“Learning never ends, there is always so much more.  And whenever you think you know, you learn there is always so much more…”

~Helen Al Uzaizi

Helen Al Uzaizi, an active member of Young Arab Leaders, is the CEO of BizWorld UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, social enterprises that teach kids entrepreneurship skills. With almost 20 years of experience spanning marketing, non-profit management, and entrepreneurship, Helen has been supporting major brands, non-profit organizations, and startups across the region as a mentor and Board member and advisor. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of PACES Charity working with Palestinian refugee children through sports, and an Advisor and Brand Ambassador for SEP, The Social Enterprise Project working on empowering Palestinian & Syrian refugee women.

Helen is the CEO of BizWorld UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, social enterprises that teach kids entrepreneurship skills. She is also the Founder of Future Entrepreneurs, a platform that aims to empower youth entrepreneurs in MENA. Most recently, she also took on the role of Director of Entrepreneurs hip & Youth Start up, Innovation & Social Impact with GEMS Education. She was recently named one of the UAE’s 100 Smartest People and one of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World. She was also a TedX Speaker on the topic of entrepreneurship education. She is also one of the founding Co-Leads of the Founder Institute, Dubai Chapter launching in summer 2020.

Helen studied Law & Government at the University of Manchester, UK and completed her executive education at Columbia University. As a believer in life long learning, she is currently enrolled at the London School of Economics reading International Development. On a personal level, Helen is a mother of 2, runner, triathlete and adventurer who believes in making dreams come to life and that anything is possible.

Enjoy the show!

Posted on September 3rd, 2020

Show Notes:

  • 01:15 – Helen’s background and upbringing.

  • 02:15 – Pushing the boundary since a very early age.

  • 03:00 – Her childhood and education background.

  • 04:00 – Helen’s continuing education through out her life.

  • 07:30 – How everything in her life occurred by random chance and luck.

  • 13:45 – Her first venture into entrepreneurship as CEO.

  • 14:45 – What is the Future Entrepreneurs Platform?

  • 19:00 – Entrepreneurship is a learning tool for children of all backgrounds.

  • 23:00 – “Education is primarily delivered by educators”, the work they are doing to train teachers.

  • 25:00 – Giving back is in grained in everything she does.

  • 32:15 – The power of social enterprise vs. charity

  • 34:00 – One of her best decisions was joining Young Arab Leaders and getting access to its network.

  • 37:30 – On the opportunities to meet power players from corporates to government officials as part of YAL

  • 40:00 – Opportunities that exist within experimentation.

  • 42:00 – Adapting her own business to the pandemic.

  • 44:45 – On having multiple role models and not a specific role model to look to.

  • 46:15 – How she sets her goals at the end of the year for the following year.

  • 51:00 – The importance of dreaming big

  • 54:15 – Her triathlon and baking dual hobby

  • 55:45 – Helen’s dream initiative for Emirates Airlines to pursue.

References

The Success Principles Workbook by Jack Canfield

The Greatness Guide by Robin Sharma

OTHER YOUNG ARAB LEADERS GUESTS

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