Leading PR firm, Obai and Hill, launched the first-ever and largest Women Power Summit in the MENA region. Under the patronage of H.H. Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Executive Director, INJAZ Bahrain – the Women Power Summit powered by Imtiaz for Her commenced its first day of discussions on Sunday May 6th at the Isa Cultural Center.
“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 today. 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.” said H.H. Shaikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Executive Director, INJAZ Bahrain. INJAZ Bahrain is a non-profit organization that was established in 2005 as part of Junior Achievement Worldwide with the aim of empowering young people to own their economic success and be prepared for today’s business challenges. With the help of its partners and volunteers, INJAZ Bahrain impacts thousands of students every year bringing them closer to the real world and opening their minds to their own potential.
The summit has had an overwhelmingly successful registration of over 700 delegates in attendance to both days with approximately 100 volunteers and support staff organizing the event (mostly women). The purpose of the summit is for these delegates to share their wins, losses, life lessons and experiences. They seek to meet and network with other talented, like-minded women while developing tips and tricks of the trade from some of the most inspirational regional and international women leaders of our time. They will gain access to a highly curated, impactful program of panels, workshops, mentor sessions, speed networking and more over the course of the two days.
The key investor in the summit Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company in partnership with MasterCard is powering the summit through Imtiaz for Her. BCFC is investing in the summit in the long-term through a 3-year contractual agreement. “Imtiaz for Her was launched with a vision to empower women financially through the first-ever ladies only credit financing service that caters to all their requirements to make their own financial decisions. It has always been much more than a card to us – it is a lifestyle experience that we are encouraging that centers around empowering women. We have seen the potential in the Women Power Summit as it ties in with our values and long-term vision.”, said Dr.Adel Hubail, CEO – Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company.
The strategic partners of the summit are Tamkeen and Economic Development Board. Other key partners include Ministry of Industry and Commerce, KPMG Fakhro, The Domain Hotel and Spa, Al Ayam Media Group, Woman This Month, Ohlala, Zain Bahrain, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Boost Bahrain, Startup MGZN, Gud Juju, Brinc, SME Society, Careem, Powerup Magazine, C5, Majra, PayTabs, Space 340, Manama Hub, Dj Leil and Rowad. The local media partners to the summit are Bahrain Confidential, Biz Bahrain, Delmon Post, Gulf Daily News, Perle Magazine and Weekender. With regional media partners in Kuwait, KSA and the Mena Region – Destination Riyadh, Destination Sharqiya, Khaleejesque and Alara Spot Films (CNN Arabic, Al Hilal TV, Al Sherooqi TV). Several other media channels were present in support of the summit including CNBC Arabic, Bahrain TV, New TR UK that runs BBC Arabic amongst others.
“I cannot begin to express the amount of hardwork and support that has led us to this momentous day. We are grateful to the overwhelming support, encouragement received especially from Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company who have trusted and invested in our vision for the future of women empowerment and gender representation in this country.”, said Wafa AlObaidat, CEO- Obai and Hill.
Pre-summit, there has been several initiatives undertaken to promote and encourage participation which was impactful across different avenues of interest. 84 Brand Ambassadors were invited to exclusive dinners that initiated them into the programme briefing for Women Power Summit so that they could promote it to their circles of influence. A special initiative by Boost Bahrain and Powerup Magazine saw 150 women participate in the first-ever Women Power Summit Run, making it the largest group of women participation in a single running event in the country.
Several rounds of key training sessions with speakers and moderators were conducted at The Domain Hotel and Spa leading up to the summit to ensure maximum audience engagement. The Women Power Summit powered by Imtiaz for Her will witness 116 speakers and moderators, of 20 different nationalities from 13 countries take the stage to address the delegates and discuss key subjects of interest. An opening reception dinner was hosted by ‘Imtiaz for Her’ and Obai and Hill, at The Domain Hotel and Spa, as they welcomed 80 attendees and wished them the best for the 2-day summit while allowing them to network with one other ahead of the summit.
All 700 attendees will be receiving customized Women Power Summit gift bags from Namaste, Oxygen Gym, Recipes for Wellbeing, Sensations, Escoffier Culinary Training Center, Smile Studios, Shuwaikh Derma, Chantilly Café, Madeleine, Moi Bella Beauty Lounge, Colour Pearl Printing, Gourmet Vanille, The Dot Coffee Shop, Masterminds Align, Peninsula Farms, Middle East Hospital, AlEzz, Chef Susy, Sokola, Farahii, MYE Label, Newgen Consultancy, Purple Patchouli, Royal Hospital Bahrain, Mubadara for Business Consultancy, Talabat, Pretty Baked and Azhar Hubail.
During the summit there will 44 different sessions, with panel discussions, mentorship sessions, spotlight discussions, workshops etc. Over 50 mentorship sessions have been organized linking delegates with phenomenal mentors across various industries, 35 free consultation sessions with KPMG consultants and 40 Web stations for delegates to develop their own websites. The largest speed-networking event for women is being hosted in the country with 84 attendees registered to attend.
The largest tech competition for women titled ‘Power Pitch’ presented 50 applicants with an opportunity to network with investors, refine their pitches with experts, and get instant feedback on how to grow their Startups in Bahrain and across the region. The Women Power Summit powered by Imtiaz for Her collaborated with the Malala Fund to screen ‘He Name Me Malala’ for the first time in Bahrain, with 110 movie-goers signed up.
The summit will continue to Day 2, on Monday May 7th with several key discussions throughout the day including an exclusive VIP luncheon hosting around 60 high-profile guests from some of Bahrain’s legacy business families wherein they will be addressed by Elissa Freiha, Investor and Founder of WOMENA. WOMENA is a platform dedicated to encouraging gender diversity and inclusion in the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem. Founded in 2014, WOMENA has spent years building an award-winning Angel Investment group that facilitated over 3 million AED in funding into 10 companies.
one the key discussion from the second day was held by Mona AlMoayyed, who is one of the leading visioneries and part of illustrious AlMoayyed family legacy. Mona has been named one of the Top Most Powerful Arab Businesswomen by Forbes several times. She is the Managing Director of Y.K Almoayyed & Sons and a key developer of the Middle Eastern business sector since 2016!
The day will proceed with a 90-minute highly interactive workshop to practice diversity and inclusion within workspaces led by Leena AlOlaimy. This is part of the Diversity on Boards Project of which the Women Power Summit will be the first group of women on the platform. It focuses on building a platform that selectively curates high achieving women—and eventually youth, differently-abled and other minority groups—to help organizations in the MENA region identify and appoint them to board and advisory board positions.
The Women Power Summit will end on an empowering note with the largest speed-networking event for women in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The first of many for the Kingdom of Bahrain with initiatives such as these being pioneered.