The “Rendez-vous” show this Sunday, February 25 addresses this question: “How to reach the summit starting from afar, starting from nothing?” To answer this, Christophe Deborsu receives Sana Afouaiz, founder and managing director of Womenpreneur-Initiative, author of “Invisible Women of the Middle East: True Stories”.
Sana Afouaiz is founder and managing director of Womenpreneur-Initiative, author of “Invisible Women of the Middle East: True Stories”. She is also a UN Ambassador and one of the 10 most influential women in the world. “It’s incredible!“, exclaims Christophe Deborsu, impressed by this journey. But before leading this brilliant career, the young woman did not have it easy.
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Successes are not personal
Coming from a large family of 9 children, Sana Afouaiz had to leave home at the age of 13. “Despite everything, I was very lucky. I was supported by the local librarian. Every month he gave me a book and then to debate“. Over the years, her steely mentality instilled by her mother offered her numerous opportunities: American scholarships, from the European Commission and a double master’s degree in Political Science. Arriving in Belgium in 2016, she had the meeting that would change his life. “I came across my mentor, Patrick Menache. He accompanies me today and it is this person who believed in me“, explains the author. “Successes are not individual or personal, but collective“.
An evidence
It was in 2016 that she decided to settle in Belgium. “Brussels was my first choice. When I walk the streets of the city, I hear different accents. I find myself in this diversity, which reflects my journey“, indicates Sana Afouaiz. Indeed, following Dubai, the European capital is the most cosmopolitan city. Brussels, in the heart of Europe, proves to be an obvious choice for the young woman.
Newly arrived in the flat country, she launched into entrepreneurship, with an initiative combining technology which helps women from Belgium, North Africa and more recently, Sub-Saharan Africa. “I want Brussels to be THE city of technological entrepreneurship globally. I believe in it, if I’m here, it’s because it’s possible“.
To complete her projects, the young woman gets up every day at 5 a.m. and ends her day at 10 p.m.,”and sometimes even more“. For Sana Afouaiz, this pressure is not linked to her status as an immigrant woman: “I am proud of my origins and I don’t see that as a difficulty. It’s more because I love what I do“.
After a three-year fight, she launched her first 100% female training center at Gare du Nord. In all, 20,000 women were helped thanks to Sana Afouaiz’s initiative.
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