Princess Sumaya opens Women Entrepreneurs Forum in Amman

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya on Tuesday opened the meetings of the 10th Mediterranean Women Entrepreneurs Forum in Amman, which aims to provide female entrepreneurs with a platform to address pressing issues and seize key opportunities in the Mediterranean region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Co-organised by the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Association of Organisations of Mediterranean Businesswomen and the Jordan Forum Business and Professional Women, the two-day forum is supported by Amman Chamber of Commerce and Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.

In her opening speech, Princess Sumaya underlined the importance of the gathering, stressing that women have proven themselves to be “innovative, creative, resourceful and driven” individuals when given the opportunity. 

She said such events help build their confidence, celebrate their success and devise better strategies to achieve incredible outcomes for women entrepreneurs and the society as a whole.

The princess noted that technology goes hand in hand with empowerment and knowledge-sharing, citing the smart power in the technology sector as an important tool to overcome obstacles women entrepreneurs face. She also pointed to the need to address specific issues that hinder the growth of women-led startups.

According to the Pew Research Centre, women make up 40 per cent of the workforce in 80 countries around the world, and 163 million women have started new businesses in 74 countries since 2016.

Chairman of the Amman Chamber of Commerce Senator Issa Murad said that the development and progress of counties derive from the advancement of women and their economic empowerment of women is the main impetus for economic growth.

He said that this forum holds a lot of promises as the prosperity and social soundness of countries are “inextricably linked” to the economic and educational status of women, stressing that the discussions will provide insights into the ways forward for all women in Mediterranean countries.