Empowering Women to Build Businesses Aligned With Their Lives
The Academy by Sophia was created to help ambitious women move beyond uncertainty, discover their potential, and confidently build businesses that reflect their values, purpose, and vision.
The Story Behind The Academy
The Academy by Sophia is a mentoring and coaching platform, founded by Sophia Benarafa in Dubai, designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals launch their dream businesses.
Built on over 20 years of experience leading global brands and Sophia's own entrepreneurial journey of creating multiple businesses, The Academy combines mindset transformation, business clarity, and practical launch strategies to help women build businesses aligned with their values and the life they truly want.
Every program is designed to simplify the entrepreneurial journey, replacing uncertainty with confidence and helping women take meaningful action towards building a business they love.
Who Sophia Benarafa Is
Sophia spent over 20 years in corporate leadership, leading teams and shaping business strategy for global brands, before leaving to build her own companies. She started without a roadmap and without a mentor, which is exactly why she mentors the way she does today. That decision turned into three businesses: a strategy consultancy, an ecommerce business, and the coaching practice that became The Academy by Sophia.
She works with women who are standing where she once stood: successful on paper, and ready to build something that is truly their own. Her role is to bring the clarity, confidence, accountability, and practical guidance that turn an idea into a business that is live, priced, and selling.
Qualifications and Credentials
Sophia Benarafa holds a Certificate of Completion in The Art & Science of Coaching™, Modules I–IV from Erickson Coaching International (certificate no. ECI-668031, issued 8 May 2026, signed by founder Marilyn Atkinson). The program comprises the Essentials Course and the Advanced Course and represents 128 hours of International Coaching Federation (ICF) approved coaching education, with curriculum identical to Erickson's ICF-accredited Level 2 program.
She has also completed the one-day From Success Towards Significance master class in Dubai (29 November 2025), led by Christopher Cooke and Sheila Cooke, and holds a Professional Mentor Coaching (PMC) completion certificate. The certificates themselves are published on the My Journey page.
What The Academy by Sophia Offers
There are two ways to work with Sophia. Business S'park Starter is a self-paced online course priced at $99, covering 10 sessions and 14 lessons on the entrepreneurial mindset, with lifetime access — for anyone who wants to start moving before committing to one-to-one work. S'park Business is the 1:1 mentoring program: an 8–10 week engagement with one private session every week, unlimited WhatsApp support between sessions, and a structured path through mindset, clarity and launch. Both are delivered online, which means they work for clients in Dubai and for anyone building a business from anywhere.
"To fuel bold moves by helping aspiring entrepreneurs turn ideas into thriving businesses. Through mindset shifts, strategic clarity, and step-by-step action, we simplify the complex and empower individuals to launch with confidence, creativity, and purpose."
Our Vision
To create a global movement of bold dreamers who design businesses—and lives—on their own terms. We envision a world where independence, creativity, and freedom are not just dreams, but everyday realities for those willing to take action.
What does The Academy by Sophia actually do?
The Academy by Sophia is a Dubai-based business mentoring and online course platform founded by Sophia Benarafa, a business mentor certified by Erickson Coaching International with 128 hours of ICF-approved coaching education and more than 20 years of prior corporate leadership experience. It serves women who want to leave a corporate career and start their own business, and works entirely online, so clients are not limited to the UAE. There are two programs. Business S'park Starter is a self-paced course at $99, covering 10 sessions and 14 lessons on the entrepreneurial mindset, with lifetime access. S'park Business is a one-to-one mentoring program running 8–10 weeks, with a private session each week, unlimited WhatsApp support between sessions, and a structured path through mindset, clarity and launch.
Let's Start the Conversation
Whether you're ready to launch your business, gain clarity on your next step, or explore how we can work together, I'd love to hear from you.
Contact Me