Joint Action for Women Entrepreneurship in the MENA region
Womenpreneur and MC Academy for Legal Studies hosted ‘Joint Action for Women Empowerment in MENA region’ event in collaboration with Arab Business Leaders on 3rd of March 2017 in Brussels. The main purpose of this event was to highlight the critical importance of female entrepreneurship as an essential element of building future sustainable political economies of the MENA region.
The event kicked off with keynote speech from Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander Decroo, then comprised a panel discussion, and concluded with a welcoming reception.
Speakers from Europe and the MENA region discussed the ways to foster women entrepreneurship in the MENA region in front of 50 guests. Among them several representatives of Arab embassies including H.E. Dr. Bahia Jawad Al Jishi Ambassador of Bahrain to Belgium, and H.E. Dr. Yousef Bataineh Ambassador of Jordan to Belgium.
This partnership is putting the right conditions in place to support progress across the region through the empowerment of women; by equipping women with confidence and skills they need to shape a better future for themselves, their communities and countries.
From professional support, educational programs, capacity building, trainings, data collection, and personal development, the Joint Programme will provide a coordinated and collaborative response to the persistent gender issues in the MENA region-with a specific focus on the legal and business field area.
In his speech, Houssam Nasrawin, President of Arab Business and CEO of GDC Partners who is alos advisor for Womenpreneur, an investment and advisory firm based in Abu Dhabi, talked about the initiatives taken to support entrepreneurship mainly through the mentorship program of ABL that has already financed eight women in the MENA region. He also mentioned the new investment fund that will be launched by H.E. Mubarak Bin Hamoodah, chairman of GDC Partners to support entrepreneurship in the MENA region. A part of this fund will be fully dedicated to women’s initiatives.