Meet the 10 women-led MENA startups joining the Google for Startups Growth Academy: Women in AI program

👋 Let’s introduce you to the first cohort of the Google for Startups Growth Academy: Women in AI program, that kicked off last week in Dubai!

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🏃‍♀️ State of play

Startups across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) raised a record $4 billion in 2023. But just 1.2% of that venture capital funding went to startups founded by women — and only a fraction of that went to women-led companies that are building with AI.

Needless to say, women founders are essential for creating economic opportunity and stronger, more inclusive AI solutions.

And with the number of female entrepreneurs in the region expected to double by 2030, investing in women-led AI companies is an absolute necessity.

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⚙️ Break it down

The programme is run in collaboration with the Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence and the Ministry of AI in the UAE, this equity-free program is designed to accelerate the growth of women-led startups building with AI in the Middle East and North Africa.

• Over the next six weeks, they’ll explore generative AI best practices, Google AI tools such as Google Cloud's Vertex AI and a comprehensive People + AI Workshop series focused on building human-centered AI products and solutions.

So without further ado, let’s meet the women founders selected for the program and the AI solutions they're building below:

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👩‍⚕️ Dr. Rasha Rady and Dr. Doaa Aref, cofounders of Chefaa (Egypt), a patient-centric, AI-powered and GPS-enabled platform connecting more than 1.5 million users with over 1,500 pharmacies across Egypt.

👧 Dragana Mujanović, founder of AIsthesis (Qatar), a company building software and algorithms to advance the understanding of sensory processing in children through wearable and ambient sensors.

🐶 Alaa Ateya, cofounder of Vetwork (Egypt), a one-stop mobile app marketplace for high-quality pet care services at home.

✏️ Christelle Connan, founder and CEO of Zidyia LXP™ (United Arab Emirates), a unified learning experience platform using Al and machine learning to create customised learning paths that empower educators with actionable data insights and engage learners with personalised education.

💨 Jessica Scopacasa, founder of Olive Gaea (United Arab Emirates), a carbon accounting tool helping organizations reach decarbonization and net zero emissions.


📢 Nour Taher, cofounder of Intella (Saudi Arabia), a startup aiming to bridge the gap between global AI advancements and the Arab-speaking world through flagship services, such as Intella Voice, a multi-dialect Arabic transcriber that converts speech to text.

💰 Purvi Monot, founder and CEO of Sav (United Arab Emirates), a goal-based savings and investing app designed to help users optimize savings, reduce debt and achieve financial dreams.

🧘‍♀️ Sandra Salame, founder of Siira (Lebanon), a wellbeing platform that aims to raise awareness of daily life struggles through preventative education, and harnesses the power of communities to enable individuals to live healthier lives.

👗 Shahad Geoffrey, founder of TAFFI (Saudi Arabia), an AI-powered styling-as-a-service platform that helps fashion businesses improve consumer engagement and drive sales through hyper-personalised experiences.

👩‍💻 Rana A. Batterjee, cofounder of EduPloyment (United Arab Emirates), a global online recruitment platform focused on upskilling workers with English language skills and providing them access to better jobs.