Elissa Freiha

Elissa Freiha (Arabic: إليسا فريحة‎; born 1989/1990 (age 30–31))[1] is an Emirati-Lebanese businesswoman and women's economic activist who is the co-founder of Womena, a group which aims to empower women by attracting angel investors to invest in new startups. With her group she specializes in funding new tech start ups in the Middle East region.

Biography

Freiha is the granddaughter of Said Freiha, an entrepreneur who founded the media publisher, Dar Assayad. Freiha grew up largely in Paris, where her father, Bassam Freiha, was employed by UNESCO. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in global communications at the American University of Paris, and subsequently worked for a bakery in Paris and then for PR firm Flash Entertainment in Abu Dhabi after graduating. Freiha met her Womena co-founder, Chantalle Dumonceaux, while studying at the American University of Paris in 2008, and the two later set up business together. As of 2017, some 40 angel investors associated with Womena have invested more than AED 2 million in seven start-ups in the United Arab Emirates,[2] including Zurich and New York City investors.[3] In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.[1] In addition, Forbes named her one of the "Inspiring Business Leaders of the UAE".[4] In 2019, Elissa was a recipient of One Young World's inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year Award.[5]

References
  1. "BBC 100 Women 2015: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. "My UAE: Elissa Freiha on investing in women". The National. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. "Introducing the women aiming to change the face of investment in the Middle East". Arabian Business. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. "Elissa Freiha, 25, UAE". BBC. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  5. "One Young World Announces 2019 Winners of Entrepreneur of the Year Award | One Young World". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved 2020-10-26.


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