Mediterranean Women Entrepreneurs Forum 2021

Knowledge Is Power

The 2021 MedaWomen edition is designed to accelerate the growth of women-owned businesses and start-ups in the Mediterranean region through access to information, contacts and capital. It is suitable for anyone in any stage of business: for those who just got started and also for those who have already been in business for decades.

The empowerment and autonomy of women, as well as the improvement of their social, economic, and health status, are both important and essential for the achievement of a sustainable development.

In this forum we will work together to highlight the essential role of leveraging the education of women to improve their status and enhancing their decision-making, at all levels and in all aspects of life. We will facilitate connections, provide innovatively solutions and be a source for growth to both clients and stakeholders.

The Mediterranean Women Entrepreneurs Forum has the aim of supporting women entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. Global leaders, partners from the private and public sector, as well as entrepreneurs from around the region, will discuss the new steps to fight against policy and regulatory barriers, pave the way to accelerate the access to financing instruments, launch innovative partnerships with the private sector, and provide training and networking opportunities for invited women entrepreneurs from the Mediterranean.

Listen from leading Mediterranean and international businesswomen about their experiences within the corporate world and gain the latest market intelligence across the industry
Network & collaborate with your peers and make valuable connections across different industries in the Mediterranean, in both informal and business-focused environments
Share your own industry experiences, expertise and know-how during interactive panel discussions and Q&A sessions
Engage women across business and industry
Focus on women development
Identify appropriate metrics for women entrepreneurs’ performance evaluation: resources and value additions alone or authenticity and how to grow into the future.
Discuss challenges facing women entrepreneurs as it supports ways to overcome.

This BSO Management Academy is part of the EBSOMED project, funded by the EUROPEAID programme.

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19th November 2021

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10:00 – 11:30

Mediterranean Women Entrepreneurs Forum 2021

10h – 10:20h MEDITERRANEAN LEADERS WOMEN INTRODUCTION

María Helena de Felipe | President, Association of Organizations of Mediterranean Businesswomen (AFAEMME)

Najoua Attia | President of the ASCAME Women Entrepreneur Commission

Ambassador John Paul Grech | Deputy Secretary General of Social and Civil Affairs, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)

Marie Christine Oghly | President, World Businesswomen Organizations (FCEM)

Amany Asfour | President, International Federation for Business and Professional Women (BPW)

Keynote speaker

Carlos Conde | Head of Division, Middle East and Africa Division, Global Relations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

10:20h – 10:50h Session 1- Women Innovation: Invest in Women Entrepreneurship

This session aims to identify solutions for women based on innovation that will support success as entrepreneurs. We will bring opportunities in the Mediterranean and international market for women, giving them business ideas and practical business plans required to get success.

The facilitation of a dialogue between women technology innovators, consultants and regulators is a must. This event will promote two-way interaction to map out future needs and areas where technology has yet to offer a solution.

Key points for discussion:

Investment in women entrepreneurship incubation and start-Ups
Institution support policies & schemes, innovation funding & tailored support for women
What is needed to make the entrepreneurs ecosystem more helpful to women?
How can governments stimulate entrepreneurship among Mediterranean women?
Nurturing and enabling environment for female innovation
What are the roles of stakeholders in enabling Mediterranean women entrepreneurs?
staying in business through challenging economic times
How women entrepreneurs are thriving through pandemic crisis
How are women leading the new tech scene?
You can’t be what you can’t see: The importance of Role models encouraging women and girls.

Speakers confirmed

Chair – Elisabeth Trallero | International Relationships AFAEMME

Lina Tsaltampasi | President of Greek Association of Women Entrepreneurs, SEGE (Greece)

Yomna El Sheridy | President of Businesswomen of Egypt 21, BWE21 (Egypt)

Emine Erdem | President of Women Entrepreneurs Association, KAGIDER (Turkey)

Ljubica Kostic-Bukarica | President of Businesswomen Association, POSLOVNA ZENA (Montenegro)

Reem Baghdady | President of Jordan Forum for Business & Professional Women, JFBPW (Jordan)

Joëlle Baccialon| President of the Association Femmes Chefs d’Entreprise Monaco, AFCE (Monaco)

Dragica Jerkov | President of Croatian Association of Businesswomen, KRUG (Croatia)

Karima Bergueul | President of Association des Femmes en Economie Verte, AFEV (Algeria)

Yurs Sabra | President of Lebanese League for Women in Business, LLWB (Lebanon)

Asmâa Morine| President of Association des Réseaux Francophones de Femmes Entrepreneurs, AREFFE (France)

10:50h – 11:20h Session 2 – Mediterranean Women Entrepreneurs Challenges

Finance Challenge: Data to Measure Progress

This panel will assess how to get more banks and other financial institution to track and expand their lending to women. Options to more rapidly and systematically scale up the level of financing to women-led SMEs will be discussed, by significantly expanding the number of financial institutions that are tracking, and therefore can receive investments and intentionally grow their lending to WSMEs.

Financial independence is indeed a part of social responsibility. It becomes necessary to inspire women to be investors and close the funding gap. What should be done by governments to promote more bank loans and micro-credits to SMEs, particularly those owned and managed by women? How can angel and venture capital investors expand in innovative ways to create a complete support system for women microfinance and entrepreneurship opportunities?

Partnering to Accelerate Women-Led Businesses Growth

Findings from a recent research on the differences between financing for male and female-led start-ups will be explained in this panel. Despite women lead half the start-ups that participate in accelerators, they continue to face unequal access to capital, with the perceived risk and investor bias being the most likely causes. Participants will have the opportunity to brainstorm on how accelerators and funders can design programmes to help women entrepreneurs access capital and scale up their businesses.

Access to Markets: Value Chain Partnership

This panel will bring together large corporate, financial service providers, development finance institutions and NGOs to explore ways to expand the number of women-led businesses engaged in global value chains. The session will discuss how partnerships can be built to solve multifaceted challenges of getting women into value chains, given that their participation represents only 1%.

Women Leveraging E-Commerce for Growth

The Women Leveraging E-Commerce panel will feature inspiring Mediterranean entrepreneurs at various stages of their e-commerce journey, with a focus on the unique opportunities and challenges they each faced in using e-commerce in the region.

E-Commerce offers entrepreneurs key insights on how they can expand their market reach and grow sales. The session will review the selling requirements for some of the active e-commerce platforms in the region and provide tips on online marketing, order fulfilment, customer care and how to manage their relationships and accounts across different platforms.

Supporting women entrepreneurs increases their income, promotes their confidence, provides them with better access to health and gives them dignity.