Support Female Entrepreneurs in Palestine

Ma’ali is a pharmacist who studied at An-Najah National University. She is married and has two children. Despite her studies, Ma’ali does not work in pharmaceuticals and has been working at a money exchange store for 9 years. As Ma’ali’s eldest son began to grow up, she realized that he was incredibly intelligent and that his cognitive abilities far exceeded any educational tools available in Palestine. Both Ma’ali and her son endured a very difficult period, as her son was not challenged in school and developed behavioural problems. Conversely, it was evident early in his development that Ma’ali’s second son had a learning disability. Ultimately, Ma’ali was confronted with the same problem as with her eldest son; there were no educational tools for her second son that would address his cognitive needs. Ma’ali decided to find a solution to meet the educational needs of her children. She began attending conferences and workshops to meet teachers, psychologists, and social workers to inquire about the types of educational tools required for both disabled and advanced students. Ma’ali began to develop multi-level books and games for children who fall on a wide range of the learning spectrum.

Ma’ali first learned about the Advancing Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs project (APWE) at the Tulkarem Rural Women’s Association. Ma’ali joined APWE because she is a new entrepreneur and wants to learn how to operate her business well and widen her business networks. Because Ma’ali studied pharmacy, she had no experience creating a business or financial plan. Through APWE, she learned how to price products correctly, how to balance income and expenses, and how to use business and financial plans to create new business connections. Additionally, she learned how to create a market research study and how to target customers and identify market needs. Through marketing and branding training, Ma’ali better understood the importance of an authentic logo and how it can be fundamental to business success.

Ma'ali greatly benefited from the business plan she developed with APWE and used it both to introduce her business to new partners and to participate in competitions. She participated in the Pioneers of Palestine program with non-profit organization Synergos and had the opportunity to attend a number of additional business training focused on fundraising, legal advice, and human development. In October 2017, Ma'ali registered her business with the Chamber of Commerce after learning how important this was to expand her business further!

In the future, Ma'ali hopes to produce hard copies of her educational tools, including kits for science and a series of educational books and puzzles for children with learning disabilities. She also wishes to open a learning centre for children to help them understand school curricula using different approaches.