Dr Dinah Ayman Ashour is a multidisciplinary academic, entrepreneur, business leader, published author and former journalist whose professional career spans academic
research, corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, investment, writing and public
communication.
Operating at the intersection of academia, business practice, corporate governance
and public discourse, Dr Dinah combines academic distinction with hands-on
experience in multinational enterprises and journalism. Her career reflects a commitment
to translating academic knowledge into practical business strategies, strengthening
entrepreneurial ecosystems and connecting influential individuals and institutions across
the United Kingdom, Egypt and beyond.
She believes we are multidimensional beings and choosing one life trajectory conjures images of squeezing your self into a tight parochial social construct and thus limiting vastness of human potential.. Though her journey traverses multiple disciplines; She believes she embraces many facets of life and is multiverse to weave a rich tapestry of life, full of diverse experiences.
She says in her interview with Middle East executive magazine:
"I do not believe in arriving at a fixed destination"...."I believe in becoming. Constantly learning. Constantly evolving. There is never one final version of me".
Academic Excellence and Professional Recognition at Top-Tier Institutions
Dr Dinah earned her PhD from the internationally renowned, the globally- distinguished top ranked University, the alumni of multiple Nobel lauréats and the eternal Darwin, the "University of Edinburgh" in 2025. Her doctoral research
explores entrepreneurship in the context of digital transformation and the fashion
industry. It goes beyond studying Institutional voids by seeking to understand how resilient and innovative entrepreneurs fill their regional voids by employing innovative strategies.
Her academic qualifications also include a BSc (Hons) in Business Studies from
Loughborough University and an MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the
University of Essex. She achieved distinctions in both her undergraduate and
postgraduate dissertations showcasing her intellectual apritude; both theses exploring entrepreneurship from political, economic, social, personal and cognitive perspectives.
Dr Dinah holds three prestigious professional credentials: FCMI, CMBE and FHEA.
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (UK), for having more than 10 years of experience at co-managing the giant family Archplan with its subsidiaries in oman, dubai, morocco and another in London, latter is still at inception,
Dr Dinah is a Chartered Management
and Business Educator and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She earned her title after enrolling at the prestigious PgCAP programme led by the University of Edinburgh.
Her academic achievements include Best Paper Runner-Up at the British Academy of
Management Conference (2020) for research on entrepreneurial ecosystems, alongside
three Best Teaching Awards received through student voting at the British University in
Egypt and at the University of Edinburgh Business School. She was the only Business researcher nominated for best teaching assistant award, across the whole department in 2019 receiving the highly esteemed UoE badge of honour.
In 2021, she received the University of Edinburgh Business School Community
Award in recognition of her leadership and contributions to the Entrepreneurship and
Innovation (E&I) doctoral research community. She held and managed talks around vital topics such as men mental health and work life balance alongside exploring academic and non academic options for PhD researchers.
Beyond academia, Dr Dinah is a co-founder and shareholder of Archplan Inc., a
multinational family enterprise with business operations spanning Egypt, Dubai, London,
Oman and Morocco with plans to inaugurate further branches in Far East
Her corporate experience encompasses organisational development, establishing human
resource management functions based on ISO standards and directing business development and contributing to
strategic growth.
She is also involved in the governance and ownership of the European University in
Egypt (EUE) as a stakeholder of more than 20% shares of EUE,
with professional interests in board-level strategic leadership, higher
education development and institutional growth.
Her expertise spans corporate governance, entrepreneurship, family enterprise,
investment and international business development.
Journalism, Authorship and Intellectual Engagement
In addition to her academic and corporate career, Dr Ayman has professional
experience in journalism, adding an important dimension to her work as a writer, author,
researcher and public intellectual.
Her background in journalism complements her academic expertise, bringing together
research, critical analysis, storytelling and the communication of ideas to wider
audiences.
As a published author, she has written a book on self-care and personal wellbeing and is
currently developing three further books. One explores the ladies of Egypt during the
Kingdom era, drawing on her personal interest in Egypt, her own aristocratic and
cultural heritage of as a lady of Egypt since 2022.
The other book draws on her research as an expert in entrepreneurship ecosystems to be published by Palgrave in 2027. Her intellectual interests encompass global leadership, politics, economics, entrepreneurship, history and society, social Impact and International Vision
Areas of Expertise:
Academic Researh. Writing • Higher Education Journalism. Public Communication • Corporate
Governance. Board Leadership • Entrepreneurship &aInnovation • Academic Industry
Collaboration • Family Business. Strategic Growth • Investment Ecosystems • Higher
Education • Disability Empowerment • International Business • UK–Egypt Partnerships
philosophy of thought.
Website:
Drdinahashourian.com
📩 Feel free to contact me for opportunities in teaching, research, or training on entrepreneurship, business scale-ups, and innovation.
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Publications
-In print December (2027)
A study in the supply and demand of entrepreneurship ecosystems theory. How governments fall short of satiating the digital entrepreneurship drive? Book chapter. Palgrave
-January (2022)
How recent governmental efforts fall short of satiating the needs of the multilingual tech. savvy Egyptian youth post 2011 revolution. A study based on entrepreneurship ecosystem theory. Centre of African Studies. CAREED. University of Western Scotland. United Kingdom
- April (2021)
rethinking “institutional constrains” in terms of “institutional voids” that have to be filled by resilient entrepreneurs”? offering an optimistic approach in the study of digital institutional logics,
Academy of International Business, UK & Ireland Chapter. University of Greenwich. United Kingdom.
- July (2021)
“To what extent did social capital play a role in mediating the effect of the institutional voids of the digital ecosystems in Egypt?”
European Group of Organisational Studies. EGOS. Amsterdam. The Netherlands.
- September (2020)
“Understanding Capital, Labour and Market Institutional Voids of the ICT sector in Egypt & how they influence the Process of the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem”,
British Academy of Management, 2020
- June (2019)
“Towards a comprehensive framework of institutional theory within the context of emerging regions; the case of Egypt”,
in Regional studies Association RSA conference, Spain,
- November, (2019)
“How Entrepreneurs employ social capital to cope with institutional voids of entrepreneurship ecosystems in emerging markets”,
in the conference of Regional Studies Association RSA, London, United Kingdom
-December, (2015)
"The challenges facing women entrepreneurs; A comparative study in Egypt vs Nigeria?
* Nominated by the committee to be published in the international business and management journal, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
-March, (2011)
“the personality characteristics of female entrepreneurs compared to their male counterparts”.
Chios institute or Mediterranean Affairs CIMA, conference for young researchers. Istanbul, Turkey
- October (2013)
"Why Self-Employment Is Not Seen Attractive? Areas of Commonalities and Differences between the Theoretical Literature and the Practical Findings Within an Egyptian Context Review"
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology. WASET international conference and journal.
-June, (2011)
“Male and Female Entrepreneurship: theory to practice”,
Eurasia Business and Economic Society, EBES, Istanbul Turkey
BOOKS:
-"lovethyself; that’s it!". انا بحبني. (2018). Rawafed Publishing. (published in Arabic)