Noor Jaber
A public health researcher and practitioner, Noor founded NAWAT Health to enhance women’s sexual and reproductive health in the MENA region by providing a safe and secure digital space to access shame-free, expert information in Arabic.
Unlock Her Future Prize 2023
Empowering women, empowering ideas, empowering innovation – across the globe.
Championing women across the world, The Bicester Collection is launching the Unlock Her Future™ Prize: an annual initiative to support women entrepreneurs in founding a start-up that will create positive social, environmental and economic impact across their communities and beyond.
Our Mission
To find aspiring women entrepreneurs and help them launch their social impact start-ups.
The 2023 Middle East & North Africa Edition
In our inaugural year, Unlock Her Future scouted change makers from the Middle East & North Africa region, resulting in 850 applicants from 19 countries. Our eight finalists represented Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Meet our winners
Sara Llalla
Devoted to creating a sustainable future for her kids and the planet, Sara founded the online marketplace, Ecocentric, which eliminates the need for single-use materials by using a practical circular economy system, to allow consumers to shop with a conscience.
Fella Bouti
Fella’s PhD in Agricultural Sciences formed the basis of her start-up, EcoTashira, which creates organic green slabs designed to create green spaces on terraces and buildings – all to encourage improved air quality and urban temperature in large cities.
Nuhayr Zein
Nuhayr founded Leukeather as an alternative to the unethical production of exotic leathers and their synthetic counterparts. By using technology that revives the flexibility of discarded pod or plant fibres, the result is a leather-like product that’s completely plastic-free.
Thank you to our finalists
Safaa Ayyad
An experienced youth worker, Safaa founded Foras as a one-stop shop for young, ambitious individuals looking to jumpstart their careers by empowering them with helpful industry insights, job hunting tools and advice.
Yasmin Jamal
Based in Egypt, Yasmin founded the website Dammg – filled with specialist knowledge and home to a community of experts – to help the parents of children aged 14-18 with disabilities to connect with teachers and special education specialists.
Reem Hamed
Based in Palestine, Reem founded Gifted to help other female business owners overcome a lack of visibility, marketing resources and networking opportunities. The online marketplace lets customers curate gift boxes using products from female-founded businesses.
Muna Alamer
Muna developed Lesser Sustainability Solutions to introduce the culture of recycling in Saudi Arabia. Her educational programme highlights the benefits of recycling – all aligned with the country’s vision in reducing the waste going to landfills by 85%.
The Prize
A panel of judges made up of successful and prominent women from the region selected three winners. To launch their start-up, winners will receive the following support:
Unlock Financial Capital
up to $100,000 to launch and develop your start-up
Unlock University Support
to further your knowledge and tap into academic resources
Unlock Mentorship & Guidance
with global experts to develop human capital skills, increase productivity and to flourish
Unlock Visibility & Access to Partners
to build relationships with and grow your enterprise, through global exposure
Highlights from the awards ceremony
We spent International Women’s Day celebrating our incredible winners of the Unlock Her Future Prize 2023 MENA Edition
Unlock Her Future Awards Ceremony
Watch the full Unlock Her Future film here.
“If women and men participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by approximately 3% to 6%, boosting the global economy by $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion.”
Want to Boost the Global Economy by $5 Trillion? Support Women as Entrepreneurs, BCG, 2019