Hayla Ghazal

The YouTube star launched her own channel on the video platform aged just 18 years old, after her parents objected to her pursuing a career as a television presenter at a young age. Through her Arabic-language channel HaylaTV, she has managed to garner almost 5 million subscribers, focusing on topics ranging from make-up to cooking tutorials and style advice. But her fan base goes beyond YouTube, extending to photo sharing app Instagram, where Ghazal has just short of 2 million followers.

Now aged 23 and based in Dubai, she is also the owner of fashion boutique Hayla Couture in Jumeirah, which sells high end bridal and evening wear, which Ghazal told Arabian Business last year is part of her larger plan to extend her brand offline. Ghazal was also appointed as a UN change ambassador as part of a collaboration towards YouTube gender equality.