“I learnt so much from the other participants, on a personal, entrepreneurial and business level”

Fidele El Achkar has worked in the food industry for the past ten years and decided to start her own company FoodSight to address problems faced by food producers in Lebanon. FoodSight is a digital marketplace connecting agro-food businesses with freelance international experts. We sat down with Fidele to learn about her business and how She Entrepreneur has supported her entrepreneurial journey.
Picture of Fidele El Achkar presenting in front of a classroom of participants

Tell us a little bit about your business.

– I founded FoodSight while working with multiple food production companies in Lebanon and across the region. I found that there were a lot of gaps and problems that the industry was facing and there wasn´t one common solution that could address these kinds of challenges. When the financial crisis hit Lebanon, the Lebanese producers were trying to replace the demand for imported products and at the same time export their own products to generate more revenues.

– We started FoodSight as a digital platform to support producers by providing technical assistance and connecting them with an international freelance network of industry experts. It is a perfect solution to help producers scale their businesses, grow, optimise their standards, and take their businesses to the next level.


How did She Entrepreneurs support your professional and personal development?

– During the virtual part of the She Entrepreneurs programme we worked on our growth plans, and it was actually something that we are doing parallel at FoodSight because we had the need to increase our offer and improve and optimise our services in Lebanon. It was great for us to focus on this and to include all the tips, recommendations, and support that we got from She Entrepreneurs to add to what we are doing with FoodSight.

– The fellowship week in Stockholm was really the most important and amazing part. The best thing about it was the focus on us as individuals and how we can be good leaders, increase our personal resilience and integrate all these practises into our businesses.


Did
you form some collaborations or found some inspiration among your fellow participants?

– I found that there are a lot of similarities either directly or indirectly. There were some businesses that were working in the same industry, but I also benefited from learning about businesses not in the same industry. The other participants’ experiences taught me a lot on a personal level, on an entrepreneurial level and on a business level. It was really the highlight of the programme.

– We are usually so consumed by the task of our businesses and what we do with the business that we sometimes forget to take strategic decisions to focus on ourselves. It was a good opportunity for me to slow down and reflect on everything that we´ve done and that we plan to do.

Would you recommend this programme to other female entrepreneurs?

– A lot of that women led businesses back in Lebanon are struggling to find programmes that can support and empower them as well as help them know what the best practises are to scale their businesses. I hope that a lot of women will be seeing this opportunity and hopefully be able to apply and benefit as well as I did.

 

She Entrepreneurs is a leadership programme for highly motivated women entrepreneurs in the Middle East, North Africa and TĂĽrkiye who are building sustainable and scalable businesses that contribute to driving social and/or environmental change.

Learn more about She Entrepreneurs and how to apply here.