Yasmin Helal was born and raised in Egypt. A straight-A student, she rarely felt challenged in the classroom and grew increasingly frustrated and bored. Her mother suggested sport as a solution and enrolled Yasmin in swimming lessons and a basketball league. This small act changed her daughter’s life forever. Yasmin later went on to play for the Egyptian National Basketball Team and through the sport, was challenged mentally, physically, and socially. “Basketball became my everything,” she says. “It was my school for life. It taught me the importance and responsibility of being on a team, it taught me to set goals, and it helped me develop into a leader.”

After her playing career ended, Yasmin founded the nonprofit Educate Me, a comprehensive after-school program aimed to enhance the quality of pre-university education for underprivileged children. In 2015, Educate Me launched its first school and sports program, which received a UNESCO prize for Outstanding Practice and Performance in Enhancing the Effectiveness of teachers. They are the first foundation from an Arab country to receive this award. In 2020, she became the CEO at Kompass Education, the leading progressive education provider in Egypt.