Still, despite several years of cheerleading the region, the common perception of women in Middle Eastern countries has remained bleaker than bleak—and in many cases for good reason. In Saudi Arabia, for example, women continue to fight for the right to drive their own cars, and cultural mores keep many women physically shrouded from view.
But according to author Chris Schroeder, whose new book Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East hit shelves this week, it’s that perspective that makes it even more exciting to learn that women entrepreneurs are not only on the rise in the Middle East, but are building innovative, thriving businesses at a rate much faster than their contemporaries in the West.
Like the rest of us, Schroeder’s view of women in the Middle East before he began working on research for the book, which takes a wide-angel look at entrepreneurial activity in the region, was colored by what he saw on the news. How could women be thriving in oppressive male-dominated societies when even in such culturally advanced cities like New York and Silicon Valley female founders were so scarce? “I assumed female representation in the Middle East must be near nonexistent.”
His assumption couldn’t have been further form the truth. While there’s no doubt that there are more male entrepreneurs than female in the region, it’s often the case that female founders are better represented at conferences, incubators and accelerators than we are here at home. Hala Fadel, who runs the Middle East MIT Business Plan Competition told Schroeder that she sees a continuous uptick in female applicants—in 2012 the number of teams that included women reached 48%. How many U.S. competitions brag those numbers?
The answer, of course, is zero.
But what Schroeder tells Forbes impressed him the most in researching female entrepreneurs in Middle Eastern countries (his case studies include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt) was how similar their struggles were to female founders here.
Despite vast cultural differences—not to mention often unstable infrastructures and financial regulations—female founders in the Middle East consistently report the same frustrations that you’d hear at a networking event in San Francisco or Lower Manhattan. Beyond the typical entrepreneurial venting—hiring struggles, horrific vendors, pushy advisers—there are themes that tie female founders together around the world.
The “Woman Entrepreneur” Label
“Anecdotally, I’d say that 40% of the female founders I’ve spoken to in the Middle East have taken issue with the term ‘female entrepreneur,’” Schroeder told me over coffee on Wednesday. His book rings with examples. “We are not women entrepreneurs,” he was chastised by a social network founder in Cairo. “We are entrepreneurs who are women. We face all the same challenges as any entrepreneur.”
I laughed when Schroeder says this—I can relate. Having spent the past five years focusing on women in business and female founders I, too, have noticed a stark divide between women who are woman first and job description second and those who prefer to be identified with gender completely erased from the equation. We’ve even spoken to women who have asked not to be included on the annual FORBES 100 Most Powerful Women in the World list because they don’t want to be seen in a gendered way. (For the record, we’ve said no).
Leveraging Femininity
“Being a woman, if anything, has been an advantage,” May Habib, the founder of Arabic translation service Qordoba told Schroeder. “I work with an A-
Overcoming the Mompreneur Stigma
Like in the U.S., Schroeder interviewed many female entrepreneurs whose business ideas were inspired by their own experiences or struggles, particularly with motherhood. Here in the U.S., this is a fraught issue for founders—for two distinct reasons. Female founders whose businesses are rooted in childcare or are female facing in any way often have trouble convincing mostly male investors of the promise of their business models, having to work doubly hard to break through the barriers to much-needed cash.
At the same time, woman entrepreneurs whose businesses are decidedly not feminine—that is, not tied to motherhood, fashion or beauty—feel that the stereotype that ever business founded by a woman is somehow a “soft” or un-serious business is a constant struggle in both fundraising and on-boarding talent.
Middle Eastern entrepreneurs deal with the same divide—and have the same conversations with potential investors. Alex Tohme, the founder of lingerie e-commerce site Amourah (think a well-fitting bra, not Agent Provocateur), has experienced significant pushback in trying to convince male retail heavyweights that a proper bra actually matters. She calls the business ecosystem in the region “deeply challenged,” but is hopeful that as women continue to open up shop, things will change. “Everyone says the Middle East isn’t ready for X, Y or Z,” she says. “But nobody knows until you try.”
Given her candid viewpoint it’s interesting then, that the handful of entrepreneurs interviewed by Schroeder who have built companies around motherhood report very little skepticism. From an online video content service in Arabic to social network for moms to be, from Schroeder’s viewpoint the mompreneurs of the Middle East seem to be taking flight.
Work Life Balance
“Being a women entrepreneur… means that you have to overcome many cultural stereotypes, especially as wives, mothers or daughters,” one online video entrepreneur told Schroeder. “It is easy, in our cultural conditioning to feel guilt for not being there for our kids as we have so much work to be done.” The sentiment, in no way unique to Middle Eastern women, is echoed by another female founder he spoke to. “It’s a very delicate balance. If you drop the ball, you are judged twice as hardly by society.”
