Social Entrepreneur Leila Janah On Making A Real Difference And Scaling As A Social Enterprise On the sidelines of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival 2018, Leila Janah, founder and CEO of Samasource and LXMI, shares her tips and insights for social entrepreneurs.

By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff Jan 5, 2019

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Among more than 100 speakers featured at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SharjahEF) 2018 was Leila Janah, founder and CEO of Samasource and LXMI- two companies that use cutting-edge social enterprise models in technology and luxury skincare to go beyond charity and employ low-income people around the world.

Janah, who lives between San Francisco and New York City and received a BA from Harvard, was the subject of a cover story in Entrepreneur, US edition. Janah is also a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a former Director of CARE USA, a 2012 TechFellow, recipient of the inaugural Club de Madrid Young Leadership Award, and the youngest person to win a Heinz Award in 2014. In a chat with Entrepreneur Middle East, Janah discusses establishing (and scaling) as a social enterprise and the key to getting media coverage as a startup, plus her tips to MENA social entrepreneurs for 2019.

Organized by Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center, Sheraa, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SharjahEF) 2018 gathered more than 3,000 attendees consisting of youth, entrepreneurs, government partners, investors and industry veterans. The two-day event featured more than 100 prominent local, regional and international speakers.

Entrepreneur Middle East Staff

Entrepreneur Staff

Most Popular

See all

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

By Amanda Breen

Growth Strategies

Dubai's Commitment to a Net Zero Carbon Future by 2050 is Well on its Way, According to a New Report Powered by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)

Dubai is setting out to become a city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050, and heavy investments in renewables are paving the way. The new report is packed with data on Dubai's strategies, initiatives, and mega-projects that are propelling the emirate to a net zero future.

By Erika Masako Welch

Entrepreneurs

22 Startups Selected For The Seventh Cohort Of The MBRIF Innovation Accelerator Program

The final participants of the year-long program were selected from over 230 applicants from 41 countries.

By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff

Marketing

The End-of-the-Year Marketing Checklist That Helped Triple Our Annual Revenue Growth

List your marketing metrics and check them twice if you want bigger returns. Here are seven strategies I used to triple our annual revenue growth.

By Joy Gendusa

Science & Technology

5 Automation Strategies Every Small Business Should Follow

It's time we make IT automation work for us: streamline processes, boost efficiency and drive growth with the right tools and strategy.

By Apu Pavithran

Leadership

Entrepreneur Middle East's Achieving Women 2022: H.E. Alia Al Mazrouei, CEO, Khalifa Fund For Enterprise Development

A big part of Al Mazrouei's vision at KFED is also to align with the UAE's march towards gender equity, whose progress she has seen first-hand as an Emirati businesswoman.

By Aalia Mehreen Ahmed