Gulf Arab state has highest percentage of female business founders in the world, says a 2019 report
About 18 percent of Bahrain enterprises are started by women, beating out more established ecosystems such as London (15 percent) and Silicon Valley (16 percent).
By KEITH J. FERNANDEZ for Arab News
photo: Sofia Al-Asfoor, founder and designer of the luxury handbag label that bears her name. (Supplied)
MANAMA: “Women are celebrated in Bahrain,” said Nada Alawi in response to why the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state seems to do so well in fostering female entrepreneurs.
The former oil and gas executive quit her high-paying job in Houston, Texas, to return to the Middle East and help her family set up an occupational safety and health center.
On the side, along with her sister, she launched Annada, an affordable luxury brand that transforms artworks into fashion items and lifestyle accessories, and distributes them in GCC states.
Among the artists whose works they have reinterpreted are calligrapher Abdel Elah Al-Arab and experimental artist Jamal Abdulrahim.
“Certainly our society puts certain family expectations on women, but my environment is free,” Alawi said.
“I have the freedom to choose and make my own decisions, and I’ve never felt hampered by my gender as an entrepreneur.”
Bahrain has the highest percentage of female business founders in the world, according to the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report.
About 18 percent of the country’s enterprises are started by women, beating out more established ecosystems such as London (15 percent) and Silicon Valley (16 percent).
More impressive is the fact that Bahrain now boasts gender equality in business ownership, with 49 percent of all commercial registrations in the country made out to women in 2018, official data shows.
The country’s success comes from an inclusive focus, says Hala Ahmed Sulaiman, founder and managing director of Beyond Borders Consultancy — a strategic management and communications firm — and cofounder of Alrawi Media, an open platform of audiobook content in Arabic.
“Statistically, women in Bahrain have become more engaged in the business world due to the vast amount of enablers and opportunities provided by the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” she said. “There are several funds and training programs developed to empower or advance women in Bahrain.”
