Alfanar Celebrates Graduation of First Batch of Enterprises from SEMD Project

Alfanar, the Arab region’s first venture philanthropy organization, celebrated the graduation of the first cohort of the “Social Entrepreneurship for Migration and Development (SEMD)” project.

The regional project “SEMD” implemented in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, was initiated and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in January 2021and applied by Alfanar organization in Egypt, in cooperation with GFA Consulting Group GmbH.

Through its strategy, Alfanar differs from traditional NGOs in the support it provides to ambitious social enterprises to develop sustainable revenue streams, thereby breaking the cycle of donor dependency. Through a combination of tailored financing, management support, bespoke training, and impact measurement, Alfanar supported 8 social enterprises in Egypt under the “SEMD” project with the intellectual and capital investment they need to scale their impact sustainably.

The graduation ceremony was attended by a group of officials from Alfanar Egypt, headed by Shenouda Bissada, Egypt Country Director, Alfanar, and Asmaa Kamel, Coordinator of the National SEMD program in Egypt, to celebrate the 8 social enterprises graduating from the project. The event also attracted a number of notable members of the press and media.

In this context, Shenouda Bissada Country Representative of Alfanar in Egypt congratulated the graduates of the first batch of the “Social Entrepreneurship for Migration and Development (SEMD)” project, as well as the success partners involved in providing solutions to migration and development issues in Egypt.

Jordanian Princess Iman’s Wedding Countdown… Jordan’s Queen Rania Shares Pre-Wedding Happy Moments

Queen Rania of Jordan on Tuesday took to Instagram to share a glimpse of the family’s preparations for Princess Iman Bint Abdullah II’s pre-wedding henna party.

The queen posted a picture of herself adjusting a gold-and-white belt around her daughter’s waist. It was the same belt Queen Rania wore for her wedding to King Abdullah II in 1993.

In the picture, the queen is wearing a casual black T-shirt and khaki trousers, while the bride-to-be is dressed in an embroidered white dress by Jordanian Palestinian fashion designer Reema Dahbour.

“Finishing touches before Iman’s Henna party tonight,” the queen wrote on Instagram.

The princess and her fiancé, Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, will wed on March 12.

“The countdown has begun and preparations have started for the Jordanian Royal wedding this weekend,” the designer posted on Instagram. “Queen Rania is putting the final touches of the bridal henna party look for Princess Iman, who will be wearing @reemadahbour design in her pre-wedding celebrations. We can’t wait to see the final look!”

Princess Iman is the eldest daughter of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan while Thermiotis is a managing partner at a New York-based Venture Capital fund.

Attending the COP27 Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Chef Manal Al Alem offers cooking helps combat climate change

Attending the COP27 Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Chef Manal Al Alem offers cooking helps combat climate change

Chef Manal Al- Alem not only provided a single recipe for preparing a dish using its various ingredients, but it also provided 75 sustainable and original recipes, where she co-founded, in corporation with “Kitchen Connection”, a methodology cookbook entitled “For People and Planet”, this step came to support the United Nations.

Many professional chefs, global farmers, and food system thought leaders from around the world participated in the preparation of the recipes.

Chef Manal stated from Sharm el-Sheikh, where she was attending the Conference, that she felt proud and that combating climate change was everyone’s responsibility.

“All of the recipes in this special book are concerned with the climate footprint that we leave while eating this food,” she explained.

Chef Manal Al-Alem from Jordan is known as the Queen of Arabic Kitchen for her Arabic recipes, and she has inspired millions of people worldwide.