selected feature news

"Africa Businesswomen’s Network Comes to Life at Sinai Summit"

On the shores of the Red Sea, the semi-annual meeting of the MENA Businesswomen's Network (MENA BWN) kicked off January 24-28, 2009, at the Sinai resort Maitim Jolie Ville in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The meeting’s theme was Engines for Economic Growth: Building a Shared Vision — Optimizing Opportunities, and MENA BWN Hub leaders from UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Qatar convened for four days to exchange ideas and insights, discuss new programs, create plans to effectively manage resources, and to set organizational structure, common direction and goals for the year ahead.

True Partnership for African Businesswomen

Inspired by the success of the MENA BWN, the Africa BWN grew out of an active collaboration between ExxonMobil and Vital Voices. The Sinai meeting officially launched the Africa BWN as part of Vital Voices Global Partnership’s initiative to support a global network of businesswomen’s organizations.

Africa BWN Hubs are made up of nonprofit associations of businesswomen who share a core belief: Women's economic participation plays an essential role in the development of their national economies. Network Hubs are developing in Sub-Saharan countries, including Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa. Their goals are to strengthen the network of businesswomen’s organizations in Africa in order to expand the number of women succeeding as entrepreneurs and leaders in the corporate world; to raise the profile and credibility of women in business; to foster global networking opportunities among businesswomen; and to advocate for policies that expand economic opportunity for women.

Networking for the Future

Businesswomen and leaders from the MENA region and Africa cultivated new relationships, and established a strong foundation for the continued exchange of best practices and success strategies in business.

Key speakers sparked lively discussion and kept ideas flowing throughout the conference. They included Shereen Allam and Rania Azab, co-Hub executives from host organization Association for Women’s Total Advancement and Development (AWTAD), Alyse Nelson, Vital Voices president, Lorie Jackson, major program advisor at ExxonMobil Foundation, Olivia Ricchi, Women’s Pillar program officer at the Middle East Partnership Initiative, and Amanda Ellis, lead specialist, gender and development at the World Bank.

MENA BWN executives offered several presentations that included a brief history and past accomplishments, a snapshot of plans for the coming year including activities, events and programs. Hub members also provided insights into the regional political, economic, business and cultural environments as they related to businesswomen, to help identify common obstacles and challenges. Africa BWN members also shared their own experiences around entrepreneurship, access to capital and growing markets.

The introduction of businesswomen from the Middle East and North Africa to businesswomen from Sub-Saharan Africa was filled with energy and excitement. The women present from both regions agreed to form a working group to explore opportunities for doing business with each other in the future. Some partnerships were formed at the meeting. In June, when each Network holds its mid-year meeting, representatives from other Networks will participate, continuing to build the relationships that were begun in Sharm El Sheikh. The meeting was an important step in developing the information and connections that will fuel real business transactions among members.

To learn more about the MENA and Africa Businesswomen’s Networks, visit www.vitalvoices.org, or call 202-861-2625.