Visa, a leader in digital payments, together with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority or Monsha’at, and the Arab National Bank announced Aliyah Alghubayn, the co-founder of Ptway, a Riyadh-based platform that connects companies and part-time job seekers, as the winner of
its second “She’s Next” grant program for Saudi Arabia. The winner was selected at an award ceremony held at Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University.
Handpicked from a pool of more than 880 applicants from the GCC, the winning woman-owned small business received a $50,000 grant along with a year of business coaching from International Trade Center, a joint agency of the UN and World Trade Organization, and $3,000 in Amazon Web Services credits. The business coaching will be provided by the ITC SheTrades Initiative, ITC’s flagship women and trade program. The winner was selected from a pool of applicants representing a range of sectors including but not limited to textiles, education, food and beverage, professional services, beauty and wellness.
The She’s Next finals event in Saudi Arabia was also open to shortlisted applicants from Bahrain and Oman where the program is running for the first time. Aida Almudaifa, founder of Early Riser, won the Bahrain edition of She’s Next and $50,000, while Yasmeen Al-Alawi, founder of Sprout, won the Oman edition and $50,000.
A jury evaluated entries based on the following criteria: the progression of applicant’s entrepreneurial journey, robustness of their business metrics, digital presence, and a demonstrated ability to problem-solve confidently. The members of the jury in Saudi Arabia included: Ali Bailoun, Visa’s regional general manager for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman; Abdullah A. Alshamrani, general manager at The Center of Digital Entrepreneurship, under MCIT; Afnan Ababtain, director of women entrepreneurship at Monsha’at; and Khalid Alrashed, head of retail banking group, anb.
For the first time, She’s Next included a People’s Favorite award with a cash prize of $10,000 for one winner from each of the three countries, voted for online by members of the public. This award went to Saria Alderhali, founder of Bondai, Saudi Arabia’s largest marketplace for tours and experiences; Esraa Al-Janahi, founder of EJS Dynamic Fitness, a boutique fitness facility in Bahrain; and Shamsa Al-Salami, founder of Zumr, an Oman-based platform that bridges the gap between the financially excluded and formal financial services.
“In a world where women-owned small businesses consistently demonstrate their resilience and future-forward optimism, Visa is proud to acknowledge and support these trailblazing female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. We extend our heartfelt congratulations once again to the winners of She’s Next in the Kingdom and look forward to supporting them in their business journey,” said Bailoun. He also said that since the Kingdom’s launching of the Vision 2030 and it having women’s empowerment as one of its pillars toward achieving a “dynamic society,” Visa itself has seen a huge influx of women among its own workforce and an even greater influx in the number of women entrepreneurs in the region.
