Noha Al-Yousef
Saudi businesswoman Noha Al-Yousef won the first-place award at this year’s Okaz Entrepreneurship Competition at the level of both the Kingdom and the Arab world.
Al-Yousef received the award at the opening of the 11th Souq Okaz, in the presence of Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH).
Expressing delight and appreciation upon receiving the award, he said, “I am very proud and happy, and our group is the first company to provide 149 initiatives and 40 projects globally, benefiting 5 million youths. We care primarily about developing Arab youths. The city of Jeddah has a role in this win as it has been a commercial, trade and business city for thousands of years, and continues to enjoy the support of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.
Al-Yousef was awarded the Stevie World Business Award in 2016, making her the first Saudi and Gulf national to win the award. She was honoured with the gold prize for her founding and management of the Ithraa Consulting Group in 2009 in Jeddah as the first comprehensive consultancy group in its field. The company began by providing consultancy services and studies in the field of developing Saudi female employment and projects. It expanded its scope to provide initiatives and consultancies in strategic fields, and vocational guidance for small and medium-sized companies.
Al-Yousif began her professional career while still a second-year university student. She continued to climb the business ladder, going on to be appointed as the youngest Saudi CEO of a group of companies in the Kingdom during her final year of university.
