African Business Stories
According to the World Bank, Africa is the only region in the world where more women than men choose to become entrepreneurs. African Business Stories is a platform created to give voice to the experiences of these audacious African women. It is your insight into female innovators and entrepreneurs building and running businesses in Africa.The power of seeing successful people that look like you can never be overemphasized and so we are taking hold of our narrative and telling our own stories in order to inspire and multiply success not only in Africa but around the world.
African Business Stories
May Abdel Asim: Founder & MD HerStory Films - Empowering Women: Transforming Narratives, Inspiring Change
Ever felt like the existing media just doesn’t get you? That’s exactly how May Abdel-Essam felt, and instead of just complaining, she did something about it. Born in Egypt and raised in Germany, May returned to Egypt at 16 and turned her dissatisfaction with women's magazines into the creation of "What Women Want," a groundbreaking publication that evolved into a highly successful media agency. In this episode, she takes us through her remarkable journey from a young intern feeling unfulfilled in traditional roles to becoming a media mogul and empowering voice for female creatives.
May opens up about the ups and downs of her entrepreneurial journey, from launching her magazine without any investors to navigating ethical dilemmas in advertising. She shares poignant stories about rejecting lucrative deals to maintain high standards and the personal toll it took on her. We also cover the evolution of her ventures and her current passion project, Her Story Films, designed to uplift female creatives. This conversation is a treasure trove of insights on how to balance professional ambitions with personal well-being, and the transformative decisions that helped her prioritize mental health while achieving business success.
We also dive into the collaborative efforts that have amplified her impact, including her partnership the government of Netherlands to support female entrepreneurs through the Film Incubator initiative. May's journey underscores the importance of support networks and staying true to one’s values. If you're looking for inspiration, valuable advice for aspiring businesswomen, and a heartfelt reminder to embrace imperfection, this episode is a must-listen. Join us as we uncover the lessons May has learned over nearly two decades of forging her own path in the media world.
May has a BA in Mass Communication with a specialization in integrated marketing from Misr International University in Egypt. She is a VV Grow MENA Fellow, VV Global Network Leader and a TedxCairoWomen 2016 Speaker. She has been appointed the WED Egypt Ambassador for 2016 to 2018 (Women Entrepreneurship Day) creating a network of female entrepreneurs in Egypt.
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Hi there and welcome to another episode of African Business Stories. Africa is the only region in the world where more women than men choose to be entrepreneurs. What this says to me is that the story of business in Africa is the story of the African business woman. So we are on a journey of discovery to find these women and tell their stories. So we're on a journey of discovery to find these women and tell their stories. On the show, we will hear from female innovators and entrepreneurs building and running businesses in Africa. They will share the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journey and lessons learned along the way. Some of these women you may know, and many you may not, but I assure you that all their stories are inspiring in their own right. My hope is that these stories will inspire you to reach for your dreams and leave a legacy for generations to come. It makes such a big difference to us if you can rate, review and share our episodes. You can do this mainly on Apple Podcasts, and you can find us on all podcast platforms If you're in Africa. Spotify is now available, so check us out there and don't forget to rate, review and share.
Speaker 1:On today's episode, I chat with May Abdel-Essam, an Egyptian serial entrepreneur whose career in media spans almost two decades. She's the founder and managing director of what Women Want magazine, media and More Agency, mindful Publications and, most recently, co-founder of Her Story Films. May was born in Egypt, raised in Germany and returned to Egypt as a teenager. She describes how a frustration with the content of magazines as a young lady led her to start what Women Want magazine. How other companies impressed by the marketing of the publication approached her for advertising and activation campaigns. This led to the creation of the publication approached her for advertising and activation campaigns. This led to the creation of the media agency. 18 years later, her businesses continue to thrive and she's now focused on empowering other female creatives through a new venture Her Story Films. Let's get into it. Welcome to African Business Stories. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, very nice to be on board.
Speaker 1:I wanted to start very quickly with just getting to know you a little. I know that you were born in Egypt, but you were actually raised in Germany, which is so, so interesting. So how did that all happen?
Speaker 2:Well, my parents used to live in Germany and, of course, I didn't have much say in this. I was born in Egypt, but I was raised in Germany. I moved to Egypt when I was 16. So, yeah, so my first, my real socialization, my upbringing, the voice of my inner child, of my dreams, and all of that is actually in German. Wow. So what was that experience like? Growing up in germany? Anywhere you're planted, you just grow, you know. I mean, it's not much of a choice where you grow up, where your parents are, where you live and all of that. So, um, I think it was everything I knew back then. I knew Egypt, my home country, from holidays, from the summers basically. Kids of immigrants who grow up in the West usually know their home country from summer holidays. It's all about summer memories and lots of relatives and staying up late and getting to be spoiled by grandparents and all of that. So this was what I knew back then, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you grew up with dual languages. You were learning Arabic and German at the same time. Yes, I grew up bilingual.
Speaker 2:It was very important for my parents that we speak our native tongue fluently, that we don't go return in summers and speak with an accent or speak like this broken arabic. So it was very, very important for them that we're native in both languages. The, the country that we live in, that is our home and, at the same time, the country where we come from, our roots and and language and culture is is very much a a way to give roots to children who are raised in a country that is not theirs.
Speaker 1:So what brought you back to Egypt at 16? You said you moved back at 16.
Speaker 2:Yes, it wasn't my choice I mean, as a kid, it's never your choice. It was a decision. Actually, it wasn't a real family decision. It was more the decision of my mother, who was living with us in Germany and she didn't like it. She didn't get used to the weather, to the lack of sunshine, to the language, to the whole culture. It wasn't hers, and I think she was in her early forties when she said I'm not going to do this anymore and literally packed me in a suitcase and put me on a plane and said we're going to do this differently now. So yeah, it wasn't really my decision.
Speaker 1:So, coming back, what was that like for you as a 16 year old? You're a teenager, you're living your best life and you have to leave your friends and go back to Egypt. What was that like, I tell?
Speaker 2:you, I wasn't living my best life because I was in an age. I was at an age where you start conflicting with the own culture and the culture you're in. I was a very rough teenager and I was always a troublemaker. So it was this notion that my mom always thought back home, everything is better, the grass is greener, you know, on the other side. This was this notion, so for me it was like a fresh start somewhere else. I was extremely lucky.
Speaker 2:I got into the German school in Cairo and initially, suddenly I met people who are like me, who are either coming from mixed families they're half German, half Egyptian or they're children of diplomats, so they're used to moving around and it was very, very multicultural and international in a different way, because I was more at home, because we come from from the countries is reflects the same culture that my mom would like me to be more native in. And suddenly you know people look, look like you. I was the only brown kid in my class and suddenly you have like people who look like me and who get it when I say this is fine, this is not fine. So it was actually quite a refreshing experience. I loved it.
Speaker 2:I had a great time. I connected very, very easily and it was a very, very smooth transition. I never would have expected that. I think I was really lucky that it was and I kind of found my place. It was and I kind of found my place, which I had been able to in my first 16 years. I mean, how many teenagers know where they belong or find their place in such an early age? So for me it was actually. It was a good thing that happened.
Speaker 1:That is such a great story, so how did you then decide that you wanted to study drama in Berlin?
Speaker 2:but the spot at university. I was on a waiting list. I would have had to wait for like six semesters and my mom my mom did not want me to go, but my dad used to live in Germany. He came back later on after he retired, so he wanted me to come back to Germany. And my mom wanted, wanted me to live in Germany. He came back later on after he retired, so he wanted me to come back to Germany. And my mom wanted me to stay in Cairo.
Speaker 2:And so drama said I can come and study in like six semesters literally like two or three years, that I have to wait. And so I was looking for other things fashion, design, cinema, film, da da da. And then my mom said there's something called mass communication. It's quite nice, take a look. So I took a look, so this is actually what happened. And she said while you're waiting, why don't you start? I was like, yeah, I mean, you can't bum around like for six semesters and do nothing or work at McDonald's. So I said, why not? And I enrolled and, funny enough, I was always going to to go back. But then I met my now husband and we started dating at 19. So it's always a guy you know, so literally it's it's fate that got me back to Egypt and it's fate that kept me in Egypt. And yeah, yeah, I think it's been always in the books, so it wasn't really really my choice, it was something that just came up and kind of you know that diverted my path into a certain direction that's interesting.
Speaker 1:So so you, you go to university and you study mass communication. What were job opportunities like back in those days?
Speaker 2:let me go a step. I was never good at school. School was never interesting for me, you know, because I used to. I used to actually um, put all of my energy in okay, these subjects I can ace, so low-hanging fruit, and then these subjects I would have to invest this amount of time to get a B. But if I get a C I can let you know this my energy used to go into that direction, into how, to, how to, you know, harvest low-hanging fruit, never, never, reach for more. Because it wasn't interesting to me, because it was socially. I loved school. Academically I hated it. It was, in my eyes, one size fits all doesn't, doesn't work. It was a waste of my time completely.
Speaker 2:So when I went to university and I studied, actually, something I really like, I aced it. I was, I graduated with highest honors and it was something that came so easily and it made, it made so much sense and it was just duh, it's so easy, it's, it's a no-brainer, because it was some. For the first time I was studying something that I find interesting, that I completely understand and that that's just common sense to me. So the four years passed very, very easily and for me I was like oh wow, this is great, this is what. This is basically what I want to do. This is all about communications, about marketing, about having ideas, about getting them across, about pitching an idea and convincing somebody on the other end of the line to actually buy into your idea or to approve it or something like that.
Speaker 2:Because when I was younger I was like 16, I used to talk to my friend Nada. Back then I was like when I grew up, I didn't know what an agency is, I didn't have the terminology, and I used to say I want to get paid for my ideas. I want to have this company where I can sell ideas and people pay me for my ideas. So that's basically something I I had in my head and like fast forward, uh, fast forward to now, when I think of it. Actually, I do get paid for my ideas. So, okay, check done, great. So, um. So starting university is when I discovered that if you put your energy into something that you really really like and love and are passionate about, it doesn't feel like work. So this is where I had this moment. I was like okay, this is what I want. I want to be doing.
Speaker 1:Then you know you were talking and like three times you said it wasn't my choice, it wasn't my choice, it wasn't my choice. So would you say that this was kind of the first time where you chose.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, the first time where I chose. I still believe that we don't really choose, you know, I think that or in hindsight, you know, when I look at my life or the past years, I completely believe in divine intervention and I believe that while of course you do have a choice I mean you decide to go right or left Of course you do have a choice on a superficial level, but on a deeper level, I really believe that everything I chose, or I didn't, either was or wasn't for me. So I was always, you know, directed through divine intervention to a place I should be. You know, sometimes it's near serendipity that something pops up and you're at the right time at the right place. Other people call it destiny, other people call it divine intervention.
Speaker 2:You know, whatever rocks anybody's boat, but I believe that sometimes things that are meant to be yours find you. That doesn't mean that you don't make find you. That doesn't mean that you don't make decisions. That doesn't mean that you don't work hard, that doesn't mean that you don't give your best. But I still believe that sometimes we think we make choices, conscious choices, and sometimes they're just not things, and if you allow them to happen, sometimes really beautiful things happen so, just coming back to your story, uh, so you, you finish university, you, you actually find something that you love to do and it's it's no longer feels like work.
Speaker 1:So when you then have to go out and and find find a job, it's also funny because I never really looked for a job, the jobs always found me.
Speaker 2:So again because my first job I used to during college. I used to intern in a marketing research firm. I used to work with them part-time, I was their intern and as soon as I finished my studies, they they offered me a job. So I had a job, you know, and then I graduated I think I was like maybe 21, 22, something in that range, and I was working full-time until I was 26. And in these five, six years I had so many jobs because every year I was never stable in a place. I was always working very, very intensely.
Speaker 2:And then I reach a point where somebody offers me another job and I was like, oh wow, this is like way more than I than I make. Maybe it's time for a change. Because when you're younger, like six months feels like elephant years, or a year feels like elephant years. Now, in my 40s, I was like, yeah, I need another year to think about it. You know like crazy, crazy terms, yeah. So I kept on going from one nice job to another and my longest maybe was like two years or two years and a half, and I would always find that I'm that, that I'm bored. You know, it's like something is is missing and, um, I, I do the job. Well, I get promoted, I excel, I do this and I do that and then suddenly I'm I'm completely bored. I think that I'm using I was not using my whole capacity.
Speaker 2:You know, it's like what do I do the rest of the day? And yeah, and this took on for a while, until I started the magazine, I was still working in a job. I had like a small disagreement with my back then manager and I was like you know what, i'm'm gonna quit and I'm gonna focus on on the magazine. And this is basically what I did, because it would have been. I was into um, I had issued the first two issues and I was still working, and then I quit um, took an office and yeah, and then almost 20 years passed since that day so what made made you start the magazine?
Speaker 1:You were already in a dress, so this is you being bored and wanting to do something extra? I'm assuming.
Speaker 2:Yeah, some people approached me. They wanted to work on a guide for women da, da, da, stuff like that and then I kind of turned it into a magazine. I was like, yeah, why not? I used to do the school magazine and here and there and stuff like that and it's my study, it's what I know, it's what I like, I've always been a writer and writing in a school magazine and stuff like that and there's nothing really that resembles me that I can read.
Speaker 2:I mean, all of the women's magazines are like very glossy and it's all about glitz and glam and usually they don't represent people who look like us. They're all like. I mean, I grew up in the 90s, so size zero was something that basically you know, ruined my relationship with food until now. So they never really looked like me, neither in Germany or even when I moved to Egypt. They still didn't look like me. Because you have all the magazines still trying to get the blonde, bleached, skinny babe on the cover and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:There's always been so many mixed messages. You know, page five, how to love yourself, page 10, how to lose that mommy pooch, and then page 15, how to get a nose job, and then page 20? How to keep the guy. Is that so many mixed messages? What is it? Should I love myself, get a nose job or change myself for the guy? Just give me one clear message so I can understand. So I think that was a little bit of of how it all started. And then we yeah things you know just got a life of its own.
Speaker 1:So the people who approached you, were they approaching? Were they going to fund the magazine, or how did you fund?
Speaker 2:No, they actually it has it had an. It was an idea we were going to all co-fund and we're not partners anymore. That was really literally a thing of 18 years ago and no, the magazine.
Speaker 2:I've never, ever had an investor. All of my businesses are literally bootstrapped. I've never had an investor. Partnership is so so, so, so very difficult because I have a certain moral compass or like an ethical standard that I've set very, very high for me and and oftentimes I would always say, if I had a partner at this stage, that person would think I'm a complete nutcase and take the way away the company from me because, for example, I don't take certain advertisers. I would not take. I mean, you have all of the the beauty, plastic surgery industry. They're like lining up to advertise with us because we have high credibility among our target audience and I would never, ever take money or communicate on any of my platforms that you do need a nose job. I mean, if you want to go get one, go ahead. It's great respect, but it's not something I'm going to sell to younger girls. So, um, so yeah, so it. It it's always has been bootstrapped. It always has been uh, my own money, my own risk.
Speaker 1:Um, uh, yeah and how have you seen that grow? What's your readership like? Over the years it's been more over 15 years.
Speaker 2:The magazine is turned 18 years last march. Yes, so congratulations, thank you. I think the first 10 years I've been just running, running, running, because you have this, this, this hustling mentality. You know, you're just, you're a hustler. You have to like, take care here and there, and oh my god, how I'm gonna pay rent and salaries, and here and there, and oh my god, how I'm gonna pay rent and salaries, and here and there, and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:And then suddenly, after 10 years, you realize, okay, we're not, like, we're not a startup, so you don't, you can't continue doing business with the startup mentality. You need to realize that you're at a certain point and you need to start behaving accordingly. That was a learning process, because you have this, this mentality, like, okay, I'm going to bring this from home and I'm going to like bring the printer from home, and you know this hustle mentality. And then you reach a point. No, this, this is a business. It has to generate income, it has to be able to able to scale, it has to have certain attributes. So it took a while. So the first 10 years it's like running, running, running, trying to to stay afloat and to be relevant, and all of this and then suddenly you realize, oh OK, let's just take a break and just like, take a look and reevaluate, reassess. Are we running into the right direction? Is it this, is this what you really want? And stuff like that.
Speaker 1:And you also started another magazine in that time.
Speaker 2:I know it's been discontinued started another magazine in that time I know it's been discontinued the travel mag. It was um. Back in 2010. It we launched in 2010, right before um two issues before the egyptian revolution in in 2011, jan 2011 and it was, back then, the only travel magazine in town. It was doing really great. I personally loved it. I love traveling, I love the imagery and for me, it was it was a second magazine. So all of the things that I learned, the mistakes I made with the first magazine it was like you know, instead of starting here, you started there. So it was like a really nice rollout. I loved it.
Speaker 2:And then the revolution happened and and then, of course, you had huge economic problems and there was for a long time, there was no tourism and inbound, outbound and stuff like that. So I literally printed the fourth issue out of my own pocket for nostalgic reasons, because I want the. 2011 was such a glorious date. I wanted to have it on the cover printed and all of that. But I had to pull the plug because it was about surviving and for me, what women want magazine had to be the one that survived. So I had to pull the plug on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and back then, actually 2010,. I had founded a publishing house called Mindful Publications. It was in Cyprus back then and I was going to start to publish books. And there's a book of a friend of mine, a novel she had written back then and that was supposed to be the first one. Sense of Musk is the name. But I lost so much money during the revolution and all of that, so I had to tell her go ahead, you have to find another publisher or self-publish or whatever. I will not be able to do it because I lost money and I have to make sure that we, you know, you have to get rid of any excess and you have to make sure that you stay light and agile and float through this financial crisis. So I had to shut down the publishing house and all of that. Ten years later, in 2020, I founded it again. It's based in Egypt and we started publishing books.
Speaker 2:So this is what I mean with's, not with a divine intervention. It really happens at the right time, because I want so, I always want, I'm very fast paced and I want so many things and I try to and I do so many things at the same time, but this was just not. The time wasn't right. 2010 wasn't right for me in that stage to publish books um 10 years or 12 years later. It just makes more sense. It was. It was different, it was a different experience. It was a different financial standing that I had. It was a different uh network that I had. It was a different safety net that I have now versus in 2010, which which made it easier for me to do that 10 years later. So sometimes it just takes a decade for the right time to just come.
Speaker 1:At some point in between Mindful publications and what Women Want magazine, you started a media agency, so talk to us a bit about that.
Speaker 2:That was actually also almost 18 years ago. Thing is that I also studied marketing and all of that, so it's always been a thing. So I started doing different activations marketing activations to promote the magazine. I would ask brands with like really low budget to sponsor it, and the idea was always to promote the magazine. You know, I would have like I get an outdoor kitchen on a very known beach the North Coast during August, so everybody would be there and I would get back then a very famous celebrity TV chef to come and cook and would ask sponsors to pay for the ingredients and stuff like that, and the idea was always to promote the magazine. So people would come, brands would approach me and would ask me OK, could you like work on a proposal and do activations but that are not related to the magazine, that are related to our brands purely. I was like, yeah, why not? Does it pay? Let's do it.
Speaker 2:So this is basically how it happened and it allowed me to be autonomous in the magazine because media and more the agency would bring in money and at times where the magazine would not make any money because it's very difficult for a publication that relies on advertising and and and things like that way before the social media age. I mean, we're there since 2006, so you had good months and bad months and and it's it's not like a very profitable industry. If you do it my way, you know. If you do it the other way and becomes this glitz and glam and we say anything just to to to sell more ads, then of course it's it's profitable. So media more gave me fulfilled the, the need that I had for people to pay me money for my ideas. So initially that was a good thing and it was a source of income. That's commercial.
Speaker 1:that makes sense yeah, I've seen some of your clients. You have some incredible clients. I saw astZeneca on the list. You know Johnson and Johnson Vodafone. That business ran off and has been very successful.
Speaker 2:Thank God I can't complain. I mean back again, if I go back to 2009,. We started going into tech and doing websites and all of that which was back then a needed thing in the Egyptian market. And 2010, we started offering our clients social media management. It was weird back then to go to a company and tell them you pay us money and we manage your Facebook. The IT does that. You had the IT person post weird cats and dog pictures and stuff like that for a company. So in 2010, we had our first social media client and then the revolution happened and the social media boom happened and then it was very relevant what we're doing. So I think 2010 to 2016 was our peak. We had loads of FMCG clients. We used to do most work for Nestle and all of its brands Nescafe and stuff like that was the peak. It was really a peak that we had. We started a production house producing digital content online. We would have the Germans come here and stay for a few months with us and produce all of their global assets and stuff like that. So it was a really, really good time and it was also a peak for the agency.
Speaker 2:And it was a very bad time for me, because I was completely burnt out of doing so many things at the same time. And it's a very digital, it's a very dynamic industry. You're, you're, you're online all the time. You uh get a complaint. Uh, saturday morning, friday morning, and stuff, you, you're alert all the time. And and back then, 2014, 2015, I was already burning out and I burned out so many younger people who work in the creative industry along with me and then I was like, no, this is not, this is not how how I want to live and this is not the lifestyle I signed up for. This is not what I want for myself, this is not how I want to live and this is not the lifestyle I signed up for. This is not what I want for myself and this is not what I want for my team. It was a long process. Back then, I started to like feng shui, my life and see okay, which client is draining us, which client is not making the money we should be doing? We started to put boundaries. Okay, we're not doing this on the weekend. If we're going to do this on the weekend, it's an extra charge. We would hire somebody else to do it, stuff like that. And it was a long, long process to actually move from.
Speaker 2:Back then I wanted to be like the biggest social media agency in Egypt, and here and there that was, you know, like crazy stuff. You always think you want to be the biggest, the best and all of this. And then you realize there's a hefty, hefty price tag and if it costs my kidney, I don't want it, and if it costs my mental health, I don't want it, because at the end of the day, I mean, it's just advertising. You know, it's not like I'm saving Palestine or I'm creating a cure for cancer. It's something very, very shallow and it's something we do for fun. And so I started to change it. Now, my team we never had nine to five hours. I mean, you had nine to five and then you leave whenever the job is done and then no, I want to attend my kids, I want to take my kids to practice, I want to still do homework, I want to be there for bedtime, da da, da.
Speaker 2:And then it took. It took a while, but then it was a decision taken. We started to actually only work with clients who we extremely respect, we love their products, we get along with, who have some some sort of a purpose. We do a lot for UN women, we do a lot for for USAID, we do a lot for the National Council for Women and stuff like that. So suddenly it's also just came into our direction that we have this certain expertise when it comes to women and family and creating content and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:And then we started attracting the people or the clients we really want to work with. So what I'm saying because sometimes you make a choice and you're not really aware of of the beautiful things you're going to be attracting, uh, when you move boundaries. So it was also a process that I started doing right at the peak because, um, we were at the peak and things look good, but you're not really happy and and to enjoy because you're so exhausted and and give me limitations and no, this is not what I want to do that is so interesting, you know, because a lot of times you're right, we're chasing success, but at the expense of our soul, and sometimes you know it.
Speaker 1:It's important to stop and and take stock of what's really important, and I think a lot of things have happened in life recently that that make us think about what is important and how we balance this desire to succeed and what does success look like, from family to work.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So that's very interesting. So you make that balance, you set your boundaries, you attract the clients that you actually want, actually actually want to work with. But then May doesn't stop. She goes on and starts more businesses.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, yeah, it's trauma response. I'm sure it's trauma response. All of this is trauma response, so yeah.
Speaker 1:You now take the zero focus on on women and giving back and empowering other women and we come to mindful publication, where you pick up this publication business again and focus on women and publishing books. I don't know that I know any other company that does that. Maybe they are, but at least not on the continent. So what made you pick that up again and just focus exclusively on women writers?
Speaker 2:I think it's always like this really nice puzzle piece, okay. And then when I wanted to put this puzzle piece in my puzzle 10 years ago, it wasn't the right time, it wasn't the right fit, you know, and back then the idea wasn't about women and all of that. It was just, oh, my god, my, this is really great, I want to do it. I love this book and and my friend wrote it and stuff like that. And then, when it happened at the right time, I was at the place, uh, in in life and in, in in my experience, in my, in my, my journey, where I this makes more sense because this is something that I've been doing my whole life, even consciously or subconsciously, and I really feel that this is what I want to be doing. If I can give my platforms or my access or my network to other women to create art or to get their message across, then this is a win for everyone. So I said, okay, this makes sense, and out of this came the idea of Her Story Films. Her Story Films is the latest baby and it's a film production company that is exclusively doing capacity building for female filmmakers and producing female filmmakers. We currently have developed 20. We had a competition for a film incubator. Over 140 female directors applied. 20 were selected by a selection committee, by a selection committee. Their short films were developed in an incubator and actually were announcing the final six projects today or tomorrow and next week we will be choosing three short films from these six and they will be produced after the summer.
Speaker 2:And for me it was like a natural evolution of of what I've, what I'm doing, because I'm a storyteller. I always see myself, I've been a storyteller all my life in different, different forms of of, of different platforms, different media and all of that. And I always saw myself as, saw myself as somebody who builds bridges, because my connection between the East and the West Germany and the Western culture and our Arab Oriental culture, so I've always seen myself as like an ambassador of a sort. So it kind of came naturally that the story is in writing and then it's in a book and then it's in visual media and so on and so forth.
Speaker 2:So it was just a natural extension. The twist here is that for the first time in many, many years, I do have a partner, and actually it's quite a crazy story. I was having a massage. I always say it's a meditation. It sounds so much cooler, but actually it was a massage and I was in a meditative state and I was like, oh my god, uh, why don't you call this and this and this? And there were like four a-list actors. It's like you have a, you know, it's like you have a meditation. And then, uh, you would say you, you say okay, uh, julia roberts and reese witherspoon, and, and like nicole kidman you know, this was my dream, but in the Arab world. And I was like, yeah, why don't we do it? And we call it Her Story Films.
Speaker 2:And then, literally, I called up Munazaki. Munazaki is maybe the equivalent of Nicole Kidman to the West Arab world. And I told her about my idea and she was like, yeah, right, sounds amazing, I'm in. I was like, wow, that was real, just like my idea. And she was like, yeah, right, sounds amazing, I'm in. I was like, wow, that was real. Oh, my god, just like that. I was like, okay, wow, I would have never, you know, like manifested this in my wildest dreams.
Speaker 2:But, um, it happened and here we are and and yeah, so it's like the way I evolved, it's, it's the way the businesses and the work and what I'm doing evolved, and so many things. When I, like, sat with myself, do I want to die doing this or do I want to die doing that? So I got rid of many, many things that don't serve me anymore and that I don't want on my journey and I said, thank you, you're amazing, but we're not, you're not coming with, you know. So it's always about because the thing about choices I mean, you have to make these choices, but in the end, I believe that there's a path, and I always had this feeling as a child that God has something really, really big for me and I just have to reach it.
Speaker 2:So this was like a thread throughout all of my life, you know, since I was a little child. It's weird and it sounds crazy. It's the first time I say it out loud, not in front of the mirror, but I always had this feeling and whenever something like that happens, I was like, oh, wow, this is it. What's next. You know I have this childish excitement about okay. So yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 1:A couple of questions, May. So why this time did you decide to have a co-founder? Because I saw that when I was reading up her story films.
Speaker 2:And why now? I think that in the past 20 years I've worked so much on myself and I learned so much about myself, so it's much, much easier to um, to have a partner or to to to enter any form of relationship when you're older, you know, because you enter it with a different mindset. You're a different person. It's like, uh, it's like getting married at 20 or at 40. Would your choices at 20 be the same at 30 or at 40? Or it's like buying a car Is it the same car that you buy at 20, at 30, at 40? You get what I mean. You're a completely different person. So you're not the same person you were. Maybe you're not the same person that would have certain insecurities the same person you were. Maybe you're not the same person that would have certain insecurities. So you would not be able to talk it out or to hash it out with a business partner. And maybe now you can. You know it's like a different situation.
Speaker 1:Is it the government of Netherlands that is, or is it an agency in Netherlands that is partnering with you on this?
Speaker 2:Film Incubator is proudly funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. They signed three years with Her Story Films and we're doing two Incubator editions in those three years, with the outcome of six short films that are pressing gender issues, that hopefully are written and directed by Egyptian filmmakers and that hopefully will go to different festivals and allow us to tell our stories. So we own the narrative and we tell our own stories instead of having stories told about us. That's also a very, very important point and thread throughout my life.
Speaker 1:Apart from the work that you do, still with a focus on women, did you create a support network for women in Egypt? I was reading.
Speaker 2:It's quite a funny story because this network it's a network of female entrepreneurs and it's called. It translates into when are you going to make us happy? And it's always used in the context of getting married. You know, if somebody would be told this, like all of the older aunts on a wedding, they would like ask this question if you're not married. So when the magazine turned like 10 years, we used it as our campaign tagline and we would have, like in cartoons, this question being asked in a speech bubble and we have this posh pinup girl would reply and say I'm already happy, I'm the youngest manager in my family, I'm already happy, I already opened a branch of my company in dubai and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:So we turned something really annoying into into into fun content. And then it turned into a video where, like we, we gathered 26 entrepreneurs to give some advice to other women on how to do it. And then it turned into a conference and then it turned into a network where we have like over 120 businesswomen, entrepreneurs supporting each other. We have like a group and somebody would post I'm looking for an HR executive, 10 would like post stuff like that, you know. So this is kind of the business sisterhood that we have. Wow, that is amazing.
Speaker 1:The business sisterhood that we have. Yeah, wow, that is amazing. Thank you for sharing that. So, in the spirit of reflecting as we round up, I normally ask my guests two things at the end a reflection and some advice. We like advice here. Just in reflecting on all these amazing businesses and things that you've built over the last 18 years, what would you say has been some of the most impactful things that you I know that you're still achieving? I get that sense that we're still building, we're still going. But just looking back, what are some things that you're very proud of that you feel this has been impactful and grateful that I was able to do that?
Speaker 2:I think that the fact that we survived this very tough industry for so many years without really compromising myself, without compromising things I believe in this is something I'm very, very proud of. I'm proud of the fact that I learned to prioritize what's really important in life. So this is something I'm I'm proud of. It's not about because I don't really measure success in terms of money or or being around and stuff like that. It's for me, about about the impact I would have on my surrounding. For me if it's sometimes really funny because a few years back I had like I was interviewing someone and and for a job, and she was a fresh graduate and she was like I grew up reading your magazine, so I was like, oh wow, I I'm kind of offended because that makes me really old, because you're like really old, and I was like, oh wow, this is something, wow this.
Speaker 2:I was like, oh wow, this is something, wow. I was really like wow. And then I said I'm so happy because I do believe that we have this kind of responsibility, because when I used to read magazines, I used not anything enough of all of these girls that make it to glossy magazines or are in the limelight. So all of the media I consumed when I was younger, it was really toxic for me and it made me feel less than it never empowered me. It never gave me like a really nice female role model to look up to and to say, oh my God, I can be her. So when, when fast forward so many years later, a young girl says that she grew up with it and she felt the opposite, that was like, oh my God, I can literally die now. You know, this was this kind of that that made my my year.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. So, in terms of advice, what advice would you give other women who are building businesses across the continent?
Speaker 2:Usually, I think literally the best formula is look for something that you love, do it passionately and vigorously and hope that it loves you back and then give it your all. And then when you see it loves you back, then it it your all. And then when you see it loves you back, then it's great. If it doesn't love you back, kick it out, because not everything is meant to be for everyone at at any given time. And don't take yourself too seriously. Life is too short, you can still do tomorrow. I always thought, no, I have to do it, I have to do today. No, you don't have to do, you can still do it tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day, it's okay. The world is not going to. No, you don't have to do it, you can still do it tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day, it's okay. The world is not going to end if you don't submit it on time. The world is not going to end if this pitch is not perfect enough.
Speaker 2:This is actually a note to self. It's more a note to myself rather than advice, because I'm the last person to give advice, but these are the things that I think are important, that I would like to share. And don't take yourself too seriously. I mean, it's just. You know, we're literally just. It's so insignificant, whatever we do is so insignificant at the end of the day, and it's not really what matters. And what we do is not who we are. This is something I really had to learn, because whenever I do something and it's rejected or it faces negative criticism or anything because art is so subjective and work is so subjective, it's not me being rejected, it's just something that I did and it's what I do. It's not who I am. This is very, very important and it was something I had to learn the hard way. And, yeah, always evaluate if you're running into the right direction it's not always the right direction and have fun.
Speaker 1:Have fun, yeah, have fun.
Speaker 2:If it's not fun anymore, then no, there's no point. Exactly exactly.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, May. This has been a great conversation. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for listening. If you're not already subscribed, please do so on apple, spotify or wherever you get your podcast, and don't forget to leave us a review so we know how we're doing. I'm akego okoye and you have been listening to african business stories.