About Awna

The name

Awna (said OW-nuh) is Levantine Arabic, ʿawna. It is the harvest custom where neighbours help each other bring the crop in, unpaid, and nobody goes home until everyone's is in.

That is the company's idea of good work: alongside the people it's for, until the job is done for everyone.

Zia Saidi

Awna is Zia Saidi's company. Zia's first job in technology was at the Computer Clubhouse in Boston, where young people learn to make things with technology alongside adult mentors.

She then built software for clients as an independent consultant, and in 2010 co-founded Plus 3 Interactive, where for eight years she built eCommerce, banking-device and real-estate platforms. She went on to lead engineering teams, including diversity, equity and inclusion work, and in 2024 returned to building for clients directly. Awna is where that work, and her own AI tools, now live.

More about Zia: zia.saidi.pro.