Five Lebanese nationals made it on Forbes Middle East’s 2021 30 Under 30, the definitive annual list of influential young individuals in the region.
Here’s are the Lebanese featured on this year’s 30 Under 30 list.
#1 Farah Chreim
Honored under the Creative category, Farah Chreim is a TikTok user who has amassed more than 2 million followers since she joined the platform in 2020 (2.3 million at the time of writing).
On her TikTok, Chreim sings traditional Lebanese Zajal, sometimes alongside her family members, and her top video has been watched more than 15 million times to date.
The 27-year-old singer also has a YouTube channel that currently has nearly 200,000 subscribers, where she uploads covers of popular songs.
#2 Rafik El-Hariri
Rafik El-Hariri is a renowned Lebanese illustrator whose art primarily focuses on mental health topics. The 26-year-old artist is listed under the Creative category.
His illustrations have covered a variety of topics that uniquely convey a plethora of emotions and experiences such as nostalgia and empathy.
The United Nations and Doctors Without Borders are two of El-Hariri’s clients, and his influential work continues to be featured on media organizations.
His picture book, “I Found A Heart,” targets adults and artistically explores mental health, including El-Hariri’s personal experiences.
#3 Maria Sobh
Maria Sobh, 24, is a Lebanese-Canadian co-founder of The Concept, an award-winning product development and design company that creates sustainable innovative solutions.
Sobh, who is featured under the Creative category alongside her Sri Lankan and Indonesian partners Yadhushan Mahendran and Muhammad Rijal, is a UAE-based graphic designer who is currently Chief Design Officer at her company.
Sobh and her partners founded The Concept in their senior year of university after winning an Emirates Airlines-backed competition, and the company is now part of a partnership agreement with Etihad Airways to develop a sustainable food tray.
#4 Aboudy Farkh
Aboudy Farkh is the founder of Blue Terra, a KSA- and UAE-based marketplace that specializes in conscious and sustainable products from local and international brands.
“If that bottle looks good but ends up floating on the beach, you won’t see it here. If that cream is sustainable but performs like the Donald, you won’t see it here. Did we forget smarts? Otherwise, you won’t see it here,” is how Blue Terra describes its curation process on its website.
Farkh, a former professional basketball player in the Lebanese Basketball League, is featured under the E-commerce category of the Middle East 30 Under 30 list. The 27-year-old CEO aims to expand his marketplace into the UK market this year.
#5 Antoine Jebara
Listed under the Technology category, 28-year-old Antoine Jebara is the co-founder and CEO of MYKI, a reputable password management and authentication technology.
MYKI, available for iOS and Android, and as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Microsoft Edge, securely stores and manages passwords locally across devices.
The offline password manager, also available as a standalone application for Windows and MacOS, has more than a million users from around the world.
MYKI Inc. has offices in Lebanon, the U.S., and the UK, and it has customers in 172 countries.