Arab Women Leaders Scale Businesses Across Finance, Beauty, Tech And Public Service
Huda Kattan and Lubna Al Olayan are representatives of how many Arab women have taken significant roles in the business field, from beauty to finance and government. While Huda’s company Huda Beauty is growing daily with increased product lines and regional retail investments, Lubna Al Olayan acts as a director and investor in networks that support female-led initiatives both regionally and internationally. The region now boasts several female executives at the helm of major conglomerates worth billions of dollars and multinational corporations in the banking sector.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have initiated numerous programs and policies that encourage and promote female-led businesses. The efforts have enabled women to create, establish, and grow organizations that are disruptive, influential, and highly profitable in male-dominated industries such as technology, FinTech, media, and lifestyle. Female businesswomen such as Mona Ataya, founder of Mumzworld, have gained fame for pioneering the development of highly followed online communities that have attracted substantial investments. Despite several obstacles, such as access to funding and cultural expectations, female entrepreneurs are creating a significant impact on the local and international business communities. Additionally, female-specific investment funds, networks, and policies such as the UAE’s entrepreneurship visa and incubation programs promote gender diversity in leadership and governance. These developments will enable women to influence more significant segments of the business world and have a lasting impact on the Middle East’s economic, cultural, and policy landscapes.
