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Hanan Saab

MENA Businesswomen's Network, Policy Advocates Middle East and North Africa Economic Empowerment

Hanan Saab grew up in Lebanon, at a time when political turmoil and social unrest was rampant. But nothing could dim her ambition and optimism for the future of her country.

Inspired by her father, Hanan was set on rebuilding the family legacy through its pharmacy — one of the oldest in Lebanon — after it was destroyed during the civil war in 1980.

Educated at the University of Beirut, she later became a pharmacist at the American University Hospital. It was during this time when Hanan committed herself to expanding people’s access to scarce or non-existent resources.

“I could see that there was the potential to get certain medical products and make them available on the market, and I felt that I could do much more than this,” Hanan explains. “I wanted to create something that would provide self-fulfillment for me while creating jobs for other people. And this is exactly what happened.”

Today, Hanan heads one of the Middle East’s most successful pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies. She also serves on the board of the Lebanese League for Women in Business, an association of women business owners and professionals.

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