Milan October 14th, 2015 - Participants at a conference at the Milan EXPO 2015 proposed recommendations on how to support women entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and shared best practices and experiences with a view to building a large network of women engaged in contributing to sustainable and inclusive development in these countries.

The day-long conference, ‘Women Economic Empowerment in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia’, held on 14 October, was organized by No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Participants included many representatives of government ministries, and of business and national associations in the six participating countries, as well as members of civil society and representatives from both the public and private sectors.

Addressing participants, Emma Bonino, founder of NPWJ and former Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, said, "I do not believe that women are all equal. I believe that each of us is an individual, that our differences are valuable, that each of us has her own way of seeing the world. I think that this diversity should be not only accepted, but appreciated. We are not a union. We are not a corporation. We are 50 percent of the world that wants to have voices, and I underline ‘voices’ and not ‘voice’."

In his speech, Lebanon’s Minister of Industry, Hajj Hassan, stressed the need to strengthen Arab women in general and Lebanese women in particular, especially in the economic field, and urged them to establish their own projects in order to contribute in fighting against poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. "In this way, women could contribute to the growth and sustainable development, but also to political changes in the Arab world", he said. "This requires government policies to provide the legislative frameworks and new laws, as well as amending and updating observed laws to meet the desired targets."

The Conference was part of the UNIDO project, Promoting Women Empowerment for Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development in the MENA region, funded by the government of Italy.

Monica Carco, Unit Chief at UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Unit, who manages the project, explained, “We will support the creation and development of women-led businesses in the region by improving the business environment for women entrepreneurs and enhancing the role of women business associations in delivering quality services at national and regional levels. We will also promote business partnership and investment for them through a business-to-business approach.”

Giampaolo Cantini, General Director of Italian Development Cooperation, who participated in one of the panels during the day, said, "We want to sustain the UNIDO initiative to highlight the role of women in a crucial region for our history and for the economic, social and cultural relationships we enjoy." He also emphasized the importance of political strategies to develop the role of women in the context of Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, which he called "a universal agenda".

Samira Merai, Tunisia’s Minister for Women's Affairs, argued that "democracy must be built on the active participation of women" and stressed her country’s commitment in favour of women's rights.  

Merai continued, "The potential for female entrepreneurship exists and Tunisia is working in this direction," adding that Tunisia’s Ministry of Women Affairs has launched a 2016-2020 plan to enhance the employment prospects of Tunisian women. "The main objective is to go from the current 25.5 percent of women in formal employment to 35 percent by 2020."

Delphine Borione, Deputy Secretary General for Social and Civil affairs at the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), said, "It is the right time to harness the great potential of women entrepreneurs for an inclusive and sustainable growth in the Euro-Mediterranean region."

"By fostering women’s economic participation through entrepreneurship and access to labour markets, the region will achieve its imperative need for inclusive growth and job creation as a means of reaching social and political stability", she added.