice and presence. Ultimately, a humane ecosystem.

Barkat: Cohort 2, June-September 2023

Sarah Joseph

Keserwan District, Lebanon

Sarah is the founder of Live bio, producers of natural and artisanal products from an family domain in Lebanon. Our family of agricultural products promotes organic agriculture and artisanal food processing techniques in the region of Qattine, Ftouh Keserwan.

Ghalia Al Awik

Tripoli, Lebanon

Ghalia is the founder of Positive Vibes a social initiative that works on building a generation of enabled positive mindsets for youth living in Lebanon through opening their opportunities and enhancing their social skills.

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Mona Makkawi

Beirut, Lebanon

Mona is the Founder of Konsult. s.a.r.l, where she works with

organizations on achieving success through three main pillars - Consulting, Coaching & Training. Mona is known for her ability to drive transformational change in organizations, developing and implementing comprehensive HR solutions

Chantal Souaid

Mount Lebanon, Lebanon

Chantal Souaid is a productivity coach and founder of The Weekly Resolution®. She developed The Weekly Resolution® concept that revolves around the Uno-Trio® life balance concept and achieving goals one week at a time. She is also certified in Logotherapy, and a certified John Maxwell coach, trainer, and speaker.

Zahra Sbeih

Beirut, Lebanon

Zahra is the co-founder of Sbeih Virtual Assistance Agency (SVA), a leading virtual assistance company based in Lebanon. SVA is committed to making delegation easy, trustworthy and accessible. We recognize that effective delegation is essential for achieving growth without sacrificing balance.

Joanna Gerges

Beirut, Lebanon

Joanna inherited the Château Cana vineyard from her father, Dr. Fadi Gerges, a man who converted a forgotten land into a vineyard at the very heart of Mount-Lebanon. The aim - to encourage the families of around 30 villages to come back to their homes after the civil war and to turn abandoned lands into vineyards. She continues to ensure this legacy sparkles even brighter.

Ghalia Al Awik

"I had the privilege of participating in the Barakat Program, and I can wholeheartedly attest to the profound impact it has had on my life, both personally and professionally. This program has been nothing short of transformative. The knowledge gained through the program's workshops has enhanced my ability to lead, collaborate, and innovate in my field"

Chantal Souaid

"The program helped me get in touch with myself and with other fellow women who share my scares and challenges and who helped lift me up as I was trying to lift them up. Every woman entrepreneur should be part of the barkat program if you want to have a successful business"

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Zahra Sbeih

"During my 4 months in Barkat, I felt more empowered than ever. Since joining this program, I have grown on a personal and professional level. I embraced opportunities and started a social impact project called Femme Forward Lebanon. I learned to say No to things and to manage my stress levels. And I was introduced to amazing women in my cohort whom I have befriended now for life. I know that I'll always have a support system because of this program."

Barkat: Cohort 1, Feb-May 2023

Lamia Hamroumi

Tunis, Tunisia

Lamia and her sister, Asma, are the creators of naturally dyed clothing and accessories made from natural fiber fabrics with an innovative ancestral style and a more ethical and sustainable lifestyle. Very artisan and very heart filled!

Yvonne Mose

Kisii County, Kenya

Yvonne is the founder of Sbike Biofuels, producers of Boka Biofuel which is a bio-ethanol based cooking fuel 100% made from food waste and by-products and is creating synergy between climate change adaptation and mitigation and women and youth economic empowerment.

Philo Modu

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Philo is the founder of Movazi Afrika. An events venture that coordinates/manages seamless digital events designed for engagement that spark exceptional experience which empowers people to accomplish more. Events they curate include Exhibitions and Expos, Conferences, Workshops, Webinars.

Shakirat Animashaun

FCT, Abuja, Nigeria

Shakirat is a serial entepreneur and is the founder of Flyingdove Mills Plc, a ClimateTech company producing Biochar from Agric waste using Pyrolysis Technology providing clean cooking briquettes saving women & children's health.

Yvonne Mose

"I have gained more confidence through the support of my cohort mates and our coach, Puneet and all the sessions we’ve had so far. This has played a key role in enabling me pitch myself and my business to investors and for the first time managed to win a grant for my company"

Lamia Hamroumi

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to you for giving me the opportunity to participate in the first ever Barkat program. I am honored to be certified by Barkat. Your elegance and moral support give me the strength, confidence and power to overcome my fears and speak in English. Comfortably finish my work in record time and overcome all the pressures that were imposed on me"