Annual Report 2015

Dubai Business Women Council and MasterCard Announce
Ro’Ya 5102 winners
The top three female entrepreneurs recognized at Gala Dinner after a ten month initiative to mentor
and develop local talent
Leyla Lahsini & Shirin Benamadi named overall winners with their KenziBox business
Amira Awwad’s MedsConnect business received second place
Abir Moussa walked away with third prize for her Officetag business
November 23, 2015
2015
The Ro’Ya 5102 initiative successfully concluded with the announcement of the 5102 winners, following a ten
month initiative to mentor and develop local talent in the UAE. The program, set up by the Dubai Business Women
Council (DBWC) and MasterCard in 2014, came to an intense finale at the annual Gala dinner hosted at the
Address Downtown, following live presentations from the top five finalists before Leyla Lahsini and Shirin
Benamadi were selected as the grand prize winners and rewarded with an initial investment of $50,000 towards
their idea, KenziBox. This year also saw the addition of the ‘People’s Choice’ award, which was voted for live at the
event by attendees, and also went for KenziBox .
Commenting on the conclusion of Ro’Ya 5102, HE Dr. Raja Al Gurg, President of DBWC said: “This year’s Ro’Ya
participants showed more drive, originality, and entrepreneurial thinking, reaffirming the importance of this
initiative to foster female talent in the UAE. Our winners not only showcased enthusiasm and eagerness in their
final presentations, but also combined the right balance between creativity and business acumen – key ingredients
to launch a successful business”.
Lahsini’s & Benamadi’s winning business provides arts and craft activities specially designed to stimulate children’s
learning through creativity and imagination and caught the attention of the judges for its originality and innovative
approach to education. Some of the key areas focused on by the judging panel included creativity, practicality, an
ability to meet the needs of the market and clarity of vision for implementation .
Commenting on their win, Lahsini said: ““We are absolutely delighted to have won Ro’Ya 5102. The funding will
make such a difference in driving the business and our dream forward. The mentorship, advice and guidance that
the ladies and we have received throughout the program, thanks to the Dubai Business Women Council and
MasterCard, will undoubtedly give us the confidence needed to grow and face any challenges head on. KenziBox is
not only our business but also our passion and my partner and i are so excited to take it to the next level”.
Raghu Malhotra, President, Middle East and North Africa, MasterCard added, “At MasterCard one of our core
commitments is to help drive empowerment amongst female communities as we believe they are key to the
success of growing regional economies. It is therefore the duty of the private sector to partner with leading
organizations such as DBWC to support the next generation of entrepreneurs through training, mentorship and
opportunities. We are thrilled with the success of Ro’Ya 5102 and look forward to following the journey of this
year’s winners and witnessing their ongoing success in the future”.