Viaka Newsletter: Wellness brand for and by Arab women -- Mauj!
As a reminder, Viaka is building:
The Viaka Network: The digital destination for top-tier founders, experts, investors, and talent across the globe to connect with each other and emerging startup ecosystems, starting with MENA
Viaka Connect: A hands-on, dedicated matchmaking service that empowers clients to grow their businesses and portfolios
If you would like to join Viaka, click below, and fill out the relevant form.
Hi all! This week, we’re highlighting Mauj. Mauj is a wellness brand for and by Arab women!
Mauj Feature
What is Mauj and how/why did it come to life?
Mauj is the first sexual and menstrual wellness brand by and for Arab women. It was born out of a first-hand need for conversation, information, and products in a region where women are policed at every marker of womanhood, denied access to healthcare, and taught that pain, guilt, and fear are an inherent part of the female experience.
Mauj exists to support Arab women on their journey to love their bodies, explore their sexuality, and embrace their pleasure unashamedly. We do this by giving them access to content that is Arabic-first, science-backed, and culturally conscious, as well as a range of intimacy products that enable them to deepen their experience and understanding of their bodies.
What is your personal story and relation to the problem (alongside your founders)?
We personally have spent the majority of our twenties undoing years of conditioning and shaming around our bodies and sexuality, practicing acceptance and mending our relationship with our bodies and ourselves.
We decided it was time to change the way we learned – and spoke – about ourselves. We knew that we weren’t alone in this and that our journey of learning about our bodies and selves was not unique to us. And that’s how Mauj was born!
We believe that knowledge is the first step towards bringing about change. The more we know about our bodies, the more we learn to appreciate them and the stronger our bond is with ourselves. The more aware we are of what we deserve and how we want to be treated — and how we want to treat ourselves — the more likely we are to stand up for that. And that’s where change starts. Mauj is an invitation to explore yourself and to come home to your body.
What market are you attacking? Are you adding on or trying to replace current offerings?
Mauj is a brand for Arab women, wherever they are in the world. No matter where we've grown up or what school we've gone to, the shame and stigma around female bodies, sexuality, and pleasure are part of our experience as Arab women.
What are you looking for from the Viaka community?
We're looking to connect with investors and advisors, like-minded men and women who believe in our mission and perhaps have even experienced first-hand the need for this change.
Promising Opportunities from Our Partners
New opportunities added in April 2023
To advise:
eComz is looking for experts in lead generation & sales expansion into new MENA markets, particularly KSA.
Designer-24 is looking for expert advice to help them build a strategy and template to effectively franchise their model in smaller MENA markets.
To invest in:
Anecdote is raising a seed round to continue building out their AI platform that Instantly brings qualitative customer insights to product and CX teams.
To receive investment from:
533 Syndicate is looking for promising founders across stages and industries. Ticket sizes as low as $20K and as high as $100K.
Click on the button below to see all current opportunities & get involved:
Exciting Announcements From Our Network
Below is a list of updates, wins, and asks emanating from members of the Viaka Network in the “West.”
Sign up for Viaka’s April Demo Day! April’s Demo Day will focus on MarTech and Audio startups — there is an exciting line-up of founders and investors. Sign up and learn more here!
We're super excited for our "MENA Builders in AI" Panel Next week! Huge s/o to Draper Startup House for joining us to co-host the event: RSVP for this online event here 👉: https://lnkd.in/gvKrp2gr
Plug and Play Health is hiring a biz dev manager! Plug and Play Health is looking to bring on a business development manager in their Silicon Valley office. The posting can be viewed here.
uCast is hiring a sales team member! Interested in joining an early-stage startup in a sales role? Check out the posting here for more info.
If you’re a member of our Network and would like to share your own update next week, email info.viaka@gmail.com or submit an update via this form.
Reads of the Week
Viaka has launched a Network Reading List, where Network members are encouraged to submit media suggestions of their own.
Timothy Motte at the Realistic Optimist wrote this article about the Algerian startup world and its crowning jewel, Yassir.
Here’s an article from Nafaz Dakkak that looks into learning to play.
Check out this deep dive from Endeavor on the “multiplier effect”.
Check out Viaka’s full reading list here.
Weekly News Digest
Check out our weekly digest — we provide news from all across the MENA startup ecosystem, every single Friday. Be sure to follow our LinkedIn and Twitter for more.
That’s it for this week. Thank you! 👋
Like what you see? Here are some things you should do:
Check out our sparkling new website 💻
Sign up for the Viaka Network 🚀
Subscribe to this newsletter 🤓