MONA ITANI

Mona Itani is a Lebanese social entrepreneur and social activist. She founded Riyada for Social Innovation in 2016 in Beirut. It’s an organization that aims to provide youth with practice-based social entrepreneurship education to develop solutions for real problems with the use of technology. She says: “Young people today are not aware of society’s real problems.We are starting with the youth to equip them with the skills and tools they need in order to make their society a better place.”

After earning her Masters in Engineering Management degree, she joined the Engineering Management program and the Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut where she served as a lecturer and researcher since 2011.

Due to her work in the field of young entrepreneurship, social responsibility and sustainability, she was selected to be an ambassador for the United Nations Global Compact Network in Lebanon.  Mona Itani is the chair of IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group Lebanon Section and the co-chair of Arab Women in Computing (ArabWIC) Lebanon Chapter. She won the Inspiring IEEE Women in Engineering Member of the year honourable mention award in 2016, IEEE Lebanon section most active member award for 2015, and was a finalist in the McKinsey Next Generation Women Leaders award for 2015.