Anna Dorangercia, responsible for the women’s file at the Union for the Mediterranean, confirmed that women assuming leadership positions, whether in the Egyptian government or the private sector, have contributed to advancing the agenda of women’s economic and social empowerment in a decisive way in Egypt.
On the sidelines of the launch of the “Businesswomen’s Forum” organized by the Union for the Mediterranean in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on October 11 and 12 in Tunisia, Anna Durangrecchi appreciated the great progress achieved. Egypt has achieved great progress in empowering women and involving them in various sectors and fields.
She highlighted that Egypt is one of the countries in the Union that has contributed most to providing indicators about the status of women in the region, which helped in issuing the intergovernmental monitoring mechanism concerned with gender equality in the Union for the Mediterranean for its first report last year, which focused on women’s economic participation.
Moreover, She added that Egypt is also implementing specific activities to support, above all, the integration of women into the labor market, in addition to encouraging the development of small and medium-sized women’s enterprises that achieve women’s economic empowerment.
Durangrecchi further underlined the ongoing cooperation between the Union for the Mediterranean and the National Council for Women in Egypt, which is developing new strategies and many activities in coordination with international donors such as the United Nations and others to achieve greater participation at the political and economic level for women.
She stressed the importance of Egypt’s role and efforts concerning the women’s file within the Euro-Mediterranean Organization, as there are two prominent Egyptian members from the Union for the Mediterranean network in the “Businesswomen’s Club in the Middle East and North Africa region,” saying, “They are ambassadors for our network, as they do a wonderful job to mobilize Investors and helping women entrepreneurs in the Euro-Mediterranean region in various sectors.
Regarding the 2023 edition of the “Businesswomen’s Forum,” which is being held today, Wednesday, and tomorrow, Thursday, in Tunis, Anna pointed out that the Union for the Mediterranean is keen to organize this meeting annually with the aim of training and supporting the capabilities of the women of our region, explaining that this year’s edition highlights the role Women in the “Industry 4.0” sector, that is, the digital age, using digital technology to develop businesses and create a network of women entrepreneurs; To develop strategies that will mobilize funds that can help women entrepreneurs in our region.
Anna highlighted that encouraging women’s entrepreneurship in industry and innovation is essential to promoting equitable growth in the region, as the Union for the Mediterranean Women’s Business Forum represents a unique opportunity to learn and exchange knowledge with senior specialists in the private sector and high-level officials in the public sector.
The Union for the Mediterranean said in a statement – on the occasion of the launch of the Businesswomen’s Forum in Tunisia – that Industry 4.0 technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology, or the Internet of Things (IoT) are unleashing a new era of economic transformation, despite It has the potential to promote sustainable growth, but insufficient access to digitalization, skills, and financing remains a major obstacle for women entrepreneurs.
The Union added that according to a survey conducted by UNIDO for the period 2019-2020 that included more than 1,400 businesswomen in the manufacturing sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, two-thirds of them said that they have very limited knowledge of Industry 4.0, while the same study indicated that only a quarter of these women use digital technologies in the stages of designing, manufacturing and selling products in their companies.
