BrazilInaugural Women Power Summit in Bahrain supported by KPMG
KPMG in Bahrain has supported the first Women Power Summit held in the Kingdom, which with over 700 delegates and more than 100 guest speakers was billed as the largest ever summit of its kind to take place in the MENA region.
Held over two days in Manama earlier this month, the Woman Power Summit brought together leading businesswomen and identities from across the region to celebrate the inspiring stories of women in the Middle East in the continuing pursuit for empowerment. Organised by local PR and design agency Obai & Hill, in partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board and Bahraini state business-support agency Tamkeen, the event attracted more than 700 attendees across its schedule of seminars, workshops, panel discussions and more.
Among the attractions were a number of complimentary on-one-one mentoring sessions for aspiring local female entrepreneurs, including free consultations with event partner KPMG Fakhro, the local arm of the global Big Four firm. In addition to the 35 individual consulting sessions on offer, 50 guests received guidance from influential business mentors across a variety of industries, and over 80 participated in a speed-networking event.
Guests also had the opportunity to listen to a diverse field of guest speakers drawn from the business, entertainment and political realms, with a series of panel discussions, round-tables, spotlight sessions and keynote addresses held throughout the event. The line-up of over 100 speakers and moderators, made up of 20 different nationalities from 13 countries, featured a number of representatives from the local consulting industry - which in the area of management consulting is now worth upwards of $80 million per annum.
As well as addresses from high-profile business identities, speakers from the local consulting sector included Leena Al Olaimy, the co-founder of sustainable development consultancy 3BL Associates; Alanoud Alsharekh, Director and Managing Partner of Ibtkar Strategic Consultancy; Nadia Muijrers, the founder of multi-disciplinary consulting firm Alphard; Hala Sulaiman, founder of Beyond Borders Consultancy, and; Emma Almansoori, founder of accounting and business consultancy Empower Business Solutions.
The event also sought to connect new opportunities for investment, partnership, and collaborations between entrepreneurs, innovators and investors, with a Power Pitch Competition for local female-led start-ups in front of a panel of experts and instant feedback given on how to grow their businesses in Bahrain and across the region. The inaugural first-prize was awarded The Stories Studio, a platform for the creation of social impact video games.
“This summit is a celebration of the women who have joined us today as I see the largest gathering of past, present and future women leaders before me. We hold the keys to our future and are in the driving seat. We need to drive towards promoting entrepreneurship, women in tech, workplace flexibility, athletic representation and achievement, medical education amongst so much more – so that women can contribute as fully as possible to the national and global economy,” event patron and executive director of INJAZ Bahrain H.H. Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa said of the occasion.
INJAZ Bahrain is a non-profit organisation established in the country to aid youth employment pathways and job creation for the benefit of economic development and empowerment. KMPG Fakhro has also sought to promote the development of young local talent through financial and mentoring support, recently celebrating its 99th local employee to achieve professional qualifications. “This milestone showcases the progress of the firm’s flagship personal development initiative, designed to support the professional growth of young Bahraini talent,” the firm said at the time.
