Georgetown University McDonough School of Business’s Women Innovators (WIn) Fellowship, a program that enriches the skills of aspiring female entrepreneurs, expanded to include 258 women from the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA).

WIn Fellows take part in an intensive one-year executive education curriculum with the goal of shaping its participants into capable entrepreneurs. Through the mentorship program, which is now entering its second year, ambitious female entrepreneurs from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will have the chance to network with top business leaders and other industry experts in both the United States and MENA.

Elie Farhat, the associate dean and chief of external affairs at the MSB, said he anticipates another strong year for WIn and acknowledges the regional influence that its participants could have in the future as they pave the way for female entrepreneurs in MENA.

“We look forward to seeing these women grow their leadership potential and build their business ventures over the coming year,” Farhat wrote to The Hoya. “We are pleased to partner with the Atlantic Council to empower an exceptional cohort of women entrepreneurs and shape the future of business in the Middle East and North Africa region.”

Georgetown’s Office of Executive Education operates WIn as a joint program with the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank that enacts change through a combination of research and leadership-development programs like WIn. This year, Georgetown accepted three cohorts of women into the program, a drastic increase from last year’s sole cohort.

Shye Gilad (MBA ’12), an MSB professor of the practice and a co-founder of a successful aviation hospitality company, is the faculty lead of WIn. He designs the program’s structure and curriculum and teaches many of its classes, which are shaped to fit each participant’s specific goals. 

Gilad said he became involved with the program because he supports WIn’s mission of teaching women valuable entrepreneurial, problem-solving and leadership skills.

“Entrepreneurship is a mindset that teaches ways of solving complex problems,” Gilad wrote to The Hoya. “It helps make people more self-sufficient and is a powerful platform to increase leadership, empathy, and equity worldwide.”

The program also partners with Georgetown Entrepreneurship, a resource that arranges mentorship programs and advises women on how to undertake establishing start-ups or other business endeavors. Gilad said that this program was especially helpful for WIn’s fellows.

“Students significantly benefit from their interactions with experienced entrepreneurial leaders through Georgetown Entrepreneurship,” Gilad wrote. “Many of our Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiRs) volunteer to support women entrepreneurs in this program by providing expertise, advice, mentoring, and coaching.”

Serene Al-Momen, an adjunct professor at the MSB, assists Gilad in instructing the members of WIn’s cohorts. As a female tech entrepreneur from Saudi Arabia, Al-Momen said that her experience founding Attune, an “Intelligence of Things” company that harnesses smart sensors to collect data on environmental phenomena such as building health, provided her with valuable insights to share with the cohorts.

“My primary goal was to inspire the aspiring female entrepreneurs within these cohorts,” Al-Momen wrote to The Hoya. “I wanted to help them navigate the challenges they might face, providing meaningful guidance grounded in my real-life experiences.”

Al-Momen curates informative videos grounded in her work experience on topics like customer discovery and acquisition and building a customer profile for the program to enhance the aspiring female entrepreneurs’ ability to one day successfully grow their businesses.

Al-Momen, whose company Forbes named to their list of the “Top 50 Women-Led Start-Ups that are Crushing Tech,” identified strong leadership skills as a crucial part of becoming a capable entrepreneur. She looks forward to the opportunity to instruct an enlarged cohort of women on these skills.

“Navigating the challenges that come with leading a team and a company through growth is often overlooked but absolutely essential in the entrepreneurial journey,” Al-Momen wrote. “It’s been personally instrumental in my growth as an entrepreneur.”

Gilad said that it has been incredibly rewarding to represent Georgetown and to guide the women on their journey through the program.

“The women are eager to learn everything they can to help their ventures succeed and I learn new things from their experiences in every session,” Gilad wrote. “Teaching in this program allows me to serve as an ‘unofficial ambassador’ and spread Georgetown’s commitment to social justice, restless inquiry, and respect for each person’s needs and talents, which aligns deeply with my personal values.”

Al-Momen said the WIn participants are a source of motivation for her.

“The members’ ambition and intelligence shine through, and it’s inspiring to witness,” she wrote. “When they share their experiences and how they’ve applied the frameworks we teach, you can see the spark in their eyes. I’m continually energized and motivated by the incredible potential and enthusiasm of the participants in the program.”