Region ‘needs’ entrepreneurs Sheikha Hanadi (right) in a panel session during the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington DC Sheikha Ha

Region ‘needs’ entrepreneurs

Sheikha Hanadi (right) in a panel session during the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington DC
Sheikha Hanadi Nasser bin Khalid al-Thani, founder & chairperson of Amwal, has stressed the need for promoting entrepreneurship in the Middle East.
“Increasing entrepreneurship is vital to the future of the Middle East. We have to promote partnerships that provide innovative solutions and support entrepreneurial ecosystems in the region. Educational, social and cultural aspects are all crucial to developing new businesses in the Middle East,” said Sheikh Hanadi while attending the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship and TechWadi Global Technology Forum (GTF) in Washington DC.
The Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship was a result of US President Barack Obama’s commitment to deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and entrepreneurs in the US and Muslim communities around the world.
The summit represents an opportunity to support business and social entrepreneurship in Muslim-majority countries (MMCs), including their minority populations, and Muslim communities around the world.
Through this summit, the US joined existing efforts and helped inspire new efforts to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.
Sheikha Hanadi participated in the panel on “Promoting entrepreneurship and enabling business”.
Karen Mills of the US Small Business Administration moderated the panel, which focused on how governments can support and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, including the development and growth of small and medium enterprises.
Sheikha Hanadi also attended the TechWadiGlobal Technology Forum, a networking association for Arab-American professionals in the technology industry.
Speaking at the forum, she said: “It is up to us in the private sector to ‘make it happen’ and develop and grow a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Middle East.
“We have to empower Arab entrepreneurs and build strategies to accelerate entrepreneurship, develop our educational programmes and strengthen opportunities for cross-border collaboration. All the support initiatives that had been announced during the summit are encouraging though we need to dedicate it toward sectors where there are opportunities with untapped potentials.”