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The third edition of the Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards took place at the Blue Waters Forum at Banyan Tree in Dubai, UAE on June 6, 2024. As the first in-person event, the Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards 2024 brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders and other stakeholders from around the world to celebrate the work of women entrepreneurs.
The event, hosted by UAE-based broadcast journalist Sonal Rupani, kicked off with a speech from Amna Ajmal, executive vice president of market development for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, who declared it to be “a day full of inspiration.” “One of the fundamental reasons why I think it’s important to have a platform like this is to hear and celebrate other small businesses,” she said. “It takes women to uplift women and it takes men to uplift women.” [too]”
Following her talk, the first panel discussion, Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women’s Leadership in Small BusinessesThe event was moderated by Omoke Adebanjo, Senior Vice President, Merchant & Commerce, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, Mastercard. Panel speakers included Neja Alaoui, CEO, Women’s Choice, Ola Doudin, Co-Founder, Bitoasis, and Aleksandra Agatowska, CEO, PZU Life (2020-2024), World Economic Forum Contributor and Co-Founder, Luu Kids.
During the discussion, Dudin reflected on her journey into the world of financial technology and cryptocurrency, emphasizing the importance of passion and innovation in launching a business in a male-dominated industry. “For me, it wasn’t about becoming an entrepreneur,” she said. “It was about what I could build in an area that I was passionate about.” Meanwhile, Allaoui, who aims to create one million jobs for women by 2030 with Women’s Choice, an international organization that works to empower women through sustainable initiatives, emphasized that systemic change and collaboration are needed to achieve gender equality. She noted that globally, women are significantly underrepresented as business leaders.
Panel “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women’s Leadership in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises”
Source: Farooq Salik/BNC Publishing
“In this journey of women’s empowerment, we must not feel guilty about speaking up for women’s empowerment,” said Alaoui. “We have a responsibility to reverse 2,000 years of a world created by men for men, a world where women entered the workforce very late. It’s a great time to support women and for a gender equal world. It’s been a long journey, but now more and more governments, institutions and companies are aligned. It’s time for us to work together.”
Meanwhile, Adebanjo pointed out the fact that the world is still not doing enough to support female entrepreneurs. “They say only 7% of venture capital goes to women-led companies, which is ironic because we know that when you give money to women, you get more out of that money,” she said. Agatowska highlighted the unique leadership qualities that women bring, saying that women are known for adopting a people-centric approach to their teams. “Women have a really great style of leadership. I believe this type of leadership is timeless and not trendy,” she asserted.
The panelists also discussed the persistent issue of the glass ceiling. Agatowska, for example, noted that facing sexism at work motivated her to work harder for equality. She added, “I don’t have to work for equality. It’s my human right.” Here, Dudin spoke about the importance of resilience in confronting the glass ceiling, adding that women can choose to either see this limitation and let it hold them back, or acknowledge its existence and not let it impede their career trajectory.
Nezha Alaoui, CEO of Women Choice, and Tamara Pupic, Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Middle East, served as judges for the awards.
Source: Farooq Salik/BNC Publishing
Regarding the role of collaboration in the journey of women in the small business sector, Dudin noted that networks and communities play a key role, especially in the tech sector. “Efforts to encourage women tech entrepreneurs to become more involved and participate in networks and communities are crucial, because ultimately it is within these communities, which can tend to be flat, that they can find co-founders, ideas, investors and customers,” she noted.
Alawi and Agatowska agreed, emphasizing the need for support systems both in and outside of the workplace. “Collaboration is a crucial activity for entrepreneurs,” Agatowska said. “For example, events like this are very important because collaboration is also about supporting each other.” The conversation also touched on the challenge of work-life balance (especially for female entrepreneurs). “The reality is that it’s hard to create something from scratch, and it’s even harder when you’re starting a company where you have to make the right product, be competitive, reach customers, and hire people at the same time,” Dudin said. “Creating a business is not easy, it’s hard work. It’s very hard to maintain work-life balance, especially in the first few years of starting a company.”
The second panel discussion at the Mastercard Women Small Business Leadership Awards 2024 is titled Innovation and creativity: driving business growththe moderator was Beata Mońka, CEO of Art of Networking and owner of Beata Mońka Business Consulting. Speakers who discussed the topic included Alya Al Zarouni, COO of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Mila Smart Semeshkina, Founder and CEO of Lectera.com and Founder and Chairperson of Women’s Empowerment (WE) Council, and Ajmal from Mastercard.
Related: For the greater good: Amna Ajmal, executive vice president, market development, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard
Panel: “Innovation and Creativity: Fostering Business Growth”
Source: Farooq Salik/BNC Publishing
Speaking about tactics that help grow the business, Al Zarouni emphasised that an open mindset is essential to drive innovation. “Having been involved in the rapid growth of DIFC has taught me to keep an open mindset and embrace change,” she says. “This approach has enabled me to be more agile and better manage my team.” Here, Al Zarouni also highlighted the inherent advantages that a female perspective can bring to a business. “The beauty of being a woman is that you bring a different perspective to the table,” she says. “Women tend to be more collaborative and more compassionate. As a mother of three young children and a cat, I really value quality time with my family, and I also value team time. All of these things help to increase efficiency.”
Meanwhile, Semeshkina said she launched the WE Convention, a flagship event for the WE Council, a forum for prominent female entrepreneurs to share their successes, to build a platform for female leaders. [I was trying to solve] “The most important thing for female leaders is marketing, publicity and a platform,” Semeshkina explained. “So we decided to create a platform where female leaders can come and tell their stories. We need to hear these success stories and understand the path to success.” Here, Semeshkina noted that female leaders often have to work harder to be taken seriously. “If you’re a female leader, you have to be the biggest professional, the biggest expert, because men judge you twice,” she said. “You have to show results, you have to show what you can do. For entrepreneurs, it’s about money. If you don’t make money, your business will wither.”
Ajmal agreed, saying, “Judging from my interactions with fintech startups and entrepreneurs, putting yourself out there isn’t something that comes naturally to a lot of women, but it has to be done. The world is a lot easier now in terms of access to tools and technology. But you need to put yourself out there. You need to establish your brand and what you stand for.” And one way to do this, Al Zarouni said, is to build the right community around you. “Look for the right ecosystem that brings you very close to innovation,” she added. “It’s really important to build a network and support system around you, and make sure you’re always there. Share your success stories. Let people know what you’re doing, because then money will start coming to you.”
Fadi Ghandour, Chairman of Wamda Capital
Source: Farooq Salik/BNC Publishing
Following the panel discussion, the Mastercard Women Small Business Leaders Awards 2024 featured a keynote speech from Fadi Ghandour, Chairman of Wamda Capital and Founder of Aramex. In her speech, Ghandour focused on the importance of understanding the market and solving problems, stating that “entrepreneurship, hard work and perseverance go hand in hand.” Ghandour then shared the inspiring story of Maisah Qataty, a Palestinian female entrepreneur from Rafah. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war last year, Palestine has seen a humanitarian crisis spread across the country, with parents having to deal with a shortage of essentials for their children. Realizing that one of the items parents were struggling to find for their children was diapers, Qataty started a small business in Rafah sewing diapers for infants. “To me, this is the most inspiring story of starting a business from scratch,” Ghandour said. “She solved a problem and understood the market. She was a woman in war and she created jobs for seamstresses. She generated income, which went around. [an example of] “Entrepreneurship is life.”
Ghandour also answered questions from the audience after his talk. One question focused on how to find investors, especially when financial returns are not expected immediately. In response, Ghandour said it was important to focus on future potential rather than past performance. “You need a punch line. You also need to attract investors who are passionate about what you do,” he said. “Investors are looking to the future. You need to tell them about the journey you’re going to take together.” Ghandour also touched on the practical side of entrepreneurship, advising the audience on the importance of having a well-thought-out plan and sufficient financial backup before diving into the entrepreneurial world. “You need at least one to two years’ worth of savings in the bank,” he said. “You should always have a plan B.” Another attendee asked about the future outlook. when Reinvent your business. “Don’t dwell on what’s not working. you “Trust it,” Ghandour replied, “and think about why and how you can change direction, and change direction quickly.”
Related: Trailblazers: Meet the winners of the 2024 Mastercard Women Small Business Leader Awards
