Deema Freij

Saudi Arabian entrepreneur who pioneered women's economic empowerment through tech startups in the Middle East

Deema Freij is a visionary business leader who shattered gender barriers in Saudi Arabia's tech sector. Born in 1988, she founded SaudiWoman.com in 2010, the first professional networking platform for women in the Kingdom. This platform has connected over 500,000 users and facilitated $120 million in business deals, revolutionizing women's access to economic opportunities.

In 2015, Freij launched Womena, the first global venture capital fund exclusively investing in women-led startups. Her $10 million fund has backed over 80 companies across 30 countries, including projects in renewable energy and fintech. She also created the Womena Accelerator, providing mentorship and seed funding to female entrepreneurs in the Middle East.

Freij's advocacy led to policy changes in Saudi Arabia's labor laws, including the 2019 mandate requiring businesses to hire at least 30% women. Her TEDx talk "Breaking Barriers for Women in Business" has been translated into 15 languages. She advises the World Bank on gender-equality initiatives and co-authored the World Bank Report on Women's Entrepreneurship in MENA.

Her innovations include the Womena Scorecard, an AI tool that identifies high-potential female founders, and the Virtual Mentorship Network connecting Saudi entrepreneurs with global experts. Freij was named Forbes Middle East's Most Influential Woman in Business in 2021 and received the UN Women's Empowerment Award.