The ABCK – AmCham Kuwait hosted its 1st-ever Women in Business Diwaniya, sponsored and hosted by Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa and in partnership with the U.S. Embassy of Kuwait. The event started with opening remarks by ABCK-AmCham Kuwait’s Vice Chairman- Dr. Arezou Harraf, who welcomed participants and gave a warm welcome to the Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy-Sunny Ahmed, the U.S. Embassy’s Counselor for Public Affairs Christy Watkins, and Women’s Rights Advocate Engineer Sara Akbar.

Dr. Harraf started the discussion by talking about the importance of women’s capacity building and mentorship in Kuwait, and the provision of professional mentorship and skill-building. Dr. Harraf also spoke about the opportunities that empower women in Kuwait, and how these can be utilized to aim to fulfil their economic potential. 

After the opening remarks, Watkins stated “The U.S. Embassy aims to help women identify opportunities and develop competitive strategies in emerging sectors that are traditionally dominated by men in the U.S. and abroad, such as STEM, finance, infrastructure, hospitality, and healthcare”. She also added that the U.S. government supports the private sector industry, associations, and companies leading the charge to empower women in Kuwait, but also facilitates partnerships. Through insider perspectives, in conjunction with AmCham Kuwait and the U.S. Embassy, women can use these opportunities to develop paths to real change. She explained that it is imperative to mobilize female business owners, entrepreneurs, and change-makers who empower our communities for greater economic prosperity and distinct barriers to our advancement in the private sector including women entrepreneurs globally are lack of access to financing, market information, digital services, networks, and mentorship. She also explained that women entrepreneurs are a growing market force and serve as a critical source of innovation and job creation. 

The White House launched the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative in February 2019 with the goal of economically empowering 50 million women by 2025. She mentioned the three pillars of this Initiative which are women prospering in the workforce; women succeeding as entrepreneurs, and women enabled in the economy. 

Moving forward, participants discussed the importance of having role models in each industry, which will encourage even more young ladies to participate in the STEM sectors. Together, they discussed the different resources available within the group of participants and how these resources can be utilized to advance women’s economic growth in the country.

Finally, participants agreed to use such an initiative to address Kuwait’s specific needs, spread awareness, design events for capacity building and network so that mutual success can be fostered.

-Ends-

ABCK-AmCham Kuwait:

ABCK-AmCham Kuwait is a non-profit organization operating since 1985 and is composed of Fortune 500 corporations, small and medium-sized companies, and prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs, both American and Kuwaiti. ABCK-AmCham Kuwait has acted as an advocate for American interest in the state of Kuwait. For More Information, please visit our website at www.amchamkuwait.org or follow us on the social media channel @abck1985