Organised in partnership with:

The Union for the Mediterranean and UNIDO are organising the second edition of Women Entrepreneurs’ Forum on 9-11 October 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, in the margins of the 4th High-level Women conference “Women4Mediterranean” organised by the Union for the Mediterranean and hosted by Portugal.
The Forum will be the business window of the Women4Mediterranean Conference which constitutes one of the major Euro-Mediterranean platform to discuss, exchange experiences and promote women’s participation in the public, economic and civil life, with the objective to bring solutions to the regional challenges pertaining to women’s empowerment. With an expected attendance of 300 participants, the Conference will create impact by gathering the most relevant stakeholders and leaders from the Euro- Mediterranean region – governments, parliaments, private sector, IFIS and banks, international organizations, academia, media, civil society, young women and men – to strengthen regional cooperation and identify best ways to drive positive change toward gender equality and women’s empowerment. The conference will focus on women’s roles as change-makers and leaders in the region and explore how women and men can overcome cultural and social barriers for driving forward the Euro-Mediterranean action agenda for women’s empowerment and the achievement of the SDGs. For almost five years, the conferences have been a catalyst for policy advocacy, regional initiatives and projects, new ideas, collaborations and partnerships.
Based on the UNIDO’s accurate knowledge of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, Lisbon Women Entrepreneurs’ Forum has the objective to provide a platform for dialogue, exchange of experience and networking opportunities for women-owned and women-led-businesses from both shores of the Mediterranean, and more specifically:

• Share ideas, connect and explore new business opportunities.
• Networking and business-to-business meetings (an online platform will be provided before the forum to connect with other entrepreneurs and a B2B area will be provided during the three days’ forum).
• Discuss areas of interest for women economic empowerment through dedicated round tables with  participation of high-level experts.
The 2018 edition, like past forums, is meant to build skills, connect and empower female entrepreneurs to start, grow and sustain their enterprises in a competitive environment that will lead towards a direct impact on the  economy as well as the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The forum’s agenda will include B2B networking, product and business concept exhibition and specific panels and keynote addresses with participation of high-level business experts and policy makers that will offer knowledge and advice on various business opportunities, good practices and success stories in doing business in the areas of ICT and food sector applying innovative technologies.

The Target

The Forum targets women from the EU, the MENA region and African countries who are managing or starting a business in the ICT and food sectors.

The Programme

9 October (from 9 am to 6pm)

Participation to the Regional Dialogue on Women Empowermen (Open only for Business Associations & BDS)
The UfM dialogue on women empowerment, between governments and the concerned stakeholders, has started in 2015 with the objective to review countries and stakeholders’ engagements in the Euro- Mediterranean and to provide recommendations for the policy makers to advance gender equality agenda in the region. “Women Economic Participation” and “women’s access to Leadership, including in economic life” are two of the four priority areas agreed with countries to be subject of the dialogue.
The event will be the first review meeting after the adoption of the UfM fourth Ministerial Declaration1 on strengthening the role of women in society, adopted during the Ministerial meeting held in Cairo, Egypt on 27 November 2017.

10 October (from 9 am to 6pm)

• Participation in the Conference. Programme and registration here: https://ufmsecretariat.org/ufm-women-conference-2018-2/
• Roundtable “ICT for gender equality and women empowerment” (See details in this programme)
  • Chair: Ms. Monica Carco, Senior Industrial Expert and Focal Point for women, and youth programmes at UNIDO Agri Business Department, Vienna
  • Opening remarks: Ms. Laurence Païs, Deputy Secretary General in charge of Social and Civil Affairs of the Union for the Mediterranean
  • Keynote speaker: Inês Santos Silva, Special Adviser at the Cabinet of the Secretary State of Industry of Portugal
  • Speakers:
    • Ms. Amel Saidane, President of Tunisian Startups and digital transformation consultant
    • Ms. Susan Schorr, Head of Digital Inclusion Division, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
    • Ms. Doa Wadi, Executive Director Business Women Forum – Palestine

• Business networking: an online networking platform and dedicated B2B area during the three days will be  provided for forum’s participants. The link will be available soon.
• Products and business concepts exhibition: A space will be provided for free for businesses that would like to present their products. Please specify in the registration form if you have products to be presented.

11 October

From 9am to 1pm

• Participation in the Conference. Programme and registration here: https://ufmsecretariat.org/ufm-women-conference-2018-2/
• Roundtable “Women shaping the future of food technologies” (See details in this programme)
  • Chair: To be confirmed
  • Speakers:
    • Ms. Sara Roversi, Co-Founder of You Can Group and Future Food Institute
    • Ms. Carla Tanas, Co – founder Industry Disruptors – Game Changers
    • Mr. Peter Johnson, Founder at Ayadee and blockchain expert
• Business networking: an online networking platform and dedicated B2B area during the three days will be provided for forum’s participants. The link will be available soon.
• Products and business concepts exhibition: A space will be provided for free for businesses that would like to present their products. Please specify in the registration form if you have products to be presented.

Why participate

• Participation in the forum and conference are free of charge. You just need to cover your travel and accommodation.
• The programme of the Forum is entirely dedicated to women entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean, and  will offer participants a number of business networking, Brand Marketing and opportunities to meet  contacts with business experts and policy makers from different backgrounds, skills and expertise.
• An opportunity to share experiences with leaders and high level figures from the Euro-Mediterranean  region, including opportunities and challenges surrounding the Mediterranean.
• Special sessions with high level expert to learn about building partnerships with business leaders and their partners across the region.

Other facilities offered

• Support for your logistical arrangements, including preferential hotel fares close to the conference venue.
• Translation in English, French, Arabic and Portuguese (Portuguese available only for the conference).
• Free transportation from city center to the forum and conference venue.
• Free coffee and lunch breaks during the 3 days.
• Networking with speakers and participants
• B2B and networking platform
• B2B dinner with entrepreneurs and conference participants.

[1] https://ufmsecretariat.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/womenfinaldeclaration.pdf