istanbul programme eng - oecd · entrepreneurship and sme development. enterprise development and...

CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMEs AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT (CFE)

Workshop on

Building Awareness of Women’s Entrepreneurship

in the MENA Region

in the framework of the

MENA-OECD INITIATIVE ON INVESTMENT AND GOVERNANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT

11-12 July 2005

OECD Istanbul Centre for Private Sector Development Yali Köskü Cad.,

19 Mayis Ishani, 3d Floor Eminönü, Istanbul - TURKEY

Tel: +90 212 512 5853 Fax: +90 212 512 5869 www.oecd i s t anbu l .o rg

Draft Programme

CFE

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Rationale

The MENA Region and the OECD have recently launched an Initiative on Investment and Governance for Development in order to promote broad reforms and enhance investment and sustainable development. The Initiative aims at modernising public institutions as well as providing an improved environment for economic activity and growth. In particular, one goal of this initiative is to promote policies for financial sector development and enterprise development in support of diversification. The OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development (CFE) has as its strategic objective to foster the development of an entrepreneurial society, capable of innovating, creating jobs and seizing the opportunities provided by globalisation. The CFE plays an active role in certain activities of the Initiative, notably those relating to entrepreneurship and SME development.

Enterprise development and entrepreneurship are key drivers of economic growth in OECD member and non-member economies, at both the national and sub-national levels. In this context, women’s entrepreneurship represents an untapped “reservoir” for job creation, economic growth and social cohesion. Consequently, women’s entrepreneurship and ensuring a favourable Entrepreneurial Business Environment (EBE) for the start-up and expansion of women-owned businesses should become an issue of strategic importance for governments in the Region. Indeed, women’s entrepreneurship can play an extremely important role in the MENA region to promote economic diversification and development.

In order to tap into the potential “reservoir” of women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA region, it is necessary to reach out to potential women entrepreneurs, to policy makers and to other stakeholders with a view to raising awareness of the benefits of entrepreneurship as an economic resource, a vehicle for job creation, and a force for social cohesion and economic and political stability. Thus, an awareness campaign directed towards these stakeholders on women’s entrepreneurship will be a key element to promote economic diversification and enterprise development in the MENA Region.

To launch this awareness building campaign within the framework of the MENA-OECD Initiative, the OECD CFE is holding a Workshop on Building Awareness of Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region on 11-12 July 2005 at the OECD Istanbul Centre for Private Sector Development, Turkey. The Workshop is held in the framework of the OECD Bologna Process on SME and Entrepreneurship Policies, which is a dynamic political mechanism that fosters the entrepreneurial and SME agenda at global level and promotes high level dialogue on related policies worldwide. The Workshop is also in line with the Istanbul Ministerial Declaration on “Fostering the Growth of Innovative and Internationally Competitive SMEs”, the outcome of the 2nd OECD Ministerial Conference on SMEs held in Istanbul on 3-5 June 2004.

The Workshop will put forward policy recommendations to be presented to Ministers at the Ministerial Meeting of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme in Amman, Jordan in November 2005.

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Main Themes of the Workshop

The same six themes listed below will be reviewed through detailed case studies presented in the framework of three parallel Roundtables. The cases studies will be analysed in-depth by the participants in order to evaluate factors of success and to elaborate conclusions and recommendations. The discussants will launch the debate with relevant questions pertaining to each case study.

Each parallel Roundtable will conclude with policy recommendations in all six areas. These recommendations will be consolidated during the final Plenary Session.

Capacity Building for Women Entrepreneurs

How can women entrepreneurs in the MENA Region strengthen their capacities as economic agents through strategic partnerships, better representation and advocacy through associations among policy makers and within civil society, in order to draw more attention to their potential importance in the labour market and in the economy?

Case studies from the United States, France and Algeria will be presented, highlighting success stories and obstacles in very different social and economic contexts.

Education: “No Girl Left Behind” from School to Mentoring and Tutoring

How can the education system in MENA countries (in particular, schools, universities, vocational training institutes and women’s business centres) increase awareness and motivation among girls and potential women entrepreneurs of the advantages of self-employment? How can they provide these potential women entrepreneurs with the necessary tools and skills to become efficient entrepreneurs in the market? How can they improve the business skills of women who have already started businesses?

Case studies from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and Morocco will be presented, highlighting success stories and obstacles in very different social and economic contexts.

Finance: Bridging the Gap for Women Entrepreneur

How can women entrepreneurs gain better access to financial resources on a level playing field when they start a business? How can women entrepreneurs secure financial resources required to enhance the growth of their existing enterprises? How can women entrepreneurs be given access to more diverse financial instruments than micro-credit? How can an awareness building campaign sensitise financial institutions to the importance of women entrepreneurs as existing and potential clients?

Case studies from Turkey, Canada and Lebanon will be presented, highlighting success stories and obstacles in very different social and economic contexts.

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Project Design and Development: Convincing Stakeholders

How can business support services better assist existing and future women entrepreneurs to develop viable and sustainable businesses? How can business support agencies be made aware of the needs of women entrepreneurs, especially with regard to business plan development and marketing?

Case studies from Canada, Africa, Turkey and Morocco will be presented, highlighting success stories and obstacles in very different social and economic contexts.

Fostering Economic Diversification: Bringing Women Entrepreneurs into the Loop

Taking into account the role of women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses in certain economies, how can more women entrepreneurs in the MENA Region become aware of the impact they can have today and even more so in the future? How can women entrepreneurs be encouraged to diversify their activities to increase their collective impact? How can women entrepreneurs in the MENA region be motivated to set up businesses in economic sectors in which women are virtually absent, such as new technologies and other technical and scientific fields?

Case studies from Egypt, the United States, Dubai and Indonesia will be presented, highlighting success stories and obstacles in very different social and economic contexts.

Building a Public Affairs Strategy

For women entrepreneurs in the MENA region, building a public affairs strategy is a key component of the future success of their businesses, both inside their country and abroad. Furthermore building a collective public affairs strategy also means publicising the importance of women’s entrepreneurship vis-à-vis the media that can be one of the greatest supporters and enhancers of women’s enterprise development.

Case studies from Turkey, Chinese Taipei and the Maghreb will be presented, highlighting success stories and obstacles in very different social and economic contexts.

Languages: The official languages of the OECD -English and French- will be the working languages of this Workshop. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the plenary sessions and in parallel roundtable C.

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MONDAY, 11 JULY 2005

8:30 - 9:00 Registration

OPENING SESSION

Language(s): English & French

9:00 - 9:30 Welcome and opening remarks

Mrs. Nimet Çubukçu, Minister of State in Charge of Women’s Affairs, Turkey

Mr. Rainer Geiger, Deputy Director, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF), OECD

Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE), OECD

9:30 - 9:45 Coffee

PLENARY SESSION


Chair: Mrs. Virginia Littlejohn, CEO, Quantum Leaps, USA

9:45 - 12:30 Current policy challenges and issues Speakers:

Dr. Heba Handoussa, Advisor, Economic Research Forum, Egypt

Mrs. Haifa Al-Kaylani, President of the Arab International Women’s Forum, UK

Mme Saloua Karkri Belkeziz, President of AFEM

Ms. Eva Heckl, KMU Forschung, Austria

Mrs. Nadereh Chamlou, World Bank (on video)

Rapporteurs: Ms. Maria-Krystyna Duval, CFE / SME & Entrepreneurship Division, OECD Ms. Rebecca Scheel, CFE / SME & Entrepreneurship Division, OECD

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch: Yemekodasi Restaurant, Resadiye Cad Dirlik Sokak No 1/3 Eminonu


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14:00 - 18:15 PARALLEL ROUNDTABLES

Language(s): English

16:00 - 16:15 Coffee

Chair: Ms. Julie R. Weeks, President and CEO of Womenable, USA

Rapporteurs: Ms. Sulaf Zakharia, Economic Development Board of Bahrain, Bahrain

Ms. Annette St Onge, Sr. Vice-President, Finance and Chair, Women in Business Committee, International Council for Small Business, Canada


Speaker: Mrs. Deborah Wilder, Attorney, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), USA

Discussants: Ms. Nina Noeva, President, Association of Bulgarian Women Entrepreneurs, Bulgaria

Mr. Ghaleb Tuffaha, Assistant Director General, CARDNE, Jordan


Speaker: Ms. Ann-Marie Almeida, President and CEO of the Association of Women’s Business Centres, USA & Jordan

Discussants: Ms. Mzia Mikeladze, Professor, Caucasus School of Business, Georgia

Dr. Lamis Nahleh, Professor, Birzeit University, Palestine

Finance: Bridging the Gap for Women Entrepreneurs

Speaker: Ms. Sengul Akcar, Executive Director, Maya Micro Enterprise, Turkey

Discussant: Ms. Aisha Al Mana, Entrepreneur, Saudi Arabia

PARALLEL ROUNDTABLE A


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Chair: Mrs. Haifa Al-Kaylani, President of the Arab International Women’s Forum, UK

Rapporteurs: Mrs. Kathy Blakeslee, Director of Women and Development, USAID, USA

Mrs. Ingrid Andersson, Advisor, International Organisation for Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Development (IKED), Sweden


Speaker: Ms. Frédérique Clavel, President, Paris Pionnières France

Discussants: Mme Saida Agrebi, Member of Parliament, Tunisia

Dr. Maha Mohy, Board Member, Egyptian Business Women’s Association, Egypt


Speaker: Ms. Amy Mina, Programme Manager, Save the Children, Palestine & Jordan

Discussant: Dr. Josiane Fareh-Sreih, Dean Institute of Family and Entrepreneurial Business, American Lebanese University, Lebanon


Speaker: Ms. Annette St Onge, Sr. Vice-President, Finance and Chair, Women in Business Committee, International Council for Small Business, Canada

Discussants: Ms. Neslihan Kaptanoglu, Research Associate, Economic Policy Research Institute, Turkey

Ms. Belgin Guzaltan, FSWW, Maya Micro Enterprise, Turkey

PARALLEL ROUNDTABLE B


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Chair: Mme Danièle Rousseau, President, Dirigeantes, France

Rapporteurs: Mrs. Nina Gardner, Director, Strategy International, Italy

Mme Antonella Noya, Administrator, LEED Programme, OECD


Speaker: Mme Abassia Mansoura, Member, Savoir et Vouloir Entreprendre, Algeria

Discussants: Mme Nicole Beaudoin, President, Réseau de Femmes Chefs d’Entreprise, Canada

Ms. Didem Engin, Director and Founding Partner, RENOVA, Turkey


Speakers: Mr. Ali Boulanouar, Ministry of Commerce, Morocco

Ms. Tezer Ulusay de Groot, Programme Manager, UNIDO, Austria

Discussant: Mme Jacqueline Roche, Entrepreneur, France


Speaker: Mr. Fady Yarak, Director, Fondation René Moawad, Lebanon

Discussant: Mr. Abdelhamid Zammouri, President, Association de Développement Durable, Tunisia

PARALLEL ROUNDTABLE C


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TUESDAY, 12 JULY 2005

9:00 - 12:30 PARALLEL ROUNDTABLES

Language(s): English

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee

Chair: Ms. Julie R. Weeks, President and CEO of Womenable, USA

Rapporteurs: Ms. Sulaf Zakharia, Economic Development Board of Bahrain, Bahrain

Ms. Annette St Onge, Sr. Vice-President, Finance and Chair, Women in Business Committee, International Council for Small Business, Canada


Speakers: Ms. Annette St Onge, Sr. Vice-President, Finance and Chair, Women in Business Committee, International Council for Small Business, Canada

Mr. Gerry Finnegan, Senior Specialist in Women’s Entrepreneurship Development, ILO

Discussants: Ms. Hadia Gondji, Entrepreneur, Ethiopia

Ms. Rahel Zewde, Entrepreneur, Ethiopia


Speaker: Ms. Zohra Merabet, Founder and Director, North-South Consultant Exchange, Egypt

Discussant: Mrs. Zeynep Bodur Okyay, Kale Group of Companies, Turkey


Speaker: Ms. Tulu Gumustekin, CEO, CPS, Turkey

Discussants: Ms. Arline Woutersz, International Liaison, The British Association of Women Entrepreneurs, United Kingdom

Mr. Nick Bray, Head of Media Division, OECD



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Chair: Mrs. Haifa Al-Kaylani, President of the Arab International Women’s Forum, UK

Rapporteurs: Mrs. Kathy Blakeslee, Director of Women and Development, USAID, USA

Mrs. Ingrid Andersson, Advisor, International Organisation for Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Development (IKED), Sweden


Speaker: Mrs. Meltem Kurtsan, President, KAGIDER, Turkey

Discussant: Mrs. Hanan Saab, Owner and Manager, Pharmamed, Lebanon


Speaker: Ms. Betsy Weber, International Committee Chair, The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), United States

Discussant: Ms. Raghda Kurdi, Director General, Hayat Pharmaceuticals, Jordan


Speaker: Dr. Jasmine Yang, Section Chief, National Youth Commission, Chinese Taipei

Discussant: Ms. Parvin Ali, Founder, Fatima’s Network, United Kingdom



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Chair: Mme Danièle Rousseau, President, Dirigeantes, France

Rapporteurs: Mrs. Nina Gardner, Director, Strategy International, Italy

Mme Antonella Noya, Administrator, LEED Programme, OECD


Speaker: Mme Jamila Bouayad, President, Association Itqane, Morocco

Discussant: Mme Virginia Soukup, Consultant, Soukup Consulting, United Kingdom


Speaker: Ms. Erin Weiser, Director of Economic Programs, Asia Foundation Indonesia

Discussants: Mme Leila Karamy, President, Lebanese Business Women’s Association, Lebanon

Mme Bouchra Bouayad, Ministry of the Economy and General Affairs, Morocco


Speaker: Ms. Antonella Tarquini, Journalist, ANSA, Italy

Discussants: Ms. Elizabeth Vazquez, Quantum Leaps, Inc., United States

Ms. Zehra Güngör, CEO, Stage PR, Turkey



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12:30 - 13:00 Press Conference

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch: Yemekodasi Restaurant, Resadiye Cad Dirlik Sokak No 1/3 Eminonu

FINAL PLENARY SESSION


Chair: Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE), OECD

14:30 - 17:30 Conclusions and Recommendations

The chairs of each parallel Roundtable will present the main conclusions and the proposals for policy recommendations. After each presentation by a roundtable chair, time will be allotted for discussion with participants.

Ms. Julie R. Weeks, Chair Parallel Roundtable A

Mrs. Haifa Al-Kaylani, Chair Parallel Roundtable B

Mme Danièle Rousseau, Chair Parallel Roundtable C

Rapporteurs:

Mrs. Virginia Littlejohn, CEO Quantum Leaps, Inc., USA Ms. Maria-Krystyna Duval, CFE / SME & Entrepreneurship Division, OECD Ms. Rebecca Scheel, CFE / SME & Entrepreneurship Division, OECD

16:00 - 17:00 Break for participants

Meanwhile, the Chairs, the Rapporteurs and the OECD Secretariat will convene to prepare the consolidated recommendations.

CONCLUSION

Language(s): English & French 17:00 - 17:30 Presentation by the Chair, Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, of the draft consolidated recommendations

for adoption by all the participants.

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ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS

Algeria Mme Khedidja Belhadi

Mr. Omar Denni

Mme Abassia Mansoura

Belgium Mme Monique Chalude

Canada Mme Nicole Beaudoin

France Mme Marie-Christine Bordeau

Mme Jacqueline Roche

Mme Danièle Rousseau

Mme Danielle Sedillot

Mme Virginia Soukup

Italy Mrs. Nina Gardner

Mme Antonella Tarquini

Lebanon Mr. Fady Yarak

Mme Leila Karamy

Morocco Mme Jamila Bouayad

Mme Saloua Karkri Belkeziz

Mr. Ali Boulanouar

Mme Bouchra Bouayad

Palestine Mme Catherine Boissonet

Tunisia Mr. Abdelhamid Zammouri

Turkey Ms. Didem Engin

Mr. Cengiz Firat

Mrs. Zehra Güngör

Mrs. Bahar Kayserilioglu

Mrs. Zuhal Mansfield

United States Mrs. Erin Weiser

Ms. Elizabeth Vazquez

Press Ms. Zeynep Erdim

Mr. Ghassan Joha

International Organisation

Mme Antonella Noya

Mlle Maria-Krystyna Duval

Ms. Tezer Ulusay de Groot

Chinese Taipei

Dr. Jasmine Yang

Egypt Dr. Maha Mohy

France Mme Frédérique Clavel

Jordan Ms. Elham Zeadat

Ms. Amy Mina

Ms. Raghda Kurdi

Ms. Diana Nabulsi

Lebanon Dr. Josiane Fareh-Sreih

Mrs. Hanan Saab

Sweden Mrs. Ingrid Adersson

Tunisia Mme Saida Agrebi

Turkey Ms. Belgin Guzaltan

Ms. Necla Haliloglu

Ms. Neslihan Kaptanoglu

Ms. Meltem Kurtsan

Ms. Ebru Ozberk

Ms. Güler Sabanci

Ms. Serra Titiz

Mr. Alper Ucok

United Kingdom

Mrs. Parvin Ali

Mrs. Haifa Al-Kaylani

United States

Ms. Kathy Blakeslee

Ms. Alicia Allison

Ms. Betsy Weber

Press Ms. Sebnem Aksoy

Mr. Yildiz Tasdelen

Austria Ms. Eva Heckl

Bahrain Ms. Sulaf Zakharia

Bulgaria Ms. Nina Noeva

Canada Ms. Annette St. Onge

Egypt Dr. Heba Handoussa

Ms. Zohra Merabet

Ethiopia Ms. Hadia Gondji

Ms. Rahel Zewde

Georgia Dr. Mzia Mikeladze

Jordan Mr. Ghaleb Tuffaha

Palestine Dr. Lamis Nahleh

Saudi Arabia

Ms. Aisha Al Mana

Turkey Ms. Sengul Akçar

Ms. Norma Gokçe

Ms. Tulu Gumustekin

Ms. Fatma Karakoç

Ms. Zeynep Bodur Okyay

Ms. Sabiha Senyucel

Ms. Arline Woutersz

United States

Ms. Ann Marie Almeida

Ms. Julie R. Weeks

Ms. Deborah Wilder

Press Mr. Yigal Schleifer

Ms. Esra Baykal

International Organisation

Mr. Gerry Finnegan

Dr. Simel Esim

Mr. Nick Bray

Ms. Rebecca Scheel




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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development is grateful to the Turkish authorities, in particular the Turkish International Co-operation Agency (TICA) for their financial support & valuable contributions to the preparation of this workshop, and to the OECD Istanbul Centre for Private Sector Development for their untiring help and assistance for the organisation of the workshop.

OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE)

2, rue André-Pascal

75116 Paris CEDEX - FRANCE

Tel. +33 (0)1 45 24 94 25

Fax +33 (0)1 44 30 63 16

www.oecd.org/cfe

istanbul programme eng - oecd · entrepreneurship and sme development. enterprise development and...

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