By: Ahmad Abu El-Hamd
Living in a developing country doesn’t mean you have no options to reach your ambitious, or even to achieve your dreams. Now it’s time for creativity and disruptive ideas. Creative ideas make millionaires.
In Egypt, women’s rate of economic participation at 33 percent is amongst the lowest in the world. Entrepreneurship offers women new opportunities to generate their own income and help others as they do so. It is an important factor for economic growth and development. Leveraging the untapped potential of women in Egypt will have a positive impact both globally and locally. Entrepreneurship creates new jobs for men and women, which is essential in countries with a young population and a high unemployment rate. Globally, it increases women’s income, leads to relatively higher spending on family welfare, which is critical for reaching key national development goals.
They climbed the walls of entrepreneurship and jumped over the obstacles of a stereotyped gender. With an overdose of wit and determination, they are launching inventive concepts and hand-crafting their own business plans. Female entrepreneurs are taking it upon themselves to pave the way for a new economic model.
While small businesses may not generate as much money as large corporations, they are a critical component of and major contributor to the strength of local economies. Small businesses present new employment opportunities; “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business,” Henry Ford once said. For a region budding with hopeful young entrepreneurs, many in Egypt turn to innovative and most importantly socially and environmentally conscious ways to lead the way with their businesses.
Small businesses contribute to local economies by bringing growth and innovation to the community in which the business is established. Small businesses also help stimulate economic growth by providing employment opportunities to people who may not be employable by larger corporations. Small businesses tend to attract talent who invent new products or implement new solutions for existing ideas. Larger businesses also often benefit from small businesses within the same local community, as many large corporations depend on small businesses for the completion of various business functions through outsourcing.
The mentioned stories illustrate female empowerment rather than powerlessness. Both women had strong minds and great determination, which are essential factors to succeed as a woman. They were both facing strong and conservative local cultures with significant gender inequalities. Their proven ability and determination overcame the obstacles before them.
Rana Gamal, founder of Pineapple. Gifts.
Rana Gamal, a 23 years old, she is recently graduated from the faculty of pharmacy, Cairo University, she preferred not to be a stereotype of other girls, Rana choose her own bath to create her own box, she found her passion in Pineapple, Pineapple is an online gift shop that develops customisable tailored gifts. As gifting is a very special manner of giving, particularly when the gift fits no one, but the person it has been made for.
“We are not like other gift shops, we deliver love, through simple, unique, inexpensive and meaningful gifts. As we believe that happiness exists all around, we are offering the simplest recipe to bake as much of a sincere kind of happiness which lie in seeing others happy while being the reason beyond”. Rana Said.
Pineapple gives me a chance to boost my skills to think like business women, to learn more about business management and marketing plans.
“You might be limited to a strict budget when you want to start a business, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have any options. It is possible to start a business with very little money. if you have the right combination of skills, work ethic, and marketing know-how”. Rna added.
Youssra Tawfik, founder of Kosha Tale.
Youssra Tewfik, 22 years old, graduated from Mass Communication faculty in 2015. She dreams to be an anchor but all radio directors look for experienced applicants. Youssra refused to give in, and preferred to catch up her dream in a different way. She deiced to depend on her voice tone ad skills
The story of Kosha Tale started from that moment; “I started my idea with my two friends. I wanted to express my pleasure to them via my skills. I wrote a script and recorded a sound clip about their relationship. The clip was shown on the outset of the wedding party. The idea admired them and fascinated all attendees. They made a mention to the sound clip via social media as Kosha Tale has become known to everyone in Egypt. Of course, my friends and social media took all the credit of spreading the idea.
Kosha Tale made me learn new skills and develop them like a script-writing, making my sound better, and sound editing. I learned all this via YouTube. I entered into a partnership with a wedding planning company, and my next plan is to establish my own business.
I brainstormed my idea in my room; it still inspires me. I have not needed a different place or aids from others; it is only the creation and belief in ideas that helps me. Small projects coming from the new ideas are valuable treasure and a gate for the economic rise of any country individually and collectively.
We have tremendous ideas; they are out of the box. If they came out into the light, and the technical and administrative support would be given to us, we can do a lot of things.
The young people have to be creative and invest their time and skills. Social media is a business for me; it is like a market I can promote my goods in. I knocked the doors in all the country through it. Your sitting beside me now is the best proof of it”.
Nayrouz Talaat, founder of Direxiona
“Direxiona” is the first online platform in Egypt to train the girls on car driving by female car trainers. The idea of “Direxionia” came into the light at the beginning of this year after it got the acceptance from a national programme for supporting the startups. Nayrouz Talat, the founder of “Direxiona” says, “I attended a lot of activities in the entrepreneurship field. I thought of doing something to solve a problem in our society. I found girls afraid of car driving and could not find a suitable place for learning them. From that moment, I thought of laying out a website dedicated to learn the skills of car driving to girls and women”.
She added, ” ‘Direxiona’ is not a car driving school, but it is an online a company and a website to enable the girl or woman to learn the rules of car driving safely and appropriately by educated female trainers to create a state of harmonisation between them. We care of physiological status of the girls to overcome their fear”.
She clarified that “Direxiona” is different than other traditional car driving. It offers many services to the customer and provides complete database about the best places of maintenance and the availability of spare parts. “If the girl or women called us for a help or an inquiry on the road, we will solve her problem even the training period is finished,” she said.
“The training prices start with 70 Egyptian pounds an hour. The training period is customised according to the customer’s desire. We select the female trainers upon essential standards; they must have at least 5-year work experience in the different styles of car driving. Moreover, they had acquired a specific educational and cultural background matching with the target segment of the project, and have been under the evaluation within a practical training from the beginning, “Nayrouz concluded.
All these stories prove that nothing can stop brilliant minds. Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Successful people are not supermen. Success does not require a super intellect. Nor is there anything mystical about success. And success isn’t based on luck. Successful people are just ordinary folk who have developed a belief in themselves and what they do. Never — yes, never — sell yourself short.
Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success. Remember this too!
