Dr. Fanya Ismail

Dr. Fanya Ismail is the founder and CEO of SGMA (Sol-Gel Materials & Applications Ltd), a UK advanced materials company she built from a kitchen table idea into a globally recognised clean technology pioneer. Born in Iraq and educated at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), where she completed a PhD in chemistry, Fanya later worked as a research scientist and lecturer before a career pause led her to rethink her path entirely.

In 2012, while working as a legal consultant for foreign investors, Fanya began designing molecules on paper at her kitchen table — searching for a sustainable answer to plastic pollution in food packaging. By 2017, she had founded SGMA to commercialise her sol-gel chemistry breakthrough: Solgelica®, a patented paper treatment technology made from natural silica sand extracts that makes paper impermeable to liquids and oils without any plastic, forever chemicals, or toxins. The technology is 100% recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable.

Fanya was recognised with an Innovate UK Women in Innovation award in 2019 and SGMA has since grown into one of Europe's most promising impact-driven startups, working with blue-chip brands including Starbucks, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Yum! Brands. In 2024, SGMA secured a £4 million strategic investment from Oaktree Capital Management to scale its Solgelica® technology across EU and UK food packaging markets.