In a landmark event for the Middle East, the Web Summit Qatar featured influential speakers, with a special emphasis on amplifying the voices of women leaders. The event, known for its groundbreaking discussions on technology, entrepreneurship and global innovations, took a significant step forward by featuring prominent women from various fields.
One of the most anticipated speakers was Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, her talk focused on promoting intercultural dialogue and addressing global challenges. Queen Rania’s advocacy for refugee rights and efforts to combat stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims have highlighted the importance of empathy, understanding and collaboration on a global scale. Her presence highlighted the importance of humanitarian efforts and also showed the vital role that women play in changes connected with economic evolution.
Sara Sabry, founder of the Deep Space Initiative and the first Arab woman to go to space, delivered the most inspiring panel at the event. Her achievements pave the way for women’s unlimited potential in traditionally male-dominated fields such as aerospace. By founding the Deep Space Initiative, Sabry aims to make space exploration more accessible, inspiring future generations of women to pursue careers in STEM.
The presence of influential women such as Noor Sweid, Christine Tsai and Aspa Lekka highlighted the crucial role of women in driving innovation and economic growth from startups, scale-ups to unicorns. Noor Sweid’s leadership at Global Ventures and founder Christine Tsai’s role at 500 Global have brought the transformative power of women in Venture Capital to the stage, shaping the future of technology and female entrepreneurship in the Middle East and beyond.
From my perspective as an entrepreneur, having women in the leadership of investment funds is fundamental. The percentage of women being invested in by VCs is still low. When we change who makes these decisions and bring women into these chairs, we begin to move closer to balance. Aspa Lekka’s success in scaling JOKR to unicorn status highlights the importance of diversity in business leadership, bringing new perspectives and driving sustainable growth. If you want to build a product for everyone, you must build with all backgrounds within your company.
Furthermore, the inclusion of prominent figures such as Ay Tometi, co-creator of Black Lives Matter, and Princess Loulwa Al Saud, CEO of RiseUp Saudi, emphasized the intersectionality of women’s experiences and the importance of addressing systemic inequalities. Tometi’s advocacy for racial justice and Loulwa Al Saud’s commitment to nurturing Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem reflect the diverse (and major) challenges and opportunities women face in the Middle East and globally.
I was invited to speak about Mimo Live Sales (Live and Video Commerce solution) with influencer and actress Carol Bresolin. We talk about Humanization of Digital Sales, Creator Economy, Live and Video Commerce. We count some use cases in our market, where brands have already understood that working with content goes beyond social media, and that in order to have recurrence, bringing content to their own e-commerce channels and applications is fundamental. Carol Bresolin also did a panel with influencer Haneen Alsaify, a chemical engineer, entrepreneur and influencer from Qatar.
The Brazilian and Globo presenter, Laura Vicente, was the MC on the main stage, bringing innovative content and introducing the panels in a very fluid and fun way. And Layan Abo Shkier, researcher and editor at Forbes Middle East, moderated two panels on technology and female entrepreneurship, with very high quality content.
To close with a flourish, the WebSummit now has a woman as CEO, Katherine Maher, and I think that says a lot, when we look at transformations coming from within and the perspective of a woman in leadership.
The curators of this event did a beautiful job, especially Carol Lin, who was one of those responsible for bringing so many important women to the stage.
The participation of women speakers at Web Summit Qatar highlights the transformative impact of inclusion and representation in defining the future of technology, entrepreneurship and social change. Qatar is evolving very quickly when it comes to the digital revolution and innovation. But there are still many gaps to be filled. It was certainly an event that moved large companies, leaders and decision makers and led them to see new paths and possibilities.
Monique Lima
Co-founder and CEO Mimo Live Sales
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