Every year Arabian Business, one of the leading business and startup news sources in the Middle East, hosts the “Arabian Business Startup Awards”, which celebrates the burgeoning entrepreneurship scene in the UAE and the Middle East. There are 12 awards given each year in a wide variety of categories from Startup of the Year to Incubator/Accelerator of the Year.

This year, Chantalle and Elissa were nominated for SME Businesswomen of the Year for their founding of WOMENA. They were nominated along with Sharene Lee, Cofounder of Melltoo (a WOMENA portfolio company), Alia Khan, Chairwoman of the Islamic Fashion and Design Council, Lamis Bin Harib, Founder and CEO of BioD, and May Barber, Managing Partner of The Cartel.

On the night itself though, Chantalle and Elissa won the award! It was such an honour to be nominated, let alone win, and it was a wonderful evening. Thank you to the Arabian Business team for your continued support!

Startup of the Year went to Fetchr, which recently raised $11 million and are the first New Enterprise Associates (one of the oldest and most respected venture capital firms in Silicon Valley) portfolio company, and AlemHealth, another WOMENA portfolio company, were the worthy winners of the Innovation of the Year Award. The awards make you realise how each year the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the UAE gets stronger and stronger.   

For a full list of the nominees click here and for a full list of the winners click here.