Jordan: Conference opens to support women’s entrepreneurship in the Arab region

Jordan Times
By Omar Obeidat

AMMAN - Over 130 female entrepreneurs from Jordan and 15 other Arab and foreign countries have come together to identify strategies and approaches to boost their businesses’ potential.

Launched in Amman on Monday, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development (WED) Conference also seeks to increase women’s participation in the labour force and discuss the challenges hindering women’s empowerment.

During the three-day event, female entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to meet with investors interested in funding women’s projects, as well as organisations that support the development of women-owned businesses in the region.

WED, the first of its kind in the Arab region, is organised by the Business Development Centre (BDC) and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO).

BDC President and Chief Executive Officer Nayef Stetieh said the conference brings experts and entrepreneurs dedicated to female entrepreneurship from around the world to develop the support services available to women.

“Despite social challenges, female entrepreneurs in Jordan and the region can be a real source for economic growth,” he added.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) Suhair Al-Ali said in her inauguration speech that Arab women still face several challenges that stand between them and their aspirations.

“There are stereotypes that women do not have the capacity and capability to compete with men in the business field,” she noted, adding that women can be key contributors to economic development in the Arab region.

Women also have difficulties in finding financial resources, which force many female investors and businesswomen to establish only small- and medium-sized projects that can be funded with small loans, Al-Ali said.

She pointed to a study conducted by the World Bank in 2008 which indicated that 85 per cent of women-owned companies in the region are in the industrial sector while the other 15 per cent are in the services sector.

Basma Khlouf, from the northern Mazar Municipality, said that women in the area encounter difficulties in funding their projects due to strict financing rules.

Her main goal in participating in the event, she said, was to find small projects to support women in her “poor area” so they could contribute in improving their families’ living standards.

On the other hand, Iman Majali said that she was able to get a loan 10 years ago to open a private education centre for people with disabilities.

“I started with two employees and now the centre has 23 staff members,” said Majali, who came to the conference to find ways to improve her business’ administration.

The conference targets international development agencies, banks, microfinance institutions and investors interested in funding female-owned projects, in addition to creating partnerships and networking among female entrepreneurs.

“The conference aims to stimulate knowledge and experience sharing among main actors in promoting women’s entrepreneurship development in the region,” ITC-ILO representative Kholoud Khaldi said.

WED is supported by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development , MoPIC, Jordan Enterprise, The National Fund for Enterprise Support, Durham University, the USAID-funded Tatweer Project and Business and Professional Women-Amman.