She's Next Talks

Growing up in Andijan, a traditional province in Uzbekistan, Maftuna Akbar learnt early on that women’s reproductive health was a subject spoken about only in silence. Having faced her own gynaecological challenges without adequate information or support, she resolved to change that reality. Having started coding at age 13 and working as a programmer by 17 while studying business administration, A...

With an academic background in political science and international relations, Aleksandra Simoni seemed set on a traditional, predictable path in academia and corporate marketing. Yet, driven by a creative spark and a desire for personal agency, she left a comfortable role to launch Green Lining, a design and product venture based in Montenegro. Recently named Young Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2...

Holding a PhD in bioengineering through the joint MIT-Portugal programme, Dr Ivana Kostić spent years between Lisbon and Boston working on cardiac regeneration and cutting-edge health innovation. While she could have pursued a comfortable academic trajectory abroad, she chose to return home to Serbia to build the local biotech ecosystem—co-founding Health Tech Lab to support regional health tech p...

Growing up in Albania, Aneida Bajraktari followed a well-trodden path: earn a degree, secure a stable corporate job, and settle into family life. “I grew up believing that the right path was to study, to find a stable job... because actually that's how families raise kids in Albania,” she reflects on She’s Next . Armed with a background in finance and law, she was thriving as a finance manager...

After leading business development at Billz—one of Uzbekistan’s most prominent tech start-ups—Tashkent-based entrepreneur Natalya Klimenko felt driven to create something of her own. In late 2023, she launched STEMIO, an EdTech platform designed to teach school students STEM subjects and programming. Driven by a desire for meaningful social impact alongside commercial viability, Klimenko stepped i...

Growing up in a traditional, patriarchal family in Azerbaijan, Turana Alieva faced a pre-written future: her parents dreamt of her becoming a doctor. “I’m afraid of blood,” she recalls, admitting she faints at the sight of it. Refusing to follow their roadmap, she pursued politics and economics instead, eventually securing a scholarship for a master’s degree at the University of Glasgow despite he...

At two years old, Bardha Ajvazi moved from Kosovo to the United Kingdom, returning home as a teenager with an open-minded worldview and an international perspective that would define her career. "I think if that didn't happen in my life, I would be a much different person today," she reflects, noting how her early cross-cultural exposure shaped her approach to business. Armed with de...

At twenty years old, Katarina Tasevski did not have her life figured out. Before settling on a career, she changed university faculties four times, exploring everything from archaeology to biochemistry. Today, as the Operating Director at DEKRA Arbeit Macedonia, she views that winding path not as a delay, but as an essential exercise in curiosity. Tasevski strongly advises young professionals to a...

At 21, Sitara Aghayeva made a life-altering decision: she secretly taught herself the programming language Python in her bedroom. Despite holding a degree in accounting and facing intense pressure from her family to pursue a safe, traditional financial career, she deliberately chose the harder path. Today, the Baku native is a leading AI risk specialist at a major bank and the CEO of her own tech...

For over two decades, Nadera Alsukkar managed complex operations in some of the world's most volatile conflict zones. Born during the outbreak of the Bosnian war to a Bosnian and Jordanian family, she experienced displacement firsthand, igniting a lifelong passion for human rights. Armed with a degree in actuarial science and early experience volunteering with the Red Cross, she carved a uniqu...

At just 20 years old, journalism student Gayane Arakelyan was handed a daunting task: translate an English article about "cloud computing" into Armenian. She knew nothing about technology, but she accepted the challenge anyway. That single translation connected her with international diasporan entrepreneurs and laid the groundwork for Digital Pomegranate, which has grown into the largest...

For 25 years, Dorina Lluka Davies built a successful career in Kosovo’s civil society, shaping policy and empowering youth. Yet, her most recent venture began not in an executive office, but in her parents’ garage, wrestling with a power drill and discarded car tyres. The pivot came during the quiet reflection of the pandemic. Pregnant with twins, Davies found herself confronting a profound questi...

“I always stand as the only woman at the pictures of, let's say, 10 or 13 CEOs of regional exchanges,” observes Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board at the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Speaking on the latest episode of She’s Next Talks , her tone is not one of defeat, but of pragmatic resolve. Gažić's ascent in the financial sector mirrors the economic evolution of her own country. Ent...

“I am a seasoned project manager with 20 years of progressive working experience,” says Jamilya Yusupova, a business development consultant based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in the latest episode of She’s Next Talks, empowered by Visa . Her journey spans health, education, and rural development—but her heart lies in agriculture.  “Tajikistan is a rural country,” she explains. “I’m passionate about cr...

“I graduated into chaos,” says Sanja Popović Pantić, President of the Association of Businesswomen in Serbia and head of the female entrepreneurship group at Enterprise Europe Network, in the latest episode of Emerging Europe Talks She’s Next, empowered by Visa .  Sanja came of age during Serbia’s hyperinflation in the 1990s—when your salary could become worthless within an hour. “I studied econom...

“I applied for a job I wasn’t fully qualified for—at least on paper,” says Iryna Tytarchuk, Executive Director at Ukraine’s Investment and Trade Facilitation Centre, in the latest episode of She’s Next Talks, empowered by Visa . Back then, she was a university lecturer with deep expertise in agricultural policy but only intermediate English. “I rehearsed idioms just in case,” she laughs. “But at t...

Across emerging Europe, almost 2.2 million women entrepreneurs form a vibrant community, yet they face profound disparities when it comes to securing venture funding.   According to recent figures shared during a panel discussion moderated by Andrew Wrobel, Chief Reinvention Officer at Reinvantage, women-founded businesses receive a meagre one per cent of venture capital. Mixed-gender teams fare s...

Confidence is often misunderstood as a trait you either possess or don’t. However, according to prominent female leaders from diverse professional backgrounds who recently discussed this topic on She's Next Talks, confidence is much more akin to a muscle—one strengthened with practice and determination. “Confidence gets stronger each time you push past your comfort zone,” shares Jovana Vulic, a pr...

“I became CEO on the day the war in Ukraine started — it’s a date I’ll never forget,” says Olga Surugiu, CEO of Orange Moldova, in the latest episode of Emerging Europe Talks She’s Next , empowered by Visa.  For Olga, leadership began long before the boardroom. “I think my leadership skills were visible back in kindergarten,” she laughs. Born and raised in Moldova, she left home at 17 to study in...

“Growing up in Gyumri, Armenia’s second city, I was surrounded by traditions that often-placed limitations on women. My dream was always to escape, to leave for Yerevan, the capital, and start a new life. But life had other plans for me, and I’m glad it did,” says Amalya Yeghoyan, Executive Director of the Gyumri Information Technologies Centre (GITC), in her conversation with Andrew Wrobel.  Amal...

“I was working in a corporate environment, in a hotel, in the marketing department, and we were seeking professional travellers and family travellers [who could help us] promote our hotel,” Havva Safarova tells Andrew Wrobel.  “Unfortunately, I couldn't manage to find any travelling families who have a blog. One night my husband said to me: ‘You travel, we have kids, and you are a marketer so you...

“My mother was my first mentor. I remember her advice when I was a child. Back then, we had grades from one to five. Five was the best mark, four was okay and three was not very good. And one day, I came back and said ‘Mum, I got a four, and that’s really good because the rest of the class got threes.’ And my mother said to me, ‘Darling, you had better look at those who are ahead of you, not those...

“Our [solution] is an innovative platform for riders of any level to book and fully explore our tour features with the assistance of digital video routes. When you go to our website, you can see all horseback tours around Georgia. The platform's objective is to develop a niche market for equestrian tourism in the region,” Ana Nadiradze, co-founder of  Horsetours, tells Andrew Wrobel.  “Ana has cre...

“I am a person that loves experimenting and learning by doing. So, it was just this passion that I have for doing something that makes the world better, but by learning from others, by connecting with other cultures, and learning from those who have already done more,” Agnieszka Hryniewicz-Bieniek, Global Director of Google for Startups, tells Andrew Wrobel.  She has created a series of workshops...

“I started [the business] on my second maternity leave 10 years ago. Before that, I was engaged in large corporations in high positions in marketing and public relations. [...] I used the pause to rethink my purpose in business and I started testing healthy oatmeal cookies, which was really strange back then,” Milica Ličina Čalija, the founder of  Anđeli (Serbian for Angels ) tells Andrew Wrobel. ...