“Outstanding Social Entrepreneur in the Middle East and North Africa for the year 2010” (by The Schwab Foundation) and Outstanding Arab woman of the year in 2019 by Takreem, Lebanon .
"My journey has been driven by a deep commitment to social entrepreneurship and creating meaningful change. In 1990, With my husband, Michael Cracknell, I co-founded Enda with the goal of empowering marginalized communities, especially women, by providing them with the resources and support they need to build better lives. For the last 35 years, through EndaTamweel, the pioneering microfinance institution, our work has directly and indirectly impacted 3 out of 10 people in Tunisia, helping countless individuals, particularly women, access opportunities they previously didn’t have.
Today, our focus remains on innovation and inclusion. As chairperson of the NGO Enda Inter-Arabe, I continue to lead initiatives like the EndaAcademy for Entrepreneurship, aimed at inspiring and guiding the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs. Through EndaTao, the mobile payment company, we are deeply committed to digital inclusion and fostering youth entrepreneurship, believing that real change occurs when people are equipped to lead and innovate in today’s rapidly changing world.
The impact of our work goes beyond the organizations we’ve helped build. Through mentoring, we’ve had the privilege of empowering others to follow their own paths of social innovation and entrepreneurship. Our work is a reminder that social entrepreneurship is not only about creating business solutions, but about building a more inclusive, equitable future for everyone.
Our journey is proof that vision and action can create lasting change. Social entrepreneurship is about empowering people, building connections, and fostering innovation that benefits communities and nations. I hope our work inspires others to think beyond the status quo and help shape a future that uplifts and empowers all. I will work on spreading the Enda model to other African and Arab countries.