Arab women entrepreneurs deplore obstacles hindering women enterprise promotion

Women heads of enterprise exposed in Marrakesh over the weekend the difficulties hindering their professional business, evoking in particular funds and training.

The subject was addressed during the forum on Economic development organized on the fringes of World Women Summit, held in Marrakech.

Participants underscored the importance to initiate women to information and communication technologies and the importance of partnership with NGOs, stressing that the difficulty lies greatly in mental attitudes and prejudices toward women in the Arab states despite their contribution to world economy.

As to problems that are specific to women enterprises, mainly small and middle-sized, they said they suffer from lack in information, projects studies and management skills.

In this regard, President of the Mauritanian Association for Women Entrepreneurs, Jemila Bent Taya said there are several professional associations of women enterprises in her country, which highlight the political resolve to encourage women for further involvement in the economic policy of the country.

Promotion of Arab women entrepreneurship, visibility of women entrepreneurs, and the importance of information technologies were at the heart of talks during the forum.

For her part, president of the Moroccan association (Espace Point de Depart), Sabah Chraibi, called for reinforcing women negotiation capacity and perceive their roles as economic actors and not only as consumers.

Meantime, businesswomen from member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) will hold their first conference in March in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), president of the Islamic trade and industry chamber, Oqail Ahmed Jassem, announced Sunday.

The chamber's officials, he told the press, examined the possibility to hold a conference of businesswomen of Islamic countries to discuss their aspirations and business prospects. Women's presence in several sectors of economic activity in Moslem countries is due to their capacity in business, Jassem recalled.