Women in Business
Policies to Support Women's Entrepreneurship Development in the MENA Region
This publication provides an overview of approaches and measures in MENA-OECD Investment Programme economies to promote, support and advance women's entrepreneurship development in the Middle East and North Africa. It covers such issues as access to credit and business development services and information and information on data collection and research on women entrepreneurs in the MENA area.
Public policy and women's entrepreneurship in the MENA region
This chapter examines MENA governments' levels of policy leadership on women's entrepreneurship development, with a focus on publicly available policy statements, government promotional efforts and mechanisms to mainstream women's issues in public/private policy dialogue. Global experience has shown that consistent policy commitment at the highest levels of government is key to accelerating women's entrepreneurship development. The level of policy support for women’s economic activity varies across the MENA region. Some governments have implemented national development plans or national gender strategies; others have engaged in efforts to promote women entrepreneurs and showcase their accomplishments. Such efforts could be further strengthened, however, and this chapter outlines possible ways to do this.