CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMEs AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT (CFE)
MENA-OECD INITIATIVE ON INVESTMENT
AND GOVERNANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT
OECD CFE Workshop
On Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the
MENA Region
11-12 December 2006
OECD Istanbul Centre for Private Sector Development Yali Köskü Cad.,
19 Mayis Ishani, 3d Floor Eminönü, Istanbul - TURKEY
Tel: +90 212 512 5853 Fax: +90 212 512 5869 www.oecd is tanbu l .org
Programme
CFE
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Background & Objectives
In 2004, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Region and the OECD launched an Initiative on Investment and Governance in order to promote broad reforms, to enhance investment and sustainable development, and to strengthen interregional as well as international partnerships throughout the MENA Region. This MENA-OECD Initiative consists of two programmes: the “Public Governance Programme” aimed at modernising the government structures and processes in MENA countries and the “Investment Programme” aimed at improving the policies and environment for investment and governance.
The OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development (CFE), whose strategic objective is to foster the development of an entrepreneurial society, capable of innovating, creating jobs and seizing the opportunities provided by globalisation, participates actively in Working Group 4 of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme.
In the context of this co-operation, the CFE organised a first Workshop on Building Awareness of Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region, 11-12 July 2005, in the OECD Istanbul Centre, Turkey.
The Background Report for this Workshop underlined that enterprise development and entrepreneurship are key drivers of economic growth in OECD member and non-member economies, at both the national and sub-national levels. In this context, women’s entrepreneurship represents an untapped “reservoir” for job creation, economic growth and social cohesion.
The conclusions and recommendations, including a Strategic Action Plan, of this
workshop were provided to the MENA-OECD Ministerial on 14 February 2006. Indeed, MENA and OECD Ministers recognised in the MENA-OECD Declaration on “Attracting Investment to MENA Countries – Common Principles and Good Practice” (February 2006), that fostering the growth of women’s entrepreneurship is an effective strategy to create jobs, catalyse economic development and diversification as well as serve to empower women and foster social cohesion.
The CFE has endeavoured to build on this momentum and develop a two-year pilot project for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region. To this end, the CFE set up a small Informal Taskforce comprised of key stakeholders in the MENA Region and experts from OECD countries to guide and assist in the preparation of the Pilot Project.
In this context, the OECD CFE is organising this Workshop on Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region on 11-12 December 2006 at the OECD Istanbul Centre, Turkey. The Workshop consists of two days of meetings:
Monday, 11 December (am/pm): Meeting of the Informal Taskforce to review the preparation of the CFE Pilot Project.
Tuesday, 12 December (am/pm): 1st CFE Training Seminar on "Building Advocacy for Women's Business Associations and Women’s NGOs".
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Synoptic Table of the
OECD CFE Istanbul Workshop
Monday, 11 December 2006
9:00 - 9:30 Registration
9:30 - 10:00 OPENING SESSION
Languages: English & French
10:00 – 18:00 TASKFORCE MEETING
FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE CFE PILOT PROJECT
FOR PROMOTING WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MENA REGION
Languages: English & French
10:00-12:00
Item 1. Mapping of Current and Future Activities related to Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region
Coffee & Tea Break (10:45-11:00)
12:00-13:00 Item 2. Partners’ Roundtable
Lunch at the Borsa Restaurant (13:00-14:30)
14:30-17:30 Item 3. CFE Pilot Project: Draft Programme on Training the Trainers for Mentoring Nascent & Potential Women Entrepreneurs
Coffee & Tea Break (16:00-16:15)
17:30-18:00 Item 4. Other Business
Tuesday, 12 December 2006
9:00 - 9:30 Registration
CFE TRAINING SEMINAR
ON BUILDING ADVOCACY FOR WOMEN’S BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS AND WOMEN’S
NGOS
9:30 - 13:00 OPENING PLENARY SESSION Languages: English & French
How to Map Out an Effective Advocacy Strategy The Framework Conditions Coffee & Tea Break (10:45-11:00)
Lunch at the Borsa Restaurant (13:00-14:30)
14:30-17:00 Parallel Breakout Groups:
Breakout Group A (English only) Breakout Group B (English & French)
Coffee & Tea Break (16:00-16:15)
17:00-18:00 Plenary Session: Conclusions & Recommendations
Languages: English & French
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MONDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2006, 9:30-18:00
CFE Informal Taskforce Meeting
In line with the 2004 Istanbul SME Ministerial Declaration and the Strategic Action Plan from the 2005 CFE Istanbul Workshop on Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region, the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development (CFE) is preparing a two-year Pilot Project (2007-2009) to address the needs of potential and nascent women entrepreneurs.
To guide and assist in the preparation of the Pilot Project, the CFE Informal Taskforce brings together women entrepreneurs and women’s business associations from the MENA Region, women entrepreneurs from OECD countries, international experts on women’s entrepreneurship as well as international organisations (ILO, World Bank/IFC, UNDP and UNIDO, etc.).
In order to create a comprehensive and relevant pilot project and to decipher the needs of the individual MENA countries, the Taskforce recommended that the Pilot Project be divided into two distinct phases:
Phase 1 (May 2006–Sept.2007): Feasibility and Needs Assessment.
In Phase 1, the CFE is carrying out a mapping survey in order to identify the activities currently being carried out by MENA and OECD governments, the private sector, international organisations and regional institutions related to women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA region and individual MENA countries, and the resources devoted to this activity.
The first results of the Mapping Survey are presented in the in-progress Synthesis Report and a database (to be regularly updated) of key actors in this
domain. The Synthesis Report will be discussed at the CFE Istanbul Workshop and finalised shortly thereafter.
Phase 2 (Sept. 2007 – Dec. 2009): Programme Implementation.
Following the 2006 Istanbul Workshop, the proposed OECD CFE Pilot Project would be finalised to take into consideration the Workshop’s discussions. The Pilot Project could be formally launched at a Conference hosted by a MENA country in September or October 2007. The Programme on Training the Trainers for Mentoring Nascent and Potential Women Entrepreneurs would be launched pending the necessary funding. Following the launching event, the programme would be undertaken in a first set of MENA countries: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
Main Objectives of the Informal
Taskforce Meeting:
Discuss and work towards finalising the in-progress Synthesis Report on “Mapping the Current Activities Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region”;
Review the draft proposed Programme on Training the Trainers for Mentoring Nascent & Potential Women Entrepreneurs with a view to agreeing on the content, methodology and implementation strategy; and
Discuss funding strategies for the programme with key partners & Taskforce members.
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MONDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2006
Annotated Agenda for the CFE Taskforce Meeting 8:30 - 9:00 Registration
OPENING SESSION
Languages: English & French
9:30 – 10:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE), OECD
Dr. Savas Alpay, Director General, Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, Turkey
OECD CFE INFORMAL TASKFORCE MEETING FOR PROMOTING WOMEN’S
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MENA REGION
Languages: English & French
Chair: Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, Deputy Director, CFE, OECD
Rapporteurs: Mme Antonella Noya, Administrator, LEED Programme, CFE, OECD Ms. Rebecca Scheel, SME & Entrepreneurship Division, CFE, OECD
9:45 - 11:45 ITEM 1. “MAPPING THE CURRENT ACTIVITIES PROMOTING
WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MENA REGION”: OECD CFE IN-PROGRESS SYNTHESIS REPORT
Presented by:
Ms. Annette St. Onge, Senior Vice President of Finance, International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
In 2006, OECD CFE commenced a survey – “Mapping the Current Activities Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region”. Six countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia) were covered in the initial phase. The long-term objectives of this initiative are to gain a better understanding of the level of support currently being provided to women entrepreneurs; to determine what value-added role the OECD could play to assist its member countries and MENA countries in fostering women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region; and to better coordinate efforts to promote women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region. The initial results of the Mapping Survey were compiled in the in-progress Synthesis Report that also takes into account a literature and internet review. Ms. St. Onge will present the in-progress Synthesis Report on the Activities being Carried Out in the MENA Region for the Promotion of Women’s Entrepreneurship.
For Action: Taskforce members are invited to:
Note this presentation and propose ways about which to best complete the Synthesis Report; Recommend how to continue the Mapping Survey and for how long; and Commit to helping the OECD in increasing the response rate by identifying activities related
to women entrepreneurship and women’s business associations active in their countries.
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11:45-13:00 ITEM 2. PARTNERS’ ROUNDTABLE
In an effort to better develop the OECD CFE Pilot Project, the CFE has sought to coordinate its actions with international organisations and other partners already active in promoting women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region, among others things by inviting them to participate in the CFE Informal Taskforce set up in 2005 to develop the Pilot Project. The OECD CFE’s current partners and potential partners will take the floor to briefly present their activities for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region. These presentations will be taken into consideration in the revision of the OECD Synthesis Report presented under Item 1.
Presenters:
Ms. Alissa Koldertsova, Consultant, MENA-OECD Investment Programme, OECD
Ms. Tezer Ulusay De Groot, Programme Officer, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
Mme Etta Carignani, General Secretary and Commissioner for FCEM Europe Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises Mondiales), Italy
Dr. Simel Esim, Regional Gender Advisor, Regional Office for Arab States, International Labor Organization (ILO)
Ms. Lois Stevenson Senior MSME Specialist and SME Pol Project Coordinator, International Development Research Centre – Middle East and North Africa Regional Office
Other participants may wish to complement these presentations on their own country-specific activities related to women’s entrepreneurship.
For Action: Taskforce members are invited to:
Note these presentations; and Propose possible synergies between the partners and the OECD.
14:30-17:30
ITEM 3. PROPOSED OECD CFE PILOT PROJECT FOR THE PROMOTION OF
WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MENA REGION DRAFT PROPOSED PROGRAMME on “Training the Trainers for Mentoring Nascent & Potential Women Entrepreneurs”
Presented by :
Mme Danièle Rousseau, President, « Dirigeantes » Association
Building on the Strategic Action Plan of the OECD CFE Istanbul Workshop (July 2005), the CFE has developed, under the continuing guidance of the Informal Taskforce, a draft proposed Pilot Project to be discussed at the Taskforce’s December meeting. Through the Mapping Survey, informal needs assessments and bilateral discussions, two themes were identified as important: Training the Trainers for Mentoring Nascent & Potential Women Entrepreneurs; and Building Networks, Business Partnerships and Trade Linkages for Women Entrepreneurs. It was decided at the CFE Taskforce meeting of 18 May to start the CFE Pilot Project with a first two-year programme related to the first theme and to implement it in a first sample of countries, i.e. Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. Mme Rousseau will present the draft Programme on “Training the Trainers for Mentoring Nascent & Potential Women Entrepreneurs”.
For Action:
Taskforce members are invited to:
Review the proposed draft Programme, in particular focusing on the scope and feasibility; Discuss how the current and future results of the Mapping Survey could contribute to the better
development and tailoring of these concrete activities; Discuss and recommend the countries in which to start implementing the Programme; Discuss and recommend how to carry out the CFE Pilot Project, pending the necessary funding,
in 2007-2009; and Discuss the ways in which this project could be funded and how partners could contribute.
17:50-18:00 ITEM 4. OTHER BUSINESS
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TUESDAY, 12, DECEMBER 2006, 9:30-18:00
CFE Training Seminar on "Building Advocacy for Women's
Business Associations and Women NGOs"
In the 2005 OECD CFE Istanbul Workshop, building advocacy capacity was underlined as a major theme and a fundamental issue for the success of any action undertaken for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region.
In order for women business owners to contribute effectively to job creation and economic growth, their voices must be heard by all stakeholders, including policy makers, bankers, the media, prospective women business owners, and others.
Therefore, it is necessary to empower women entrepreneurs and leaders of women’s business associations so that they can become effective advocates to policy makers and to other stakeholders, with a view to raising awareness of the benefits of women’s entrepreneurship as an economic resource, a vehicle for job creation, and a force for social cohesion and economic and political stability in the MENA Region.
Main Aim and Themes of the
Training Seminar
The main aim of this Training Seminar is to enable women’s business associations (WBAs) and women’s NGOs to become more effective advocates and spokespersons on behalf of women’s entrepreneurship. The Seminar will focus on facilitating access to knowledge, training and advocacy networks, with a view to improving the capacity of women entrepreneurs and WBAs to address policy makers and provide them with information to support the creation of a
legislative and regulatory framework favourable to women’s enterprise development.
To achieve this objective, the Training Seminar uses two types of training approaches.
The first Plenary Session will consist of a thematic presentation on how to map out an effective advocacy strategy by an international advocacy expert. This plenary session will also highlight the key framework conditions for an environment favourable to women’s entrepreneurship, as seen from speakers from the MENA Region and OECD countries.
The Training Seminar will also have small, dynamic, Parallel Breakout Groups to review detailed advocacy case studies relevant to some key issues of women’s entrepreneurship. The case studies will be analysed in-depth by the participants who will explore together the positive and negative aspects of each example, to identify the factors responsible for a project’s success. Participants will also be invited to share their current advocacy strategies with the group, including obstacles and problems they are encountering and innovative solutions they may have found to maximise interactive dialogue with the other participants and international experts present.
During the final Plenary Session, policy recommendations from the opening plenary session and the parallel breakout groups will be combined.
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TUESDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2006, 9:30-13:00
OPENING PLENARY SESSION
9:30 - 9:35 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, Deputy Director, CFE, OECD
9:35-11:00 HOW TO MAP OUT AN EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY STRATEGY
Moderated by:
9:35-10:45 Ms. Nina Gardner, Esq., Director, Strategy International, Italy
Process of Developing an Effective Advocacy Strategy:
1) Identifying the Issues
2) Set Clear Goals
3) Fact-based Evidence
4) Target: Identify Key Players
5) Instruments
6) Key Message
7) Messengers: Numbers Count!
8) Communication Plan: Tactics
9) Evaluation
Questions & Answers
11:00-13:00 THE FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS
Ms. Nashwa Taher, Saudi Chamber of Commerce, Jeddah: “How to Do Business and Get Elected in a Male Dominated Society”
Ms. Annette St. Onge, Senior VP of Finance, International Council for Small Business (ICSB): “Evidence-based Policy Making: The Importance of Research”
Mrs. Virginia Littlejohn, CEO, Quantum Leaps, Inc., USA: “How to Develop Comprehensive Legislation to Address Gaps in the Women Entrepreneurial Infrastructure”
Questions & Answers
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TUESDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2006, 14:00-17:00
Parallel Breakout Groups: Issues and Themes
1) Facilitating Access to Finance for Women Entrepreneurs
What role can women’s business associations play in helping women entrepreneurs gain better access to financial resources? How can an advocacy and awareness-building campaign sensitise banks and other financial institutions to the importance of women entrepreneurs as existing and potential clients? Educate them on women’s needs? Encourage the training of bank staff in gender sensitivity? And persuade financial institutions that women-owned businesses are not a poor credit risk, based on evidence from many countries? How can global best practices in this are be shared with banks based in the MENA Region?
2) Getting Women Entrepreneurs Elected to Male Dominated Business Groups
How can women entrepreneurs become more integrated into the mainstream business community? When doors seem closed to them, how can women-owned businesses pry those doors open, and gain access to male-dominated bodies such as chambers of commerce and trade associations? And, after being accepted as a member of these bodies, how can women business owners gain the credibility necessary to be able to serve as an elective officer in these bodies?
3) Creating an Advocacy Body to Overcome Resistance to Women’s Entrepreneurship
How can women’s business associations in the MENA Region strengthen the voice of women entrepreneurs through better representation and more effective advocacy among policy makers, the
corporate community, the media and within civil society, in order to draw more attention to the potential importance of women entrepreneurs in the labour market and in the economy? What are the advantages of coalitions, federations, and umbrella groups, and how can these lobbying bodies make a difference? And why do numbers count so much in helping women’s business associations advance their agenda?
4) Developing Comprehensive Legislation to Address Gaps in the Women Entrepreneurial Infrastructure
How can legislative and regulatory champions be identified, and how can women’s business associations work with these champions to make them look good to the people who elected them? How can an association use the election calendar to the benefit of its women entrepreneurial constituency? And how can you make strategic use of the media to help you advance your agenda?
5) Research Provides the Essential Underpinning to Evidence-Based Policy Making
What kinds of statistics are needed to make the case for women’s entrepreneurship in the MENA Region, and how can they be obtained? And once armed with women entrepreneurial research, data and statistics, how can women’s business advocates use this research to call for evidence-based policy making by government officials?
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TUESDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2006, 14:00 - 16:30
Co-Chair: Ms. Nina L. Gardner, Esq., Director, Strategy International, Italy
Co-Chair: Mrs. Virginia Littlejohn, CEO, Quantum Leaps, Inc., USA
Rapporteur : Ms. Lois Stevenson Senior MSME Specialist and SME Pol Project Coordinator, International Development Research Centre – Middle East and North Africa Regional Office
Case Study #1: Awareness Campaigns Targeted to Potential and Existing Women Entrepreneurs
Speaker: Ms. Faika Turquieh, President, the Lebanese Women’s Council (LCW), Lebanon.
The LCW will present a case study on their strategy to raise awareness of the economic contribution of working women and women entrepreneurs.
Questions & Answers
Case Study # 2: Raising Awareness among Financial Institutions
Speaker: Ms. Selma Akdoğan, Kagider Board member, Turkey
Kagider will present a case study of an advocacy campaign to obtain special loan instruments for women entrepreneurs from commercial banks.
Questions & Answers
Case Study # 3: Importance of Partnerships
Speaker: Ms. Meltem Kurtsan, President, KAGIDER, Turkey
Kagider will present the case study of KAGIFED, which involved a campaign to increase networks among women entrepreneurs throughout Turkey by creating a federation.
Questions & Answers
PARALLEL BREAKOUT GROUP A (English only)
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TUESDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2006, 14:00 - 16:30
Co- Chair: Mrs. Ingrid Andersson, Advisor, IKED, Sweden
Co-Chair: Ms. Annette St. Onge, Senior Vice President of Finance, International Council for Small Business (ICSB), Canada
Rapporteur: Mme Antonella Noya, Administrator, LEED Programme, CFE, OECD
Case Study #4: Awareness Campaigns Targeted to Potential and Existing Women Entrepreneurs
Speaker: Mme Jamila Bouayad, President, Association Itqane, Morocco
Association Itqane will present a case study of a local awareness building strategy aimed at potential women entrepreneurs to develop a production chain of quality products, highlighting obstacles encountered, strategies employed to overcome them, and international partnerships. Questions & Answers
Case Study # 5: Raising Awareness among Financial Institutions
Speaker: Mme Rim Belhaj, Representative, l'UNFT (Union des Femmes Tunisiennes), Tunisia
UNFT will present a case study on raising awareness among financial institutions to provide micro-credit
to newly trained, nascent women entrepreneurs. Questions & Answers
Case Study #6: Importance of Partnerships
Speakers: Mme Mounia Maaouni, Member of the Council of Administration, Association Femmes Entrepreneurs du Maroc (AFEM), Morocco
Mme Frédérique Clavel, President, Paris Pionnières, France
A case study will be presented by AFEM and Paris Pionnières on the establishment of Casa Pionnières a Women’s Incubator project in Morocco, which is the result of networking at the 2005 OECD CFE Istanbul Workshop.
PARALLEL BREAKOUT GROUP B (English & French)
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TUESDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2006, 17:00 - 18:00
PLENARY SESSION: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Languages: English & French
17:00-17:05 Presentations of Conclusions of the Opening Plenary Session: Ms. Nina L. Gardner, Esq., Director, Strategy International, Italy
17:05-17:50 Presentations of Conclusions of the Breakout Groups:
Breakout Group A:
Co- Chair: Mrs. Virginia Littlejohn, CEO, Quantum Leaps, Inc., USA
Breakout Group B:
Co- Chair: Mrs. Ingrid Andersson, Advisor, IKED, Sweden
17:50-18:00
Summary of CFE Istanbul Workshop, its Recommendations and Future OECD Work
Mme Marie-Florence Estimé, Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development (CFE), OECD
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Suggested List of Participants for the Parallel
Breakout Groups
Algeria Ms. Aicha Kouadri
Azerbaijan Mr. Elshad Khanalibaylii
Canada Ms. Lois Stevenson
Egypt Ms. Mona Fahim
France Mme Danielle Rousseau
Italy Ms. Nina Gardner
Lebanon Ms. Faika Turkiyeh
Palestine Dr. Lamis Nahleh
Saudi Arabia Ms. Nashwa Abdulhadi Taher
Mr. Mahmoud Al Meena
Tunisia Mr. Abdelhamid Zammouri
Turkey Ms. Meltem Kurtsan
Ms. Selma Akdoğan
Ms. Nerma Gökçe
Mr. Yakup Karaca
United States Ms. Virginia Littlejohn
International Organisations:
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Dr. Simel Esim
OECD Mme Marie-Florence Estimé
Mr. Dincer Kara
Ms. Rebecca Scheel
Ms. Alissa Koldertsova
PARALLEL BREAKOUT
GROUP A
Algeria Mme Benseffa Hassiba
Canada Ms. Annette St. Onge
France Mme Frédérique Clavel
Italy Mme Etta Carignani
Lebanon Ms. Laila Karami
Morocco Mme Mounia Maaouni
Mme Jamila Bouayad
Saudi Arabia Ms. Azza Raslan
Sweden Ms. Ingrid Andersson
Tunisia Mme Rim Belhaj
Ms. Leila Benzarti
Turkey Ms. Madalat Grabbe
Ms. Bahar Kayserilioğlu
Ms. Bade Küçükoglu
Ms. Sevgi Recberoglu
United Kingdom
Ms. Inge Relph
International Organisations:
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)
Ms. Tezer de Groot
OECD Mme Marie-Florence Estimé
Mme Antonella Noya
Ms. Rebecca Scheel
PARALLEL BREAKOUT
GROUP B
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs & Local Development (CFE) is grateful to the Turkish Authorities, in particular the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the OECD and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Small and Medium Industry Development Organisation (KOSGEB) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Turkish International Co-operation Agency (TICA), for their financial support & valuable contributions to the preparation of this workshop, and to the OECD Istanbul Centre for Private Sector Development for their help and assistance for the organisation of the workshop. The OECD CFE would also like to acknowledge gratefully the support of its partners:
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OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship,
SMEs and Local Development (CFE)
2, rue André-Pascal
75116 Paris CEDEX - FRANCE
Tel. +33 (0)1 45 24 94 25
Fax +33 (0)1 44 30 63 16
www.oecd.org/cfe
