We don't tell visual stories. We craft pieces of inspiration. Startups Without Borders is setting off to raise the profile of refugee and migrant entrepreneurs, defying preconceptions and inspiring younger generations by providing role models for their future ventures. We are telling the stories of the architects of the future. These are our services:
Visual Storytelling
Entrepreneur Profiles
One thing Takoua Ben Mohamed never expected was selling her comics books across Europe and beyond. The Tunisian entrepreneur, who is based in Italy, decided to fight prejudice and racism with her artistic flair. She founded the intercultural comics “Fumetto Intercultura,” which narrate the everyday misadventures of a Muslim girl in Europe. This year, she participated in Startups Without Borders‘ panel on Social Innovation at Rome Startup Week, and launched her own film production company, where she is telling stories that crystallise the new European identity.
REACH: In figures
THE TEAM
Valentina Primo
The founder of Startups Without Borders, Valentina is a journalist with a Masters in peace studies, Human Rights, and EU policies. She has been involved in the Middle East's entrepreneurial landscape since 2013, having launched Egypt’s largest platform on entrepreneurship - Startup Scene Middle East - in 2017. She has given workshops and keynote speeches at conferences in Egypt, Palestine, Russia, Norway and Italy, including Lean Startup Nights Cairo, Egypt's RiseUp Summit, and Rome Startup Weekend. You can read some of her stories here and here.
Lenah Hafez
A filmmaker, tech-savvy practitioner and entrepreneur, Leena co-founded Cinema in Cairo 360 to make 360/VR video and audio content. An avid storyteller, Leena has conceptualized, produced, filmed, and edited short films for clients including Lean Startup Nights, Entreprenelle, and Oxfam. She is currently creating and directing an online TV show called Hawadeet, which tells the stories of different people, their struggles, hopes and dreams. You can watch her live coverage videos here.
Hadeel Hegazi
Hadeel is SWB’s Content and Social Media Lead. An English literature graduate, Hadeel is a Cairo-based communications practitioner, whose experience started off when she was very young, interning as a journalist for Daily News Egypt and Egypt Today. In 2014, she began delving into the cultural scene, working in a regional PR agency, and later on a local contemporary arts institution, where she would strike unique partnerships that helped increase the outreach to new audiences. This year, she joined Startups without Borders to connect creatively adapting entrepreneurs on the move to the resources that qualify them to grow their businesses and create the change they wish they bring to the world.