A new community for startup founders and entrepreneurs is to focus on supporting the mental health of those pursuing their dreams after recent research unveiled a hidden crisis.
Ally Salama, founder UAE-based EMPWR, the mental health platform, announced the upcoming launch on the side-lines of the STEP Conference, where he moderated a panel on mental health and the role technology can play.
The new community will focus on creating a safe space, promoting best practices, and facilitating access to resources for startup founders and entrepreneurs, who are known to operate in stressful conditions and hence more susceptible to mental health issues.
“Following the pandemic, the higher incidence of mental health challenges has led to greater awareness. As an organisation that has been at the forefront of mental health advocacy in the Middle East, we have worked towards ensuring that the awareness translates to visible, positive outcomes.” said Ally Salama
“After pioneering the region’s first mental health community for Arabic speakers, we are now shifting our focus to delivering specialised support to susceptible sections, starting with startup founders and entrepreneurs.”
Joint research by Wamda Research Lab, Microsoft for Startups, and EMPWR, released in August last year, uncovered the mental health toll founders face when starting out in life.
The findings played a key role in the ideation of the to-be-launched community platform:
- Startup founders in the region were twice as likely to face depression and related issues than other sections
- 35.9 percent of founders rated their mental health as “bad”
- 44.2 percent of respondents spent at least two hours a week trying to de-stress
- 55 percent of startup founders cited funding as the most-stressful aspect
- The pandemic was the second most-cited reason, by 33.7 percent of respondents
“The research gave a reality check on the mental health state of founders and entrepreneurs. As someone who is no outsider to the startup ecosystem, I wanted to create a digital community with more urgency and intent,” added Ally Salama.
EMPWR’s recently partnered with Sharjah Capability Development (Tatweer) for the launch of Wathba, a mental wellbeing and leadership development program focused on youth. This first-of-its-kind wellness program in the region commenced on January 23rd, with the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and the KSA as the feeder nations for the first edition.
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