selected mena network news

"MENA Businesswomen’s Network elects office-bearers "

DOHA: The Middle East and North Africa Businesswomen’s Network (MENA BWN), of which the Qatari Businesswomen Forum is a founding member, has recently elected its first group of officers at its semi-annual MENA BWN Leadership Meeting in Doha.

The officers along with its Board of Directors will be leading the Network through the startup phase as an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization.

The MENA BWN, an idea conceived by businesswomen at a 2005 meeting in Tunis to establish formal linkages across the MENA region has thus taken a major step forward on its way to formalising these relationships.

Afnan Al Zayani, member of the Bahrain Businesswomen Society (BBS) and president of Al Zayani Commercial Services, was elected President; Amel Bouchamaoui, vice president of Chambre Nationale des Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises (CNFCE) and head of Maille Fil, a textile company based in Tunisia, will serve as Vice President; and Lana Dajani, member of Business and Professional Women – Amman and HR manager at Arabtech Jardaneh Engineers and Architects, will be Treasurer.

Members of the MENA BWN are businesswomen’s organizations from 11 Network “Hub” countries in the Gulf, the Levant and North Africa, each acting as one voting representative on the Board of Directors.

For almost three years, with support from the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative, members of the Network have conducted programs reaching over 10,000 businesspeople and professionals, helping them to develop business skills, build and strengthen their own networks, participate in forums with high profile U.S. and regional experts and give back to their communities through mentoring and advocacy programmes.

Aisha Alfardan, Vice Chairwoman of Qatari Businesswomen Forum, and Board member of MENA BWN said: “It is literally thrilling to welcome the new board members as they unveil this new and exciting stage for the BWN.”

“This highly-accomplished group of women, with their tireless advocacy and commitment to their societies, will be the driving force towards achieving the network’s objectives and even beyond. And as those women succeeded and outperformed in their fields of work, we are confident that their achievements for the network will be a great source of pride for us all.”

The MENA BWN is currently funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative of the US Department of State with program management and operational support coming from Vital Voices Global Partnership. Since its inception, the intent has been that the MENA BWN would become an autonomous and self-sustaining NGO and the election of officers and subsequent planning and development continues to move it in that direction.