Women-owned and women-led businesses were invited to join a networking event on the 3rd of October 2022, organized by the Women Economic Empowerment for Lebanon Project (WEEL) under the EU for Women Empowerment (EU4WE), a programme funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France.
Organized in partnership with Berytech and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) the event connected women entrepreneurs from different backgrounds to foster partnerships, collaboration and the exchange of knowledge in addition to organizing a panel discussion with experts on how to grow their brands online.
The event was a great opportunity for women entrepreneurs to share their hard-working experiences addressing the social, economic and environmental impacts of their solutions on their communities. Representatives of the EU Delegation, Expertise France, the World Bank, IFC, RMF, IM Funding, Globally Cool, Fair Trade Lebanon and the Berytech team attended the event and contributed to the valuable exchange.
The impact of this event translated through the exchange of knowledge and experience among the women entrepreneurs in addition to building linkages, meeting other women leaders from various sectors, and initiating potential business deals.
Growing Online Brands
Rupish Kapadia, CEO and Cofounder of Lumen, with his experience in project modeling, automation, and data-driven e-commerce growth, shared his growth strategies while moderating a panel discussion hosting Nathalie Kazan, Founder of Delta Group, Nayla Madi, Founder of Wall Creation and Manal Bahlawan founder of Geek Express.
The panelists shared their inspirational journeys and their paths towards setting up their businesses and highlighted their successes, and the positive impact of the EU4WE program on their businesses.
Networking & Exchange
The women entrepreneurs then joined networking groups based on the sectors they operate in. They had the chance to discuss their sector’s interests, challenges and solutions with consultants and business advisors from the A2M program and Berytech.
“Of all aspects of social misery, nothing is so heartbreaking as unemployment, IRC was established 20 years ago, our social responsibility towards our country and our people is growing and turning to be a target for us to achieve. We are promoting our country as a hub to attract foreign companies to the Lebanese market. WEEL has been one of the cornerstones in our growth by supporting us in our rebranding, automation and the renovation of our co-working spaces,” explained Mayssoun Abdallah, Group Commercial Director of IRC.
About The Program
WEEL is part of a larger programme, the EU for Women Empowerment (EU4WE), a 42-month programme (October 2019 – March 2023) funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France. It aims at promoting full and unconditional equality between men and women in Lebanon. The specific purpose of EU4WE is to reduce gender-based violence through women’s empowerment and enhance existing institutional mechanisms working towards gender equality.