{"id":280482,"date":"2020-09-16T18:07:16","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T21:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=280482"},"modified":"2020-09-16T18:07:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T21:07:16","slug":"women-claim-their-space-in-arab-business-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/women-claim-their-space-in-arab-business-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Women claim their space in Arab business world"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Webinar \u201cChallenges and opportunities for women doing business with the Arab countries\u201d was hosted this Wednesday (16) by WAHI \u2013 Women Who Inspire, the women\u2019s committee of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC) alongside the Women Inside Trade (WIT) group. The featured women argue that there are things to be done before they are on an equal footing with men when it comes to doing business. However, a lot has been achieved in terms of equality and recognition in North Africa and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

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Karen Jones, of Apex-Brasil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The head of operations at the Middle East and North Africa Office of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), Karen Jones, said that while the 22 countries that comprise the Arab world have shared features such as language, they also differ in many respects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the United Arab Emirates there is a great number of expatriates and Emiratis alike who work and are very successful. It\u2019s a pleasure to see them succeed. Even in Saudi Arabia, which is more conservative, we can see advances, and that\u2019s beneficial to the country\u2019s development,\u201d said the Dubai-based Jones, who\u2019s going on 20 years of living in the Middle East. \u201cThere are challenges, and they require understanding the business culture, speaking eye-to-eye and being close with people. And Brazil is very well positioned in that region.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Grazielle Parenti, of ABIA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brazilian Food Industry Association (ABIA) board chairwoman Grazielle Parenti said opportunities are available for women to not only claim their space in business but be business leaders as well. \u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in Arab culture, and once I became familiar with I was really surprised. I have met amazing women. I have seen them be uncomfortable being in leadership positions, but I can tell that things are not that different here in Brazil,\u201d she compared, adding that it\u2019s a good thing for there to be more and more female leaders. \u201cThere\u2019s an affinity when it\u2019s time to negotiate, and there are more and more women doing negotiation. There\u2019s a magical line that binds us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the presence of female business leaders in the Arab countries, the webinar addressed what has been achieved and the challenges ahead. A strategist on personal branding and positioning, communication and female leadership, Kellen Amorim said that women have been relegated to inferior positions for centuries. \u201cFor the time being, we are a minority due to historical issues. At the same time, I see changes coming about with women managing crises as government authorities and business leaders. It\u2019s all a bit new to us. Some women have dared before others would, and it is important for them to mentor other women.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Personal branding expert Kellen Amorim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The meeting was kicked off by ABCC president Rubens Hannun, with moderation from ABCC Institutional Relations manager also featured were WAHI board chairwoman Alessandra Frisso; WIT cofounder and BMJ Institutional Relations manager Ver\u00f4nica Prates; Citibank Group Gulf and Iraq global subsidiaries cluster head Shamsa Al-Falasi; and the cofounder of the FoodeShow international exhibition, Heuda Farah Guessous.<\/p>\n

Guests also included businesswomen Cecilia Mendes Ara\u00fajo, the CEO of cosmetics manufacturing company Vitta Gold, and Julia De Biase, who\u2019s a partner of perfume shop Al Ward, a\u00e7a\u00ed and date manufacturer Royal Queen, and the Brazil and Latin America representative for dates and date products brand Date Crown.<\/p>\n

The businesswomen shared their experiences doing business with Arabs. \u201cNever have I been so respected,\u201d said Ara\u00fajo, who exports product to Middle East and North Africa countries, especially Egypt. De Biase presented her a\u00e7a\u00ed and date mix, made from one typically Brazilian and one typically Arab fruit. The product started selling in Dubai last May. In addition to sharing her knowledge, she cleared up a few doubts when it comes to increasing sales. And she got a tip from Karen Jones that\u2019s useful to any entrepreneur: \u201cIdentify the market you wish to be in and find out if your distributor (in a given country) also caters to other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Special report from Marcos Carrieri for ANBA<\/em><\/p>\n

More on the webinar will be available on ANBA soon.<\/p>\n

You can watch the full webinar on YouTube:<\/p>\n