Resources
Leading Businesswomen
Inside this issue
• Banks are increasingly focused on women
• In finance, getting a business started is the biggest obstacle
• Campaigners are looking to more liberal Muslim countries for inspiration - -
Content
Women challenge age-old prejudices
Economics is driving Arab women’s growing involvement in business, says Roula Khalaf.
Finance: Banks scent opportunity
Arab women suffer from lack of access to capital, writes Roula Khalaf.
Obstacles to business: Lack of networks hampers entrepreneurs
Getting a business started is the single greatest challenge, says Andrew England.
Empowerment: Campaigners look to Asia
Gulf women are learning to compete, writes Simeon Kerr.
Twenty six leaders: Businesswomen show experience and diversity
The Financial Times list aims to tell the story of emerging role models. It is not designed as a guide to the most powerful or influential Arab businesswomen.
From bankers trainer to IT pioneer
Randa Ayoubi is one of Jordan’s pioneers in multimedia software for education and started Rubicon in 1994, when rural poverty and the lack of teachers in villages was a big issue.
The royal jeweller from Cairo’s bazaar
Azza Fahmy’s innovative jewellery has had a strong impact on both Egyptian public taste and on traditional jewellery-making.
The revolutionary investment banker
Nahed Taher, the chief of Gulf One Investment Bank, has always been an advocate of female emancipation in the kingdom, arguing that Saudi Arabia will never compete globally if it keeps its women idle.
Women in politics: Uneven advancement
Empowerment needs to spread beyond the elite, says Roula Khalaf.
Multinationals promote women’s employment
Multinational companies are recruiting and promoting Arab women as part of their diversity and equal opportunities programmes, says Fiona Symon.
