North Africa is home to several dynamic startup companies that are thriving and providing innovative solutions to challenges in the region. However, the North African startup ecosystem is not the best in terms of diversity in leadership.
Many startups in the region have male founders and CEOs. More often, the female co-founders take up other leadership roles, but only a few ladies are in the driving seats in startup companies across North Africa.
To celebrate women driving revolutionary solutions, we’ve highlighted nine remarkable women-led North African startups.
MyTindy
Year Founded: 2018
Location: Casablanca, Morocco
MyTindy is an ecommerce startup company redefining the market for locally crafted items in Morocco. The startup operates a digital marketplace designed to connect Moroccan creatives with local and international collectors. The platform also incorporates digital marketing functionalities, giving the vendors easy avenues to showcase their products on the internet and reach more customers.
Through its solutions, MyTindy is driving better appreciation for locally crafted items in Morocco. That way it assists Moroccan creatives in making a better living off their craft.
The startup is led by Aida Kandil an impact-driven entrepreneur who wants to revolutionize how people shop handcrafted goods in Africa. She has significant experience in ecommerce and digital marketing, having spent years developing digital strategies for several international brands.
Chefaa
Year Founded: 2018
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Chefaa is is a telemedicine service provider revolutinozing access to medications and health products in Egypt. The startup operates a GPS-enabled digital pharmacy where patients with chronic ailments can easily order, schedule and refill recurring prescriptions at their convenience regardless of their location within Egypt.
Through its solutions, Chefaa gives people access to medications and helps users find suitable alternatives if their recommended medications are unavailable. And with its GPS-enabled service, it offers impeccable delivery to users wherever they want.
Rasha Rady and Doaa Aref are the co-founders and executives of Chefaa. The duo founded Chefaa to create a go-to place like ‘Google’ for prescription purchases. Rasha Rady is a doctor and pediatrics lecturer with significant medical and pharmaceutical experience, while Doaa Aref is a digital expert with years of experience in marketing and management.
Source Beauty
Year Founded: 2016
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Source Beauty is an ecommerce startup redefining the market for women’s skincare products. The startup operates a digital marketplace where people in Egypt can easily find and purchase skincare items, including makeup, fragrances, and health kits.
The company aims to inspire and help women to make the best beauty choices and create the best versions of themselves. They help women select the best local alternatives to their self-care routines while promoting local beauty brands in MENA.
The founder of the startup, Lydia Schoonderbeek, originally began the company as a blog that regularly publishes information about beauty products, but it ultimately grew into a full-fledged products marketplace that now caters to the beauty needs of several women.
FreshSource
Year Founded: 2019
Location: Cairo, Egypt
FreshSource is an Agri-logistics company revolutionizing distribution services in agricultural supply chains. The company’s offerings involve sourcing and delivering farm products from farmers or suppliers to consumers.
Freshsources operates a consolidated digital platform that incorporates ecommerce, data analytics and financial services functionalities to provide all-in-one solutions for users.
FreshSource is led by Farah Emara, an entrepreneur who channels her passion for businesses and value chains to drive efficiencies in the company. Before Co-founding FreshSources, she worked as an entrepreneur selection and growth manager at Endeavor and as a strategic Corporate Manager at Proctor & Gamble.
Kiwe
Year Founded: 2019
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Kiwe is a fintech startup redefining financial services delivery in Egypt. The company operates a digital wallet tailored for both consumer and business payments. Kiwe’s platform lets users transfer funds and pool money for joint payments. It also integrates with ecommerce platforms and online merchant stores to simplify user purchase payment.
Kiwe’s solutions are aimed at simplifying financial activities for users, enabling them to conduct instantaneous transactions from savings to bills and purchases payments.
Fatma Ibrahim is the Co-founder and CEO of KIWE. She started out working as a consultant in Logic Consulting and JLL before moving on to create and lead Kiwe.
Reme-D
Year Founded: 2022
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Reme-D is a health tech startup revolutionizing disease testing and diagnostics services in Egypt. The company creates and distributes cutting-edge testing kits for human and animal diseases. Their kits are designed to help users diagnose infections, better understand their health status and get insight into how they can improve their overall health.
Reme-D aims to create a better and healthier future for all through its health innovations. The company boasts of incredible expertise in molecular diagnostics, giving it an edge over others in terms of impact.
The co-founder and CEO of Reme-D, Salma Tammam, is a certified Pharmacist with a PhD in Nanomedicine. She also has 15 years of experience in healthcare services delivery and med-tech
Green Fashion
Year Founded: 2018
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Green Fashion is a lifestyle brand startup promoting the adoption of eco-friendly lifestyles through its variety of eco-conscious fashion products. The company produces apparel, shoes, clothing accessories and home decor items made from biodegradable materials.
Green Fashion’s goal is to create a fashionable clothing line that sends nothing to landfills. Through its products, it’s creating a more eco-friendly fashion industry.
The company is led by Hadeer Shalaby, a serial entrepreneur who is passionate about developing sustainable solutions across different sectors and industries. She’s also the co-founder of Crafty Workshop, an ed-tech company that designs vocational skills modules to help tackle unemployment among youths.
Alsoug
Year Founded: 2018
Location: Bahri, Sudan
Alsoug is a leading ecommerce company revolutionizing online retail and purchasing in Sudan. The company operates a digital retail store connecting sellers and buyers of various household items across several niches. The Alsoug marketplace includes categories for a wide variety of commodities and services. It also includes a “Jobs” section where employers can post openings in their companies.
Alsoug is one of the largest digital marketplaces in Sudan. Through its solutions, sellers can easily showcase their products to buyers across different locations, and buyers can order items to their preferred locations within Sudan conveniently.
Tarneem Saeed is the CEO of Asloug. With her leadership, the company has grown significantly and currently serves thousands of shoppers in Sudan. She’s also the head of strategy at Saeed Industrial & Commercial Group, which further portrays her business acumen and strategic prowess.
Historiar
Year Founded:
Location: Tunis, Tunisia
Historiar is a tech-enabled tourism company revolutionizing historical and cultural education in Tunisia. The startup leverages deep tech, artificial intelligence and augmented reality to provide immersive and accurate touring experiences for tourists.
Historiar incorporates deep tech into a mobile app through which users can take pictures of tourism sites and view historical information about them. Through AI and augmented reality, Historiar turns historical and cultural sites into living experiences that leave lasting impressions on tourists.
Houda Bakir is the Co-founder and CEO of Historiar. She’s a relentless problem solver and smart worker with years of experience using deep tech designs to address challenges. She previously worked with Datavora as a lead AI researcher and Data scientist and currently focuses on recreating cultural heritage sites around the world with Historiar.
