Up until December 2013, Reem Khouri had a high-profile job at logistics giant Aramex, before she left to start up her own company, Kaamen.
Kaamen — the Arabic word for untapped potential — is a social enterprise that designs and implements shared interests-based investments and programmes for corporations and measures their impact on the company’s bottom line and growth.
Kaamen focuses on finding the untapped opportunity for profitable social impact, where the interests of a corporation meet the interests of communities, and then designs investments and programmes, making enterprises leaders and beneficiaries of social progress. Khouri works in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestine and has plans to move into Asia and potentially the US. Working with Fadi Ghandour at Aramex, Khouri developed a passion for supporting entrepreneurs. She supports accelerators Gaza Sky Geeks and Fast Forward in Palestine, as well as the MIT Arab business plan competition, the NYU Abu Dhabi hackathon for social good and she’s also a mentor with Oasis 500.
Khouri also serves on the board of directors of Ruwwad for Development, a regional not-for-profit private sector-led community empowerment organisation that helps disadvantaged communities overcome marginalisation through youth activism, civic engagement and education in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt.
In addition to this she serves on several boards, such as the Runwad Micro Venture Fund and Ethaar Journeys, as well as Nakhweh.