Mastercard has announced the winners of the third edition of its Women SME Leaders Awards, which celebrate the achievements of women-owned and women-led businesses.
Mastercard has announced the winners of the third edition of its Women SME Leaders Awards, which celebrate the achievements of women-owned and women-led businesses across diverse sectors in Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
Launched in 2022, the Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards is the first initiative of its kind to recognize outstanding female entrepreneurs who are shaping the region’s future.
“At Mastercard, we believe when we support women entrepreneurs, we are supporting the economy and their desire to solve real needs. That’s why we are committed to creating an enabling environment for women to fulfill their potential as business leaders. The Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards is integral to our women’s empowerment journey. This initiative helps us generate momentum to continue to uplift the most impactful women changemakers,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President of market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard.
This year’s edition of the awards was open to all women owning or leading businesses with a turnover under US$13.6 million (AED50 million) and 6-50 employees that have their offices or offer their services in the EEMEA region.
The winners of Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards 2024 are:
- The Creative Leader: Fay Wong, Director and Partner, BID (UAE)
- The F&B Leader: Laura Kaziukoniene, Founder and CEO, Super Garden (Lithuania)
- The Visionary: Hanane Benkhalouk, Founder, Tawazoun (UAE)
- The Leader of Tomorrow: Reem AlMusabbah, co-founder, Unipreneur Inc, and Head of Community Engagement and Membership, Women in AI UAE Technology (UAE)
- The Health Custodian: Chelsea Hornby, Founder, Elle International (South Africa)
- The Innovator: Farah Zafar, Co-founder and CEO, Lyvely (UAE)
- The Retailer: Pamela Lilburne Opie, Founder and CEO, Linen Obsession Textile Trading (UAE)
- The Educator: Jessy Radwan, Founder and CEO, Carerha (Egypt)
- The Professional Services Leader: Yuliia Fedosiuk, CEO, UAPAY (Ukraine)
- The Fashion & Beauty Leader: Leda Di Marti, CEO, Maelle Group (UAE)
- The Media Leader: Jacqueline Lawrence, Highlands FM Radio (Tanzania)
- The Social Impact Leader: İpek Koç Kıraç, Suna’nın Kızları (Turkey)
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr Smita Francis, Founder and Chair, Namibia Women in Engineering Association (Namibia)
- Home-Based Business of the Year: Alicia English, Executive Director, The Olive Exchange (South Africa)
- Momrepreneur of the Year: Farah Ahmed Farag, Founder and CEO, The baby garage (Egypt)
The Women SME Leaders Awards 2024 jury included Mastercard’s Amnah Ajmal, Tamara Pupic, Managing Editor, Entrepreneur Middle East, and Nezha Alaoui, Founder and CEO, Women Choice.
