THE YEMENI ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM

H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr
@Aisha_BinBishr
marketing strategies that address
these pain points. At the
end of the day, good businesses
focus on adding value, but “authentically
good” businesses
put their customers at the
center of everything they do,
which means that they provide
value in the best way.
2. Hack the psychology
of leadership
“You can’t be a leader and
act like a junior.” This quote
from H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr,
Director General, Smart Dubai
Office, succinctly summarizes
the internal struggle that many
women face when they occupy
leadership positions. Leadership
isn’t just a title; it’s a
state of mind, and if you don’t
think you’re a capable leader,
why should people follow
you? If you want to unlock
your full potential, you have
to understand what is holding
you back. Are you trying to be
a leader just so you can outdo
a colleague? Do you think
that people don’t take you
as seriously because you’re a
woman? If you’ve fallen prey
to the competitive nature of
the former trap, or the deceptive
nature of the latter, then
you need to take a step back
and start integrating new positive
thinking habits and physical
hacks into your day-to-day
routine to undo some of this
negative “self-speak.”
3. Make risk-taking part
of your modus operandi
According to research conducted
at Harvard Business School,
“simply holding one’s body in
expansive, ‘high-power’ poses
for as little as two minutes
stimulates higher levels of testosterone
(the hormone linked
to power and dominance in the
animal and human worlds) and
lower levels of cortisol (the
‘stress’ hormone that can, over
time, cause impaired immune
functioning, hypertension,
and memory loss).” As you can
see, even incorporating simple
hacks like this can make you
feel more confident as a person
and a leader. However, you
can’t be a good leader until
you believe in yourself. As the
2016 Achieving Women Forum
keynote speaker Huda Al Lawati
said, “If you’re not willing
to take a risk on yourself, why
should anyone else?” So, take
the time to think about how
you can improve the way you
think about yourself and your
leadership skills, so you can be
the kind of leader that people
want to follow and take a leap
for.
4. Combine the powers
of offline and online
networking
Whenever I connect with
interesting entrepreneurs or
Sirine Fadoul
@SirineFad
corporate executives on Twitter,
Instagram or LinkedIn, I’m
almost always more likely to
take the private communication
to WhatsApp or email,
instead of a phone call or
Skype session. Thankfully, I’m
not the only one. According
to a Gallup poll conducted in
2014, more than two-thirds of
Americans between the ages of
18 and 29 prefer to send and
receive text messages. While
various social networks are
allowing busy professionals to
connect with more people online,
the convenience of online
networking has caused many
to neglect offline networking.
This is especially true for
self-professed introverts like
Sirine Fadoul, the Incubation
Manager at DTEC Tech Startup
Incubator in Dubai Silicon
Oasis who urged the female
entrepreneurs in the crowd “to
join a physical community” to
meet more people. Not only
does face-to-face communication
force entrepreneurs to
hone their pitching skills, it
also gives them a chance to
improve their overall communication
capabilities and their
ability to read body language.
5. Remember to take
digital relationships
into the real world
According to Zeina Sleiman,
the Associate Director of
Institutional Relations and
Alumni Affairs at INSEAD,
in order for the networking
experience to be truly effective,
it is necessary for a “digital
relationship” to translate into
a physical meeting or a professional
relationship in the real
world. Having said that, not all
relationships require the same
amount of effort. If you’re a
busy entrepreneur, you should
try to be selective about the
kinds of professional networks
that you cultivate, because
you want to invest in relationships
that are both long-term
and mutually beneficial.
Zeina Sleiman
@zeina_sleiman
Ultimately, when it comes to
networking, you want to make
sure that you can combine the
power of “online and offline
connectivity.” And if you forget
everything I’ve just said, just
remember these three essential
things about networking:
do your research, be active in
networking circles, and be a
person people trust.
If you’re a busy
entrepreneur, you
should try to be
selective about the
kinds of professional
networks that you
cultivate, because
you want to invest in
relationships that are
both long-term and
mutually beneficial.
6. Raise money that
empowers your startup
Arab entrepreneurs frequently
say that a lack of funding is
one of the biggest problems
facing entrepreneurs in the
MENA region. However, Tena
Pick, co-founder and CEO of
The Sustainability Platform,
argues “many startups raise
money too soon, and then they
realize that they don’t have internal
bandwidth to deal with
it.” Is there really such a thing
as raising money too soon?
Yes, there is. Unfortunately,
many entrepreneurs use the
fundraising process as a form
of concept validation. The idea
being that somehow investment
makes a startup worthy,
or at least worthy of attention.
But there are three problems
with this mindset. Firstly, >>>
june 2016 Entrepreneur 47