During a keynote on Gender & the Economy, an event hosted by World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation, H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, chairman, Ooredoo Group, highlighted some of the work being done in emerging markets to address gender inequality in the business sphere and encouraged businesses to engage women as both customers and key partners in their success.
He said: "Achieving women's participation in the private sector has been an essential aspect of Ooredoo's business, and I believe it is also a critical driver of growth in economies and societies. From Ooredoo's recent research among more than 10,500 young adults in 17 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, we know that 72 percent of men and 77 percent of women agree that women should be given equal business opportunities. While this hopefully signifies a generational shift in attitudes about women's economic empowerment tomorrow, I am calling for every business to engage women as both customers and key partners in success today."
Sheikh Abdullah was recently appointed to the World Bank Group Advisory Council on Gender and Development, a major global body dedicated to promoting gender equality around the world.
Ooredoo supports the development of human growth in all its aspects, with a particular focus on the empowerment of women. This includes a range of initiatives to ensure women can deploy mobile technology to enhance their daily lives because employment can bring gains for women, their families, businesses, and the wider community. The company has seen strong success for business initiatives, programmes and life-enhancing mobile services focusing on women in the Middle East, North Africa, and South-East Asia.
The company's mobile money service, Dompetku, provides working capital to more than 8,00,000 female micro-entrepreneurs who have limited access to affordable resources.
Source: http://www.ciol.com/ciol/news/213148/ooredoo-chairman-companies-engage-women-business
