Five Bahrainis among young influencers on Forbes list

FIVE Bahrainis have been named on a Forbes Middle East list of influential young leaders, entertainers and entrepreneurs in the region.

Omar Farooq, Aysha Abdulmalek, Abdulaziz Abdulmalek, Evlin Khalifa and Dania Alshowaikh were included by Forbes in this year’s 30 Under 30 Middle East class.

The list features 120 entries in the categories of entertainment, commerce and finance, social impact, and science and technology, with a total of 145 individuals from 22 countries in the region.

Well-known YouTuber Mr Farooq was recognised for his online series Omar Tries which has over a billion views on his social media platforms.

The 28-year-old was Bahrain’s only entry in the entertainment category, with a total of 6.7 million YouTube subscribers and 3.8m Instagram followers.

Sister and brother team Aysha and Abdulaziz Abdulmalek were recognised in the business and commerce category for their fast-growing jewellery company, Aisha Jewels.

Aged 26 and 24 respectively, the Abdulmalek siblings co-founded the business as teens, and raised over $180,000 (BD67,480) for charity.

According to Forbes, the company grew an average of 43.2 per cent in the last three years, sold over $350,000 (BD131,220) worth of jewellery.

Also chosen in the business and commerce category was 25-year-old Dania Alshowaikh, who co-founded financial marketplace app Daleel.

Since its launch, Daleel reportedly partnered with several established financial institutions in the country including the National Bank of Bahrain.

Meanwhile, Bahraini-Russian model Evlin Khalifa was listed in the social impact category for her work as an ambassador of education between Bahrain and Russia. Last year, the 24-year-old was crowned Miss Universe Bahrain 2022.

This year, Forbes Middle East reportedly received 600 applications for the 30 Under 30 list. Out of 120 winners, four were Bahraini.

In 2021 a Bahraini tech entrepreneur duo was chosen for co-founding telemedicine app Doctori. They were one of only 30 winning entries that year.

Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/1296205