My background is in telecomm for a national company from 1989-1994. In 1994 I joined the largest bank in Bahrain and advised on investments for high networth individuals.  I also partnered with Arabtec Masawa Construction Company, the largest construction company in the UAE. I am also Director of Inoui Design, an Architecture company.

Since the company opened its doors in 2006, Inoui Designs has had its hands full with major retail, construction, health project such as the interior design of King Hamad Hospital Bahrain and hospitality clients, including Maya La Chocolaterie & Maya Delices and many more concepts.

My family is entrepreneurial, and I realized I could create something new for women and for my family. With the support and love of my family, I created Living Concepts as a hospitality company. It has been an enjoyable roller coaster! I learned from the banking business, the need to diversify in case of crashes.. I created Living Concepts and Maya La Chocolaterie for protection after the Real Estate Crash.

 We are the first company in Bahrain to set up a franchise model and by 2020 hope to be an IPO.

My preparation has been a hybrid of experience and formal education. I received a great deal of education throughout my experience in the banking industry and I received my MBA from Hull University in Strategic Marketing. I also took courses for Professional Chocolatier to learn how to make my chocolate.

Being a woman and an entrepreneur while also being a single mom with two daughters has put "life balance" in perspective. Luckily the Supreme Council of Women and the Queen Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa and my family have been very supportive of all my endeavors.

I never see myself running the show. I am part of a team and that is my strength.

The fact that we created the franchise model in Bahrain and have taken the company from here to Europe is a great accomplishment along with all of the media attention we received from hospitality because of our model.

My goal is to become the global and Maaha Chocolaterie to be an IPO by 2020. In order to fulfill this goal we are creating a strong presence on social media, most notably Instagram and  Facebook (Food & Travel- Arabia) and Insider Travel -we had over 1.5 million views!

Being a role model for my two daughters and making them proud has been my greatest inspiration. Second to that, I want to create a success story, and show women, in this part of the world especially, that they can be successful entrepreneurs. 

I want to be remembered as a successful female entrepreneur who made a positive difference in the world and created opportunity for others.

• Award from the Smile Foundation
• 2 awards from the Ministry of Education for my Diploma and my MBA

• Smile Foundation Ambassador
• Bahrain Cancer Society

I enjoy spending time with my daughters, reading, and traveling!