Hera Hussain

- Hera Hussain: born in Glasgow, raised in Pakistan and lives in London, Hera knew from early on she wanted to empower women. During her MA in Economics & Psychology at University of Glasgow, she found herself drawn to tech start-ups and the ways technology can be utilised to solve social issues.

Starting out as a freelance marketing and events consultant for start-ups, she moved on to social entrepreneurship through her involvement with OxfordJam and MakeSense, where she cemented her status as a community leader in London's start-up scene. It was after she helped two friends escape abusive homes, support the legal process of divorce and help them start a new life that she decided to use her skills and knowledge to found the award-winning Chayn - a global network of skilled volunteers who work pro-bono to empower women in suppressed situations. Hera has spoken at various conferences and been interviewed numerous times in the press (e.g. Dawn News, De Mundo, The Diplomat) on the issues of abuse.

She is also a keen member of the Wikimedia movement, most notably as one of the key organisers of Wikimania 2014 - the largest and most successful conference yet of the movement. She is continually involved with not-for-profits such as MakeSense, Startingbloc, WEF's Global Shaper and Yunus&Youth - all networks of social entrepreneurs - as well as Creative Commons and Open Corporates.