The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will be joining the international celebrations for Women’s Day to continue raising awareness on women’s rights and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap in the region. The first-ever Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality for the UfM region will release its first report on the 5 March and will focus primarily on women’s economic participation.
The key data highlights that, compared to the global average, Europe and the MENA region are below the 6,2% global percentage of women entrepreneurs who own a business (5.3% and 4.5% respectively). This low rate is explained by the difficulties in accessing business support services and networks.
To face these issues, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the UfM have joined forces with Business Club Africa, to launch the first MENA Women Business Club. This initiative involves more than 130 women entrepreneurs and intends to create better networking opportunities and support their businesses to scale-up in the region.
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