Elissa Freiha: Empowering Women in MENA Through Investment, Storytelling & Innovation
Visionary Roots in Feminist Entrepreneurship
In the arena of transformative leadership and feminist entrepreneurship, Elissa Freiha stands out as both visionary and trailblazer. As an Emirati-Lebanese-American entrepreneur, investor, executive producer, and champion of intersectional feminism, she has dedicated over a decade to disrupting entrenched narratives and empowering women across the MENA region. Her work is a testament to the power of aligning capital, culture, and community toward the shared goal of equality.
From Capital Inclusion to Cultural Influence
Elissa’s journey began with Womena, launched in 2014 as the Middle East’s first women-only angel investor network. With fewer than 40 investors committing over AED 2 million in funding to female-led startups, she laid the early groundwork for capital inclusion in an underfunded space. However, she quickly realized that money alone couldn’t dismantle bias—stories could. In 2018, she intentionally pivoted Womena into a feminist media platform that amplifies female voices through documentaries, articles, podcasts, and photo essays.
Building Womentum: The Accelerator That Tells a Story
In the same year, Elissa co-founded Womentum, a ground-breaking accelerator and documentary series tailored for female-led tech startups. Built in partnership with Impact Hub Berlin and the TECOM Group, the four-month program blends immersive cohorts in Berlin and Dubai with virtual mentorship—delivering vital exposure and investment to women entrepreneurs across MENA. Womentum’s alumni include winners like FreshSource, Pas-sport, and Dimension 14, who collectively received over $50,000 in seed funds and post-program support.
Recognition and Regional Impact
Beyond her ventures, Elissa’s influence reverberates across the region: Her accolades include BBC 100 Women (2015), Forbes Middle East’s Power Businesswomen, One Young World Entrepreneur of the Year (2019), and ranking among Esquire’s 10 People Who Will Shape the Next Decade. In 2021, she joined the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy’s Board, helping shape strategic policy at the intersection of digital innovation and the creative economy. She’s also a prolific keynote speaker, delivering over 150 talks globally and exemplifying public leadership rooted in empathy and feminist conviction.
Changing Narratives, Redirecting Capital
Freiha’s pivot from funding to storytelling reflects deep insight: financial equality alone won’t suffice unless accompanied by visibility and recognition. As she articulated, “money follows the stories we tell”; changing narratives shifts where capital flows. Womena’s content has achieved remarkable resonance—with an astounding 85% of its audience reporting that the platform positively influenced their lives.
A Cross-Cultural Lens and Global Perspective
Raised in a multicultural environment—born and educated in Paris, shaped across French, British, and American systems—she brings global fluency and a nuanced feminist perspective. Fluent in four languages and steeped in cross-cultural experience, she embodies what it means to champion equity in both local and global arenas.
A Feminist Blueprint for the Future
What distinguishes Elissa Freiha is not merely her entrepreneurial résumé—it’s her commitment to abolitionist capitalism: investment practices that dismantle systemic bias rather than reinforce it. Through Womena and Womentum, she doesn’t ask young women to fit into existing systems; she helps reimagine the ecosystem itself. In doing so, she transforms capital from a resource into a tool of liberation, narrative, and collective reawakening.
