From left to right, starting up to down: Wael Arakji, Yasmina Hayek, Omar Itani, Yasmin Darwich, Rayan Hayek, and Marina El Khawand..(Retrieved from Forbes Middle East's official website).
BEIRUT – Forbes Middle East just released its 30 under 30 lists of 2024, featuring 20 Lebanese young professionals. The lists were split into four categories – Science and Technology, Sports and Entertainment, Commerce and Finance, and Social Impact – each featuring 30 individuals “driving significant change” across the MENA region.
This year’s selection featured 120 entries and 153 shortlisted individuals representing 24 nationalities, based across 19 countries, including 48 Egyptians, 20 Lebanese, 12 Tunisians, 10 Saudis, nine Jordanians and seven Syrians.
Last year’s 2023 list featured 14 Lebanese innovators selected for their “potential and impact within their respective sectors and broader society.”
The selection was made through online nominations, whereby “the applicants could put themselves or someone else forward for consideration,” Forbes Middle East’s website stated.
Besides age and country of residence, selection criteria included awards won by the candidates, revenues achieved, values of deals made, number of people impacted, number of customers in each company and number of social media followers.
Meet the 20 Lebanese innovators who made the list
Science and Technology:
From left to right, and starting up to down: Asmaa Jrad, Haythem Dbouk, John Rachwan Kamil El Khoury, Kevin Hani. (Retrieved from Forbes Middle East's official website).
-Asmaa Jrad (29, UAE), a postdoctoral associate at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), is developing water filtration systems that use advanced covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) as molecularly designed active layers within conventional filters. Jrad has partnered with an industrial entity in the UAE to commercialize her technology.
-Haythem Dbouk (29, Cyprus) is the founder and CEO of Innovating Green Technology (IGT), which focuses on green energy systems. IGT built solar-powered hybrid electric cars in Lebanon, to address the oil and gas shortage in the country.
-John Rachwan (27, Germany), cofounded Pruna AI in November 2023. The company secured around $6.4 million in seed funding as of last September.
-Kamil al-Khoury (29, UAE) is a postdoctoral associate at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). His research focuses on organ engineering and bioprinting, tackling the critical scarcity of transplantable organs in modern medicine.
-Kevin Hani (25, UAE) cofounded ELEVEN22 in 2023 to create hyper-realistic digital twins and immersive BIM visualizations for customers to explore virtual representations of real estate projects. He previously also cofounded the travel app TripnTap, which was then acquired by Mughamer.com for $953,000 in 2022.
Sports and Entertainment:
From left to right, and starting up to down: Cedric Zovighian, Marc Gharios, Ralph Gharios, Chloe Kteily, Rayan Hayek, Wael Arakji. (Retrieved from Forbes Middle East's official website).
-Cedric Zovighian, Marc Gharios, Ralph Gharios (23, 24, 25, UAE and Lebanon), cofounded Tick'it in 2021, a platform for discovering music and entertainment events and making bookings online. Tick'it processed $1.2 million in ticket sales between January 2024 and September 2024, with over 3,000 physical points of sale across Lebanon.
-Chloe Kteily (27, Lebanon) is a Lebanese DJ who was the opening act for renowned artists such as Amr Diab and Tamer Hosny. She has played in major events across the MENA region.
-Rayan Hayek (19, Lebanon) is the host of “Baynetna,” a YouTube show where he has hosted major Arab celebrities since 2023, with over 50 episodes to date. Hayek has more than 3.1 million followers on Instagram.
-Wael Arakji (29, Lebanon) is a basketball player who was named most valuable player twice in FIBA Asia Cup 2022 and BCL Asia 2024. He contributed to his team's Al Riyadi Club’s Beirut victory in the first-ever Basketball Champions League Asia, helping them win a place at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024. Arakji signed to join Qatar’s Al Arabi Sports Club in October 2024.
Commerce and Finance:
From left to right, and starting up to down: Jad Hamadeh, Malek and Tara Gedeon, Mohammad Jad el Fakhani, Yasmina Hayek. (Retrieved from Forbes Middle East's official website).
-Jad Hamadeh (29, UAE), founded HD Smart Glass in 2021, a company that offers an enhanced innovative retrofit technology solution that turns standard glass into HD smart film glass. Currently operating in nine countries, the company has worked with top chain hotels like Atlantis The Royal in Dubai amongst others.
-Malek Gedeon and Tara Gedeon (both 29, UAE), co-founded the Gedeon Group in 2019 along with their brother Michael in the UAE. The fashion agency currently serves as a distributor and master franchise for PUMA, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.
-Mohammad Jad al-Fakhani (27, UAE and Lebanon), known as “Wolfofbey” on social media, is the founder and CEO of Beycom LLC, which launches, acquires, and invests in online e-commerce businesses.
-Yasmina Hayek (27, Lebanon) is the executive head chef at Em Sherif Holding, where she leads menu creation, culinary and creative direction and international expansion for her family’s Em Sherif restaurant across MENA, Europe and South America. They serve over 10,000 customers daily, across 24 branches(four of which the family directly owns in Lebanon and 20 franchises).
Social Impact:
From left to right, and starting up to down:Mariane El Khawand, Omar Itani, Sarah Ghanem, Yasmin Darwich. (Retrieved from Forbes Middle East's official website).
-Marina El Khawand (22, Lebanon) is the founder and president of Medonations, an NGO that provides free medical assistance in Lebanon, launched after the Beirut Port explosion. The organization saved over 20,000 lives by addressing critical healthcare needs and covered the costs of more than 110 surgeries.
-Omar Itani (28, Lebanon) is the founder and general manager of FabricAID which he launched in 2017 to collect second-hand clothing from privileged areas, fashion retailers and international charities which are then sold at micro-prices to marginalized communities. It has around 500 collection points with around 350 installed and 150 in stock between Lebanon and Jordan. He has generated $1.4 million in revenues in 2023.
-Sarah Ghanem (23, Lebanon), is the cofounder of DOODA Solutions, which uses advanced earthworm technology to convert organic waste into solid and liquid vermicompost. The company has 12,000 clients and has secured $300,000 in grants so far.
-Yasmin Darwich (24, Lebanon) is the founder and CEO of DonaLeb, a fitness and wellness app designed to promote employee engagement through virtual fitness challenges, while also supporting charitable causes. The platform converts activities like walking or running into donations for nonprofits while rewarding employees with perks such as healthy meal plans and gym subscription discounts. It has seen over 50,000 app downloads since its inception in 2022.