Unveiling MENA’s Trailblazing Women in Tech
- With 11 entries, the U.A.E. is home to 55% of the tech brands on the list.
- Jordanian founders are the most represented, with four entries.
Beirut, July , 2023: As MENA continues to evolve as a hub for visionary female founders igniting a technological revolution, Forbes Middle East has released its annual ranking of the most successful 20 Women Behind Middle Eastern Tech Brands for 2023. These remarkable entrepreneurs have not only established robust tech-enabled platforms but are also pushing the boundaries of creativity, innovation, and impact in their respective industries.
Selected from a vast pool of talent, the top 20 entries have astounded investors and consumers with their exceptional achievements, securing external funding and generating impressive revenues. Forbes Middle East’s evaluation encompassed a comprehensive assessment of their entrepreneurial prowess, weighing their ability to create waves in diverse sectors such as Fintech, e-commerce, logistics, agri-tech, healthtech, and proptech, among others. The 20 entries were evaluated based on the amount of external funding they have raised, as well as their creativity, innovation, impact, and revenues.
The U.A.E. reigns as the preferred home for these companies with 11 entries, followed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia with three and two, respectively. Jordanians dominate the list with four founders, followed by Egyptians, British, and Turkish, each with two founders. Among the 20, 15 listees have more than one founding member.
Four of the top five women behind tech brands operate in the U.A.E. For the second consecutive year, iMile’s Founder & CEO Rita Huang Zhen tops the ranking. Between 2018 and 2023, the logistics player expanded its presence to 14 countries, with the most recent expansion being into Poland and Australia in 2023. Mumzworld’s Mona Ataya and Leena Khalil and agri-tech RedSea’s Derya Baran round up the top three. Proptech Rent Now Pay Later platform PRYPCO, established by Amira Sajwani, is the youngest tech company to feature on the list.
Top 5 Women Behind Middle Eastern Tech Brands 2023
1 | Rita Huang Zhen
Brand: iMile
Category: Logistics
Established: 2017
Nationality: Chinese
HQ: U.A.E.
2 | Mona Ataya & Leena Khalil
Brand: Mumzworld
Category: E-commerce
Established: 2011
Nationality: Palestinian; British
HQ: U.A.E.
3 | Derya Baran
Brand: RedSea
Category: Agri-tech
Established: 2018
Nationality: Turkish
HQ: Saudi Arabia
4 | Nour Sleiman
Brand: Cartlow
Category: E-commerce
Established: 2019
Nationality: Spanish
HQ: U.A.E.
5 | Ioanna Angelidaki
Brand: InstaShop
Category: E-commerce
Established: 2015
Nationality: Greek
HQ: U.A.E.
Click here for the complete ranking of the Women Behind Middle Eastern Tech Brands 2023.
About Forbes Middle East
Forbes Middle East is a licensed edition of Forbes for the Arab world, championing inspiring business journalism and entrepreneurial capitalism. Its online and social platforms break news covering billionaires, business, investment, technology, economy, entrepreneurship, leadership, and luxury lifestyles. The monthly magazine, featuring in-depth interviews with the Middle East’s most influential and innovative leaders, is published in print in English and Arabic, with digital versions available to both regional and global audiences online. Forbes Middle East extends the Forbes brand of journalism across the Arab world, conducting its own comprehensive research to publish original lists that adhere to strict methodologies. Its content attracts business leaders, investors, active and potential entrepreneurs, and a wide audience of ambitious and influential executives.
Media contact: Basma Aly Sadek – [email protected]