Representatives from Sharjah Business Women Council (SWBC) have participated in the “Young Arab Women Leaders: The Voice of the Future Conference” recently at the Qatar Business Incubation Center in Doha, Qatar. The event was organized by the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) in partnership with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce, the Qatar Businesswomen Forum, PwC and all of AIWF’s Global Partners and with the Qatar Business Incubation Centre as host partner.

Her Excellency Ameera BinKaram, Chairperson of SBWC participated in a session called “Exploring Initiatives and Opportunities for Collaboration between Women in Business: Transforming Barriers into Opportunities in Qatar”. The session explored challenges, prospects and success stories from throughout the MENA region that can boost women-owned SMEs.

As part of a panel discussion BinKaram spoke about the need for the public and private sectors to work together to ensure more women overcome obstacles to doing business in the MENA region, so that an improved entrepreneurial, political and social environment for women would follow. Also on the panel were Ms Buthaina Al-Ansari, Senior Director and Senior HR Professional, and Ms Hanan Al–Samari, Executive
Director, Princess Madawi Fund for Women Development, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

BinKaram said, “Supporting women entrepreneurs and professionals as best we can is at the very heart of what SBWC aims to achieve. When women are empowered and supported they contribute to the region’s economy and dynamic commercial ecosystem which brings multiple benefits for all sectors of society.”

BinKaram added, “Under the excellent leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and Honorary Patron of the Sharjah Business Women Council we seek to nurture and develop the entrepreneurial spirit globally by supporting, mentoring and financing incumbent and aspiring entrepreneurs in order to empower and support women’s advancement professionally and economically. We aim to empower and inspire businesswomen to take their rightful place as leaders and entrepreneurs and motivate women to remain active in all walks of professional life to achieve the status equal to that reached by men.”

In closing BinKaram added that women in the MENA region are becoming more visible and their influence is felt across many sectors of business, and these women leaders act as agents for change in Arab society. Arab women are now emerging in the world of international governance and taking their rightful place at the table with their male peers in politics, business, academia, finance and the NGO sphere.

Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Founder Chairman of the Arab International Women’s Forum added that an area which must be addressed is the 25 percent youth unemployment that will need 100 million jobs to fill the unemployment gap. She said, “More Arab women are graduating than men but in the UAE we have only 49 percent women engagement in the workplace while in Qatar it's 51 percent. This number varies across GCC countries but the point is that gender inequality is dragging down growth in both developed and emerging economies and wage inequality is also negatively impacting
the economy as women earn on average 24 percent less than men. This disparity hinders economic growth, demotivates women’s participation and prevents societal progress. ”

The panel highlighted that a third of internet start-ups in the MENA are run by women, a higher percentage than in Silicon Valley, and a statistic that comes close to the global average of 37%. In reference to SMEs in the UAE, and Sharjah specifically, BinKaram said, “The UAE leadership has long held the position that women are an important factor in social and economic progress. There are now 22 thousand Emeriti business women in the local and international market with women bringing over 42 billion dirhams worth of investment to Emeriti business. Our mission is to empower and inspire potential and accomplished professional and entrepreneurial women to establish themselves and realize that their ambitions, in both traditional and non-traditional sectors in the UAE, can become a prosperous lifetime reality.”

SBWC board members, Amna Al Sharaa and Nada Al Lawati's and Sally Denton, Development Senior Manager also attended the event. Approximately 130 delegates from 20 countries worldwide, including 10 Arab countries, attended the conference, the 7th event in the series designed by AIWF in cooperation with its partner, PwC, to nurture the next generation of young women entrepreneurs, helping to empower them as they aspire to leadership roles in business and in public life. Their aim is to educate and empower the next generation of young women leaders and ensure that they are fully supported in their journey to reach leadership positions in the Arab world.

During the visit, SBWC board members visited Qatari Businesswomen Association to learn more about the association’s objective, programs and participations to seek future collaborations between both parties. QBWA delegates were present; among them were board members; Mrs Awatef Al Dafa, Amal Al Athem Raidah Abu Issa, Huda Hubbi; QBWA members; Mashael Al Dirham and Shurooq Al Malki, and Executive Director Jiskala Khalayli.