wamda.com - With more than 13 million total views on its YouTube channel, Loolia, a digital platform that connects Arab women with lifestyle experts in the region is off to an interesting start. Launched in Beirut in February 2014, the site offers interactive content in various topics ranging from fashion, exercise and nutrition to maternity, cooking and even marital advice.

Wamda interviewed one of Loolia’s cofounders, Eric Abi Younes, pictured below, to find out what it takes to launch a successful women’s platform in the Middle East and what advice he has for other entrepreneurs in the region.

Wamda: It might seem a bit unorthodox for some for a computer engineer to launch a lifestyle platform for women. What was the drive behind launching Loolia and how did it all start?

Eric Abi Younes: Loolia was born as a result of a discussion I was having with a friend named Dalia Chartouny about the growth of platforms dedicated to women’s issues and what was needed in the market. It was her comment about how it would be nice to access Arab lifestyle experts all in one place that really sparked the idea of Loolia in my head and got me thinking.