São Paulo – The Arab market can be explored way beyond the tried-and-true hub that is the United Arab Emirates. Business experts from different countries and industries said more and more doors are opening up for businesswomen in countries such as Morocco, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. They shared information this Wednesday morning (16) during the webinar “Challenges and opportunities for women doing business with Arab countries.” The virtual event was hosted by WAHI – Women Who Inspire, the women’s committee of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), and by the Women Inside Trade (WIT) group.
The Citibank Group’s Gulf and Iraq global subsidiaries cluster head Shamsa Al-Falasi (pictured above) said much progress was made in the last ten years when it comes to women in business. “Morocco is [also] opening up and encouraging new business. You have your business niches [in each Arab country]. And you’d be surprised to learn that Kuwait is also actively pushing to promote new business. It’s something to keep in mind,” said Al-Falasi.
Another powerhouse mentioned by the Citibank executive is Saudi Arabia. “Some countries are on the right track with their programs, like Saudi Arabia, which keeps expanding [in terms of business]. From a cultural standpoint, it remains a conservative nation, but much of its population is under 30.”
Business owner Julia de Biase, who’s active in Brazilian-Arab trade, inquired about the extent to which different Arab nations are welcoming to products from Brazil. “I work with imports of Arab goods to Brazil. I am beginning to go the opposite route, which is exports. I’d like to know which countries besides the UAE we might supply products to, like the açaí and date mix I am developing,” she asked.
Morocco’s Heuda Farah Guessous, the cofounder of international exhibition Foodeshow, said segmentation is important in assessing market potential. She also named Morocco as a good choice. “Morocco is a gateway to Europe, which it has 61 free trade agreements with. It has agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Turkey, with African countries. That is an interesting point to consider.”
Shamsa Al-Falasi stressed the need to keep up with the latest business tools. “The market is changing and we need to leverage these [digital] platforms. The future is here. We need to take advantage of what’s happening right now. To jump at the opportunities. The more we collaborate with one another, the more powerful we’ll be.”
And collaboration is what the webinar is all about, said Alessandra Frisso, the chairwoman of the ABCC’s WAHI Committee and the commercial director for ABCC member company H2R Pesquisas Avançadas. “We are pleased to share our partnership with the WIT. This is the Arab Chamber moving closer to international businesswomen. We are aware of the existing challenges in business and culture, but the more we learn about the culture, the more we feel comfortable doing business and finding opportunities.
WIT cofounders Verônica Prates and Monica Rodriguez went over the partnership that spawned the webinar. “I believe this is the result of women demanding more space, and it flies in the face of the myth that women don’t help one another. This partnership goes to show women around the world are helping each other up,” Prates said. “The way I see it, countries will tend to reduce their barriers to trade more and more. This synergy between the WIT and WAHI will yield great results, particularly an increase in female participation in international business,” said Rodriguez.
An ABCC poll revealed, among other things, that 67% of the webinar’s female viewership feel comfortable in traveling to Arab countries. Most respondents (76%) said they never backed out from a negotiation due to cultural barriers. ABCC Institutional Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar believes these numbers show progress and are encouraging to women considering embarking on a business venture involving Arab nations. “The purpose of this event is precisely to break down barriers and to build ideas and opportunities. These examples are important. You have brought us something of great value.”
ABCC president Rubens Hannun was also featured in the event. “Talking about challenges and opportunities facing women in business with Arab countries is really important. That’s what WAHI is working on, and we are relying on the WIT’s collaboration. I would like to thank all of the women in here.”
ABCC and WAHI director Claudia Haddad wrapped up the webinar as she invited everyone to the Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries, taking place in digital fashion next October. She also relayed a message: “Contrary to what many people thing, Arab women have always had a fundamental role, because they run the family. Thus, it’s not hard to envision them leading businesses. The topic of the webinar brought much synergy between WAHI and the WIT, and many more discussions and actions are sure to come.”
The event also featured Karen Jones, the head of operations at the Middle East and North Africa Office of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil); Grazielle Parenti, the board chair at the Brazilian Food Industry Association (ABIA); and Kellen Amorim, a strategist on Personal Branding and Positioning, Communication and Female Leadership. Business owner Cecilia Araujo of Brazil’s Vitta Gold, a major business player in Egypt, discussed her experiences.
For more on the webinar, check out Women claim their space in the Arab world.
You can watch the full webinar in the ABCC’s YouTube channel:
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
