Founded in 2014 by Nezha Alaoui, the Mayshad Foundation is a U.S. based non-governmental organization with operations in Morocco, and other African countries. The Foundation exists to develop marginalized communities through education, entrepreneurship and sustainable solutions to climate change. Nezha participates throughout the world in conferences and panels on the subjects that are related to the causes she supports.
The Mayshad Foundation’s programs support underserved women and girls in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. These programs focus on three primary areas: social entrepreneurship, education and climate change solutions. The programs are offer solutions to meet with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) adopted in 2015 by the United Nations.
To find out more about the projects and the way they are shaping the next generation of business leaders, Digital Journal caught up with Nezha Alaoui.
Digital Journal: What are the main trends in business today?
Nezha Alaoui: The big one is with social entrepreneurship, which is becoming part of the new range of entrepreneurial projects. In addition, fashion brands are expanding to lifestyle, which is an inevitable trend within the fashion industry. Such innovational concepts have more power today than ever before.
DJ: How important is the digital revolution for businesses?
Alaoui: Digital technology allow us to be our own communication voice. It also helps self-made entrepreneurs share their business story, which empowers others, and also gives visibility and spirit to their own business.
DJ: Is it easy for women to develop successful business ideas?
Alaoui: It is as easy for women to develop ideas from the minute that we stop considering ourselves as a weak gender. Women are strong in organizing and multitasking. We, therefore, have great entrepreneurial skills that we should dare to take advantage of.
DJ: What advice would you give to aspiring business women?
Alaoui: “Be Who You Want to Be” is a good slogan. It is about facing our selves and situations with truth, and accepting who we are in order to build a better self. Without a clear vision that matches our capabilities we will never be able to grow a long lasting business that empowers us. When we start being who we want to be positive things come our way and we start finding solutions to all our challenges.
DJ: How about millennials aiming to breakthrough, what advice would you give them?
Alaoui: Today’s successful businesses are all about story telling. We cannot build long lasting businesses based on a fake stories. It is also important to include a social aspect with new entrepreneurial projects. This will give the company more values and empower teams and clients.
DJ: What services does the Mayshad Foundation provide?
Alaoui: Mayshad Foundation has empowered women and youth since 2014, through programs targeting education and social entrepreneurship. Through various innovative social projects, the Mayshad Foundation has impacted on lives of families and their communities by allowing them to make a positive contribution to the local economy.
DJ: Which countries do you focus on?
Alaoui: Primairly African countries. We have worked in Morocco , Madagascar and Mauritania and we will be focusing on other African countries .
DJ: Which types of business venture do you work with most often?
Alaoui: I work with brand collaborations on my designs. It has been mainly with the lifestyle industry where I align my empowering message to a collection that I design for other brands, each of which aims to empower women and millennials.
DJ: How important is social media for communicating ideas?
Alaoui: Social media allows us to have a continuous presence and visibility. However, it takes consistency to grow an audience as well as quality content.
DJ: Which types of technologies interest you the most?
Alaoui: Financial technology is what interest me the most as an international business woman. The more solutions we can find to ease the financial transactions the more time we can save in life – where every minute counts.
