Rana Nomani

A Jordanian social entrepreneur who revolutionized education access through tech innovation

Rana Nomani is a Jordanian social entrepreneur and founder of MentorMentis, an edtech platform connecting students with mentors globally. Born in 1985, she grew up witnessing educational disparities in the Middle East which inspired her life's work. In 2016 she launched MentorMentis, which has since connected over 50,000 students from 142 countries with professional mentors through its digital platform.

Her most impactful initiative was the UNICEF Jordan Mentoring Project (2017-2019), providing career guidance to 3,000 Syrian refugee youth through virtual mentorships. This program achieved 92% employment placement rates among participants, demonstrating transformative impact in crisis situations.

Nomani's approach combines tech innovation with human-centric design, creating a scalable model now replicated in 15 countries. She was named one of Forbes Women to Watch in 2018 and received the MIT Solve Education Prize in 2019. Her work highlights the power of mentorship in breaking cycles of poverty and displacement, particularly benefiting marginalized groups like refugees and rural women.