Mypes are the key to the inclusion of women in the O.Medio economy

Small independent businesses and access to banking products are the key to promoting the inclusion of women in the economic fabric of middle East and North Africa (MENA), territories where the vast majority of women They live in rural environments that mark their development possibilities.

That was one of the main conclusions of the conference “Eliminate the gender gap in the financial sector of the MENA region” ipromoted in Cairo by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Union of Arab Banks on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

“Events like this seek to create a space for dialogue between the different actors” and “offer a space to devise changes at the level of public policies to support women and especially entrepreneurs”, said Anna Dorangricchia, an expert on gender equality at the UfM.

For Dorangricchia, the key to boosting women’s access to the economy in the region is through “understand that many of them live in rural environments” and “That, therefore, it is necessary to first give them access to banking products and encourage them to create small businesses independently.”

Less than 5% of Middle East businesses are led by women, around 20 percentage points below the global average, causing losses estimated at US$576.9 billion across the sector.

The region with the most gender inequality

“When women enter organizations, they automatically go into survival mode because the environment is threatening and because we have to fight for everything”said the head of the Gender Diversity Group of the Union of Arab Banks, Nahla Bou Diab.

According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), women in the MENA region experience some of the highest levels of discrimination in access to production and financial resources.

“Our goal should be to help women understand this survival and teach them to go out and start creating collaboration and harmony in the organization,” he added.

The female unemployment rate in the region is equivalent to 15.5%, compared to 6.7% for men, and is more than three times higher than the world average.

Boost to “start-ups”

The conference also featured six panel discussions and interactive talks on the role of women in different industries, as well as an awards ceremony for “start-ups” innovators led by women.

“I was always obsessed with technology and I wanted to build something from scratch, do something innovative, but in my degree there was not much support for the entrepreneurial spirit”said Guadaluna Chaer, a graduate in mechanical engineering from the American University of Lebanon, who presented her project at the conference in search of investors.

Along with other colleagues, Chaer founded LUXEED Robotics, a “start-up” specialized in agricultural technology whose first project consisted of a laser machine to eliminate stubble in the field without damaging the land with pesticides.

“The business environment in Lebanon is really small, there is only one other female founder older than me, and I consider her my mentor since she is the only person in whom I see myself reflected in that sense”added Chaer, who recently moved to the Netherlands to implement his idea in Europe.

The OECD Middle East and Africa division took the opportunity to present a US$5.47 million program aimed at the digital and financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs in the MENA region.