Carnegie Mellon Qatar alumna garners position as 'Top 30 under 30'

Jinanne Tabra, a 2008 graduate of the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and founder of Araboh.com, has been named on the list as part of the next generation of Arab leaders.

The list includes names from well-known Arabic families as well as representing a variety of businesses from internet start-ups to fashion labels to construction firms and oil and gas companies.

"It's very exciting to be recognized by CEO Middle East," says Tabra. "It means that people value our efforts to promote the Arabic language and culture. It's such an honor to be considered one of the Middle East's 'top 30 under 30'and although Araboh.com is just over 1 year old, it tells me we're on the right track."

Ms. Tabra joins the ranks of successful entrepreneurs among the Carnegie Mellon Qatar alumni and student body. The curriculum at Carnegie Mellon leverages the core values of innovation, creativity and problem solving by providing students a distinct education that gives them the tools to pioneer solutions to real-world issues.

Araboh.com is a website that promotes the education of the Arabic language, particularly among Arabs living outside the Arab world. It is an online community for learning tools stocking over 700 educational books with an Arabic theme from well-known publishers including Scholastic, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing and Asala.

Born in Iraq and raised in Scotland, Tabra struggled to learn the Arabic language growing up in a non-Arab country. Arabic language books, educational toys and computer games were either in limited supply and variety or non-existent. Her appreciation for the Arabic language and culture today is in a large part due to the efforts made by the small local Arab community in her neighborhood in Scotland. Upon her family's return to the Gulf a few years ago, Tabra had the idea to provide Arab children, as well as adults, fun and easy access to Arabic learning tools over the internet and soon-thereafter, launched Araboh.com. Balancing her studies at Carnegie Mellon Qatar and running her own business proved to be a worthwhile challenge for this young entrepreneur.

Success breeds success, as there is still more to come for Araboh.com. Araboh.com is gearing up to launch its own new brand of language resources, and is working towards its goal to double the product range. Ms. Tabra has also worked closely with Al Jazeera Children's Channel, whose broadcasts are among the best Arabic-language children's television programming. Many of these programs are now available on DVD through Araboh.com.

In addition, ARABOH.com is partnering with a large number of libraries and schools all over the world to put quality Arabic materials in the hands of the people who need them. ARABOH.com also donates a percentage of annual profits to charities that aid children in the Arab world.

Ms. Tabra is a 2008 graduate and member of the inaugural graduating class at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. She holds a degree in Business Administration.