Three Arab Women Innovators Factor in on the Economic Benefits of Backing Female Entrepreneurship

This brief fire-lighter conversation was taped live on stage at SPARK’s 7th Annual IGNITE Conference in Amsterdam. It features three local women who live and work in Arab states, namely, Hala Bugaighis, a law expert who co-founded Jusoor Centre for Studies and Development, a Libyan think tank which focuses on economic development with special focus on women issues, Jumana Salous, who is programme manager of the Business Women Forum Palestine, an organisation which empowers local women founders and SMEs, and from Jordan, Lamia Tarabiah, the founder of Nawaret Haretna, a women-focused community center which supports entrepreneurs.This brief fire-lighter conversation was taped live on stage at SPARK’s 7th Annual IGNITE Conference in Amsterdam (spark.ngo/ignite-conference-2019/). In this conversation, Andile Masuku is joined by Hala Bugaighis, founder of Jusoor Center for Studies and Development in Libya; Jumana Salous, Project Manager at Business Women Forum - Palestine; and from Jordan, Lamia Tarabiah who is the founder of Nawaret Haretna Support Centre for Women.They discuss how supporting female entrepreneurship is economically sensible in the face of all of the negative preconceptions that currently exist; and call for greater participation and support of women entrepreneurs— as well as the removal of barriers that have historically made it more challenging for women to start up businesses in the Arab world.Editorial Disclaimer: This podcast is part of a seven-part podcast miniseries interrogating the progress being made in advancing entrepreneurship and job creation in some of the world’s most fragile regions. The series was taped at the fringes of SPARK’s 7th Annual IGNITE Conference in Amsterdam— a premier gathering of refugees, entrepreneurs, educators, private sector actors, government leaders, academics and NGOs.While SPARK is the presenting sponsor of the series, African Tech Roundup maintains complete editorial oversight. Opinions expressed by the host, Andile Masuku, and his guests, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the presenting sponsor, SPARK.Image credit: SPARK