ADC Launches Mena Minority Certification for Middle East and North Africa Heritage Businesses
The Arab Diversity Council (ADC) launched a Mena minority certification program in July 2023 to certify businesses with Middle East and North Africa heritage. This initiative, managed through the ADC Business Council, aims to recognize and support Mena-owned brands.
About two dozen brands have been certified during the program's early soft launch, including Zwïta, Afia, Zesty Z, and Yaza Labneh among others in the pipeline. The certification helps small consumer packaged goods brands reduce costs by enabling retailer diversity programs, which may include shelf-fee waivers and promotional support during heritage months, such as April designated as Mena heritage month.
Some founders with Mena heritage have experienced discrimination or misclassification prior to certification, with instances like Lebanese heritage not being recognized as a minority by other certifiers. ADC’s certification criteria consider passports, place of birth, and family trees, and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis to avoid contentious debates over what qualifies as sufficiently "Middle East enough."
ADC executive director Abed Ayoub has stated plans to reach approximately 25,000 Mena business owners across various sectors beyond food, including construction, beauty services, law, and restaurants.
The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) is considering broadening its minority definition to include Mena communities, with a strategy committee set for 2025. However, the ADC certification operates independently, and there is currently no regulatory requirement for retailers to adopt it. Retailer participation is voluntary and depends on their recognition of the certification within diversity portfolios.
The Mena certification became official about three months before the Hamas attack on Israel. While no Israeli-owned businesses have applied yet, applicants from any country may do so and will be evaluated.
Overall, the certification’s value hinges on whether retailers incorporate it into their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies amid wider concerns about DEI funding and the representation of Mena founders. According to Carta data, women founders account for about 2% of venture capital backing, with Mena founders facing similarly limited representation.
