The Case Hub Case Writing Competition 2025 Winners
It is our pleasure to announce the winners of the third annual Case Writing Competition organized by The Case Hub at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut.
The Case Writing Competition recognizes the critical role of case studies in bridging the gap between academia and real-world business challenges. This initiative fosters the production of high-quality teaching materials that spotlight regional protagonists, enriching global business education with perspectives and challenges unique to the Arab MENA region.
Through this recognition, we celebrate the dedication, creativity, and excellence of case authors who bring these stories and challenges to life, contributing significantly to the development of business education and understanding of this vibrant part of the world.
Congratulations to the winners! We thank all the case authors and jury members and hope more remarkable case studies staged in the Arab MENA continue to be published.
The awards go to:
First Place
“From Crisis to Care: Labayh’s Journey in Transforming Mental Healthcare in Saudi Arabia”
by
Doris Rajakumari John
MBSC Prince Mohammed Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia
Overview
The case on Labayh, a digital mental health and wellness platform based in Saudi Arabia, traces the journey of its founder Basim Albeladi and how the platform had evolved from a voluntary service to a full-fledged mental health platform. The various challenges he encountered and how he succeeded in a culturally sensitive society where mental health was highly stigmatized and taboo is a great learning for students. The case aims to sensitize students about mental health needs in the region and how it offers a business opportunity to serve a larger societal need.
It is indeed a great honor to be recognized as a winner at The Case Hub Case Writing Competition, which aims to promote impactful case studies in the Arab MENA region. The case on Labayh, the first mental health platform in Saudi Arabia, brings to light the entrepreneurial spirit of the protagonist Basim Albeladi, and how his personal tragedy spurred him to launch the platform. It was very engaging to document Labayh’s story and weave it into a case, highlighting the cultural and social context in which it operates and its strategies for success. An added accolade is that the protagonist, Basim, is an MBSC alumnus, a testament to the entrepreneurial mindset nurtured here. I hope this award helps further the adoption of case-based learning and the development of more local, region-centric cases.
Second Place
“Running-Fluent Initiative: Pivoting to (Social) Enterprise or NGO?”
by
Olga Kandinskaia
University of Limassol, Cyprus
OverviewThe objective behind this case is to instil in students an entrepreneurial way of thinking and to help them develop their decision-making skills. The case presents a decision dilemma faced by Daniel Barasa in May 2025. Barasa is a national of Uganda who came to Cyprus as a student in 2017. In his first year at university, the (Greek) language barrier turned out a serious obstacle, and when it was magnified by racial discrimination and loneliness Barasa found himself in despair. He made however the ‘magic discovery’ of running: first using it as an escape, then creating his own informal sports community for migrants like himself, and finally “running for a cause” on a mission of social integration and intercultural communication. His main dilemma in May 2025 is whether his grassroots Running-Fluent Initiative (RFI) should continue operating as an informal group or seek legal status as an organization, and if yes, in which format: non-profit/NGO or (social) enterprise.
I am very happy to hear that my newly written Social Entrepreneurship case has won the Second Place in the 2025 Competition by The Case Hub. Daniel Barasa, the case protagonist, is my former student. I much admire his perseverance and his exceptional ability to rise above negativity. In writing this case, I sincerely wanted to support his ideas of co-creation for social innovation. Winning the Second Place in the Case Hub Competition puts a well-deserved spotlight on Barasa’s mission to foster social integration of migrants in Cyprus. I applaud The Case Hub at Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut, for organising this regional case writing competition: it gives a voice to local protagonists, and it allows local faculty to showcase our expertise. Most importantly, the published cases will enrich the educational experience of students, locally and globally. Once again, I am much honoured to receive this award, thank you!” - Case author.
Third Place
“Maha Al Sibai: Lead Enterprise or Stay Artist?”
by
Neha Mittal and Manju Menon
Temple University, USA
NuSocia, UAE
Overview
Maha Al-Sibai’s journey reflects a challenge many creative entrepreneurs in the MENA region face balancing artistic passion with the operational realities of running a business in a fast-growing and highly competitive market. Her story offers students a clear and relatable lens through which to examine issues of growth, control, identity, and strategic decision-making. We felt that highlighting a regional entrepreneur would bring valuable, locally grounded insights to classrooms across the MENA region and beyond.
We are honored to receive this recognition in the MENA region case writing competition. It is rewarding to know that Maha’s story will contribute to meaningful learning and spark thoughtful discussion among students in this region and globally." - case authors.
Third Place
“Egypt’s Fawry: Can the Fintech Unicorn Continue to Drive Economic Transformation?”
by
V Namratha Prasad
ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, India
ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education
Overview
A few months ago, I came across an article about Fawry, a fintech startup based in Egypt that through its flawless strategy execution became the country’s first tech unicorn, and I was intrigued. I came to appreciate Fawry’s remarkable approach of first creating a strong user base by offering a crucial financial service, and later monetizing that base through a tightly integrated ecosystem of high-value financial services. Ultimately, Fawry has played a major role in pushing financial inclusion in Egypt. I believed that management students who read this case could get valuable insights into the perilous journey that fintech startups in emerging markets must navigate in today’s technologically advanced era and learn about the strategies to attain market success.
I am extremely honored to receive third place at the ‘Third Annual Case Writing Competition’ organized by the ‘Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut’. I feel that wining this award is a recognition of the hard work and focus I invested in developing an effective case that explores a wide variety of topics – market disruption, social impact and startup growth strategies. I am happy that, through this award, my case will get published by Ivey Publishing, giving it a wider readership. I hope that students – especially those from the Arab MENA region – will learn from the case, understand the key challenges in their region and develop a more context-specific managerial perspective.” - Case author.
Special Jury Award
“Flyadeal: The Saudi Arabian Low-cost Airline Faces Headwinds for Growth”
by
Hadiya Faheem and Sanjib Dutta
ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, India
ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education
OverviewFlyadeal was launched as a Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) in 2017 to help realize Saudi Vision 2030 launched by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman to develop Saudi Arabia as a leader in global investment. Under his vision, the country aimed to attract 150 million visitors every year and promote the air transport sector in the country. What motivated us to write this case was that though the people in the Middle East preferred premium carriers, Flyadeal’s CEO Steven Greenway believed that the market dynamics and the demographics in Saudi Arabia formed an ideal setting for the LCC model offered by the carrier. Another reason for taking up this case was Flyadeal’s ambitious plans to fly into international markets and become a global airline despite the carrier facing some growth challenges in scaling up its operations.
We are delighted to know that our case study has won the Special Jury Award. We thank The American University of Beirut, The Case Hub at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business and the Jury for this honor. Congratulations to The Case Hub for promoting development and usage of case studies in the MENA region.” - Case authors.
Congratulations again!
We encourage all case writers to start preparing for the next Case Writing Competition and hope to read your remarkable cases soon!