Latifa Mohammed Al Khalifa
Social Education Entrepreneur
Latifa Mohammed Al Khalifa is the CEO and Co-Founder of Clever Play, a purpose-driven startup with a mission to inspire, educate and empower children with future-relevant education. Latifa is a two-time STEM Certified professional and a certified National Geographic Educator. She has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Webster University, UK, and a Bachelor’s Degree double majoring in Politics and International Studies from Monash University in Australia
In 2018, Latifa co-founded her startup Clever Play which has been chosen as one of the 100 meaningful companies worldwide dedicated to combine profit and purpose to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In 2019, she was named as the Bahrain Female Entrepreneur of the Year as well as Bahrain’s Top Female Influencer, among others.
As a leader, Latifa actively empowers her team through mentoring, inclusion in the decision-making process and recognition when they are effective. She also encourages her team members to experiment even if that means there’s risk of failure. “I find ways to help each member develop and contribute using their strengths, allowing each member to take on additional responsibilities, making them feel valuable and competent”, she added.
Latifa shares that her two biggest inspirations are: Walt Disney for his imagination and vision and Sir Ernest Shackleton for his courageous leadership. She also considers the strong female figures in her family to have played an important role in her career: “My mother, sisters and grandmother taught me that no woman should be held back from realizing her dreams just because she is a woman. It has been proven time and again, that empowering women and girls has a multiplier effect, and helps drive economic growth and development”.
“Self-imposed limitations are often times of our own undoing and expectations of what’s possible for us. I believe that women will continue to take charge of their own successes and break their own glass ceilings”, Latifa said.
Latifa advises aspiring women leaders to keep the vision of why they want to lead and not what they want to lead towards. “Keep articulating the vision for the work to your team. That is what makes the difference between a manager and a leader. Make sure that you really want to go the extra mile to become a leader”.
When she’s not working, Latifa enjoys unplugging from tech use and reading widely to unwind. She spends her afternoons out in nature almost everyday and also enjoys training/working out to de-stress.