Project Girlpreneur: How 18 Girls Built Their First Businesses

In October 2025, Project Girlpreneur welcomed its first cohort: girls aged 15 to 17 from across Lebanon, each with an idea and the curiosity to see where it could go.

The program is free and fully online. For eight consecutive Saturdays, the girls met for about three hours, worked in small groups of three with a volunteer mentor, and built a project of their own. On the final day, each of them pitched it.

The first cohort in numbers

• 50 applications
• 21 girls enrolled
• 18 girls completed the program, an 86% completion rate
• 7 volunteer mentors, selected from more than 40 applicants
• 50% of participants came from public schools or low income backgrounds

What comes next

The top project received up to USD 1,000 in in kind support, and every girl who completed the program earned a certificate. The second cohort started in October 2026, now open to girls aged 13 to 17.

Project Girlpreneur is implemented by The Nawaya Network in partnership with Stand for Women. Learn more on our Project Girlpreneur page.