Growing up in Lebanon in times of conflict, my daily reality was defined by adaptation. No hot water meant heating a bucket on the stove for a quick shower. Power outages meant studying by candlelight, desk smudged with wax. These small moments were formative lessons that would shape my understanding of women’s leadership in unstable environments.
Today, as Executive Director of MIT Solve—an initiative that finds and funds tech-based social entrepreneurs solving global challenges—I see resilient leadership daily. With 64% of the 300 social impact organizations in our portfolio being women-led, I see these founders channel hardship into purpose, filling gaps left by broken systems, often without recognition or resources. Those most affected by societal failures are often the ones working hardest to fix them, because their survival—and that of their family—depends on it.
Constraint Breeds Innovation
When I left Lebanon, I carried more than suitcases—I carried lessons in flexibility that would serve me daily, reflected in many of our Solvers.
Consider Sahar Jamal, founder of Maziwa, who witnessed working mothers pumping on toilet seats or in public workstations without lactation rooms or reliable electricity to safely store milk. New moms were effectively forced to choose between breastfeeding and earning an income. Sahar developed an affordable portable breast pump, Wema, that enables thousands of mothers to maintain both their careers and their babies’ nutrition. According to customer surveys, 80% of Wema breast pump users exclusively breastfed for six months, nearly twice the national average of 42%.
Women’s leadership often thrives in constraint-driven scenarios, turning limitations into an invitation to innovate and illustrating that varied perspectives help reframe challenges.
Experience is Expertise
In post-war Lebanon, I watched women rebuild communities from rubble—physically, emotionally, and economically—while often excluded from formal decision-making. Yet history repeatedly shows us that societies recover more quickly when women participate equally in rebuilding efforts. Experience is expertise, and firsthand knowledge of system gaps creates valuable perspective.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun’s work exemplifies this connection between personal insight and systemic change. After nearly dying during a complicated childbirth in the U.S, Temie gravely recognized the same situation would likely have been fatal in her native Nigeria. She created LifeBank, a health-tech logistics platform that delivers blood and medical supplies to hospitals in under 45 minutes. Today, LifeBank serves over 2,700 hospitals across Africa and has saved more than 4,000 lives.
The lesson isn’t that personal hardship is necessary for leadership, but that when combined with action, firsthand understanding of system failures can catalyze meaningful innovation. The most effective innovations address immediate needs while building capacity for long-term change.
The Surest Way to Fail is Not to Try
The World Economic Forum estimates it will take 134 years to close the global gender gap. None of us can afford to wait five generations! So while systemic change is needed, personal action can’t wait. The world doesn’t always reward those solving the most urgent problems, especially when they don’t fit the traditional profitability mold.
Solver Helena Samsioe of GLOBHE recognized this when she sought unconventional methods to prevent global malaria outbreaks. By flying drones, capturing high-quality images, and uploading them to a database, GLOBHE’s platform served UNICEF, the World Bank, and the Government of Malawi with real-time data on the most high-risk areas for malaria outbreaks.
When she first started GLOBHE in 2014, experts estimated that this type of drone technology would not be readily available or useful for nearly 30 years. And when she was raising her seed round, investors gave her a hard time. But Helena has turned GLOBHE into a revolutionary organization capable of updating population counts for vaccine distribution, flagging a vulnerable bridge before it collapses, inspecting telecom towers and solar panels, and much more. Her fleet of 11,000 local drone pilots across 147 countries is the biggest in the world, reaching over 22 million people and their surrounding environment.
The lesson? Get used to asking. When you hear “no,” treat it as N.O.—Next Opportunity. The most meaningful innovations often start not with permission but with persistence. Ask for what you need, build the community you wish existed, and turn your experience into systems that work.
From the Individual to the Collective
Women leaders aren’t defined by the crises they face but by their ability to adapt, connect, and act. The women-led solutions championed through MIT Solve emerged from real lives, real pain points, and an unshakable determination to make things better.
As you navigate your own challenges, remember:
- Your unique experiences are valuable data points for innovation
- Constraints can become your competitive advantage when viewed creatively
- Community building during a crisis creates resilience that outlasts the emergency
You don’t need to face hardship to lead effectively. The stories I share illuminate systemic inequities requiring institutional solutions, not just individual heroism.
While celebrating innovation, we must also demand infrastructure, policy, systems changes, and accountability. The ultimate goal isn’t better adaptation to broken systems, but the transformation of those systems entirely.
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About the Author
Name: Hala Hanna
Professional Title: Executive Director of Solve.
Bio: Hala Hanna is Executive Director of Solve, an MIT initiative scaling tech-based solutions to global challenges. Her career spans the World Economic Forum, World Bank, UN agencies, and degrees from Harvard Kennedy School and AUB. She writes and speaks on equity, tech, and innovation, including at SXSW, the World Economic Forum, and the Aspen Institute.
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