Leading Companies Online Magazine Archives
MEET Alumni Share Successes
By Emily Meyertholen, Beyster Institute Staff
Over 250 prominent business leaders have completed the Beyster Institute’s Middle East Entrepreneur Training (MEET) program through funding from the U.S. Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative. The MEET program is building a strong corps of businesspeople in the region, and many program graduates have seen considerable results upon returning to their companies after the intensive, three-week training program. Below, two alumni share how the program has helped them to meet new challenges and advance their careers through skills and contacts gained from the MEET program.
Najwa Grace Tohme
Beirut, Lebanon
Since becoming a MEET alumnus, Najwa Grace Tohme of Lebanon has seen big changes in her career and, along with fellow alumni, is building a strong foundation of support for other Lebanese businesswomen.
Najwa came to the MEET U.S. program from Al Rifai Roastery, which produces and exports nuts and operates popular retail outlets for their products along with coffee and sweets. She has been with the company for four years as Operations & Sales Manager and is very involved in business strategy planning.
In 2004, she took part in a MEET Executive and Entrepreneur training program in San Diego. “The MEET program helped me in several respects,” she says. “To start with, it strengthened my self confidence, it opened my eyes to limitless opportunities, and operationally, action planning became priority.” For Najwa, the most important aspect of the program was networking. “I got to know great professionals in their specific fields.”
In July 2006, Al Rifai’s owners decided to start a full-fledged operation in Sweden. They chose Najwa to oversee the new operation, which she will begin in May 2007.
The MEET experience also inspired Najwa to encourage other businesswomen in her country. She and eleven other businesswomen, many of them MEET alumni, have founded the Lebanese League for Women in Business. Najwa currently serves as the association’s chair. It is the first association in Lebanon to provide support to aspiring women in the economic and social fields.
Her advice to other MENA business leaders is to remember that “if we are successful and great leaders, it is not because we were born with these traits, but because behind what we have become there is hard work, continuous self-development, and vision.”
Hamoud Al-Motawakkel
Sana’a, Yemen
Since completing the MEET U.S. program in 2004, entrepreneur Hamoud Al-Motawakkel of Yemen is restyling his four companies with a focus on quality management, employee development, and a sharper eye on finances. His advertising company was named “The Best Advertising Agency in Yemen” by Investment Magazine in 2006 and has become a model for other Yemeni companies.
Originally trained as a civil engineer, Hamoud founded Al-Muthallath Advertising Agency in 1995 because he saw a need for high-quality advertising and marketing services in the Yemeni market. Founding and developing his business had provided much practical experience, but he had little training in business management.
“The MEET training program was like a gift. It opened my eyes on several problems. When I came back from San Diego in December 2004, I started a series of improvements in my company.”
He began to focus on quality management by implementing the International Organization for Standardization Quality Management System. He devoted time and resources toward employee training, development and incentive programs. He created action plans to meet new goals. He became more involved in the company’s finances and improved its systems and staff.
“This really worked effectively and my company became more and more well-known as a modern example for other companies,” says Hamoud.
Yemen’s Investment Magazine named Al-Muthallath Advertising Company as the best advertising agency in Yemen and one of the best 10 companies in Yemen for 2006.:
©2007 The Beyster Institute and its authors and their entities. All rights reserved.
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