Athena MENA

In partnership with London-based Global Thinkers Forum (GTF), we launched a transformational long-distance program that offers mentorship and professional advice for women mentees from the MENA region. The program aims to enable women to collaborate, build networks, exchange ideas, discuss research, investigate careers, develop skills and become future leaders.

The two-year program from January 2018 to February 2020 adopted scientific and practical strategies and clear action plans for the inclusion of women in local, regional, and global economies. Accordingly, mentors were paired with women mentees to deepen their understanding of international markets, build up confidence levels and help hone their skills to launch and set up their enterprises or explore career opportunities in employment and business.

The program provided a personalized development opportunity to address the individual learning needs of women in the 22-29 age group.

Under the one-on-one “Athena MENA” mentoring program, three outreach campaigns, including a pilot cycle, were launched between January 2018 to February 2020 in partnership with the London-based international organization, GTF.

Approximately 640 online meetings and exchanges were held as part of the sessions and workshops, where participants acquired new skills and expertise to enrich their career and personal development. The mentors came from 24 countries, while women aged 22-49 from 17 MENA countries received intensive one-on-one training in industries as diverse as Academia, Education, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Healthcare, Management, Media, Non-Profit, Science, and Technology, amongst others.

The program’s process also included a series of interviews to provide mentees with an opportunity to be portrayed on the GTF website and talk about their backgrounds, projects, and countries. These stories were shared on GTF’s social media channels, while many of their insights and experiences have been taken on board to improve and advance the program’s output.