Middle Eastern entrepreneurs at the crossroads
I read Kathy’s last post — An American entrepreneur in the Middle East — with great interest. About five years ago, I was hired by the Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego to write a book titled Entrepreneurs at the Crossroads: Success Stories from the Middle East and North Africa. After the book was published, it was widely distributed to entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be in the Middle East and North Africa.
Ms. Randa Abdou, Marketing Mix and Creative Lab Agency
On November 24, Ms. Randa Abdou, a seasoned marketing expert and entrepreneur, spent the morning sharing her stories and personal inspiration with a select group of young marketers for the inaugural Marketing Executive Development Session (MEEP). Abdou focused the group on her personal mantra: that within every problem lies great opportunity. She highlighted particular problems she had face in her life and how from them different opportunities arose.
Arab Businesswomen Compare Work Experiences at Tunis Summit (Women seek to hone skills in leadership, marketing, finance)
Tunis, Tunisia — Gender has never been an impediment to success for three Arab businesswomen who addressed more than 200 women from all over the Middle East and North Africa at the Middle East North Africa Business Women’s Summit in Tunisia May 24.
“If people have some stereotype about what I can do or can’t do because I’m a woman, I can talk to them for five minutes and eliminate that stereotype,” said Randa Abdou, managing director of Marketing Mix in Egypt.
Read moreMinistry of Investment Profiles of success (Egyptian women entrepreneurs)
Randa Ibrahim Abdou, Founder and CEO of Marketing Mix and the co-founder of Creative Lab, grew up in Cairo, the daughter of a university professor and writer, and a stay-at-home mom who was active in Egyptian politics.
They taught her that, “nothing in life comes easy,” and that she would have to work for the things she wanted.
One for Egypt by Randa I. Abdou
This is not a commercial, this is just a message to the world
Read moreEndeavor Egypt – “How I See It” – Randa I. Abdou on Impact
Randa I. Abdou speaks about Impact at Endeavor Egypt’s “How I See It: Experiences Shared” event celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010.
Randa I. Abdou is the CoFounder & CEO of Creative Lab Advertising and Marketing Mix Consultants.
November 5, 2010.
Townhouse Gallery, Cairo.
About Randa Abdu the CEO and founder of Marketing Mix
When Randa Abdou’s employer—PepsiCo Foods in Cairo, Egypt—offered her a new position in the mid-’90s that would take her out of her beloved marketing department and into business development, she was forced to make a difficult decision. She could accept the assignment—and say goodbye to the marketing work she so much enjoyed—or she could leave the company and start her own marketing consultancy. At that time, few Egyptian companies were very savvy when it came to marketing, and they had a real need for the kind of services that Randa could offer them. Says Randa, “These local companies have the technical know-how, they have distributional sales force. What they are really missing is marketing, which is building their brands.
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