# Womena

Womena is an Asset Manager based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- **Region:** Middle East
- **Address:** Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- **Founded:** 2014
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** womena.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/womena_ngo

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Womena is an angel group founded in 2013 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They have made 40 investments, including a Seed VC - II investment in Chefaa on June 14, 2020. Womena has 3 portfolio exits, with Melltoo exiting on August 15, 2022.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- Media & Entertainment
- FinTech
- Digital Health
- AI/ML

## Offices

- Berlin, Germany

## People

- Elissa Freiha — Founder and CEO
- Chantalle Dumonceaux — Co-Founder

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Womena?

Founder and CEO Elissa Freiha leads investment decisions out of the Dubai headquarters. She is supported by a selection committee that draws on mentors from her professional networks, including the Young Presidents Organization Dubai chapter and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy board, where she serves as a founding member. Co-founder Chantalle Dumonceaux, who initially shaped the investment thesis, now operates as a venture partner at Accelerator Ventures while maintaining an affiliation with Womena.

### How does Womena source proprietary deal flow?

Deal flow enters through a dual channel: a regionally televised pitch competition produced by the firm's media arm, Womedia, and the open-application process for the Womentum accelerator. The pitch series syndicates across Middle Eastern broadcast and digital platforms, generating roughly a thousand applications per cycle from which 8–12 startups are selected. Strategic partner Hub71 in Abu Dhabi refers additional startups from its own ecosystem for accelerator consideration, creating a recurring pipeline that combines public inbound with institutional referral.

### Which sectors does Womena explicitly avoid?

Womena does not publicly maintain a sector-exclusion list, but its investment activity has concentrated on enterprise software, fintech, digital health, and AI-enabled platforms. The firm has not made notable investments in hard infrastructure, heavy industry, deep-tech hardware, or extractive industries — sectors requiring capital intensity well beyond its seed-check capacity and post-investment media model.

### How is Womena related to Hub71 and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy?

Elissa Freiha holds a founding board seat at the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, placing her inside the emirate's policy-setting body for tech-sector regulation and government procurement. Hub71 functions as a strategic downstream partner: Womena accelerator graduates receive priority access to Hub71's subsidized office space, health insurance, and residence visa programs in Abu Dhabi. These relationships supply Womena's portfolio companies with a government-backed soft-landing in the UAE without diluting the firm's own equity position.

## Related profiles

- [Womankind Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/womankind-ventures)
- [Women in XR Venture Fund](https://altss.com/profile/women-in-xr-venture-fund)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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