Wishing Women WEL

As part of the 10,000 Women global initiative, AUC is giving underserved women in the region a business education

By Jeffrey Bellis
Photos by Ahmad El-Nemr

  When the funding for her small business was cut after two years, Howayda El Demerdash hit a dead end. As the owner of Teach Right, a business that provides educational services by training Egyptian teachers, she found herself in a serious predicament.“The market is very challenging, and we are facing so many problems,” said El Demerdash.“There are no regulations that would require schools to train their teachers.”

  El Demerdash knew that she needed to improve her skills in order to run a successful service.Today, she is one of 34 women representing the first cohort of graduates of AUC’s Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership (WEL) program.

  The program is part of the 10,000 Women global initiative funded by Goldman Sachs Inc. and Goldman Sachs Charitable Fund.The initiative provides underserved women, predominantly in developing and emerging markets, with a business and management education by partnering universities in the United States and Europe with business schools in developing countries.The goal is to train 10,000 women over the next five years at a total cost of $100 million.AUC partnered with the Wharton school of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the top business schools worldwide.The fiveweek WEL program is the initiative’s only program in the Middle East, drawing its students from throughout the Arab region including Palestine, Jordan and Iraq.

  “The potential for women is amazing,” said Maha ElShinnawy, management professor and director of the WEL program in the Middle East, noting that 18 percent of businesses in Egypt on the micro, small and medium levels are owned by women, but impediments such as financing and education prevent that number from rising. “After conducting a needs assessment that demonstrated to us the educational needs of women in the region, we custom-designed the program to fit those needs, alleviating obstacles that hinder women’s businesses and granting better access to education, financing and a network of mentors.”

   Women selected for the WEL program all manage their own businesses, have university degrees and
are fluent in English. Participants were selected according to financial need and proven ambition, and those
enrolled in the program are taking part in a rigorous curriculum that includes connectivity to mentor networks.Their training incorporates professional leadership management and entrepreneurial skills, including
marketing, accounting, market research, accessing capital, writing a business plan and strategic planning.The fiveyear goal of the program is to give 500 women from Egypt and the Arab region a business education to allow their businesses to grow and eventually add to their local economies.

   “It is a great opportunity for the Wharton school to be doing a project like this in the Arab world,” said Mauro Guillen, faculty director of the program at Wharton.

   Meeting with the first cohort of program participants in Egypt,AUC Trustee Dina Powell, managing director and global head of corporate engagement at Goldman Sachs, said she was pleased and humbled.“These are
34 amazing women from throughout the Middle East, and I am particularly proud of them as an Egyptian-
American,” she noted, adding that the distinctiveness of the program lies in being tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs in the region.“This program wasn’t developed in New York. It was developed as a specialized case for Egypt and the Middle East.”

“I hope to be able to pass on what I’ve learned to my family and to other women like me ––
women who want to be successful leaders.”

Powell explained that the 10,000 Women initiative was established when Goldman Sachs viewed United Nations reports that saw a social and economic multiplier effect on economies and communities with greater female labor-force participation.The initiative, launched in March 2008, invests in a largely untapped yet significant resource –– the exponential power of women as
entrepreneurs and managers.

   For participants like El Demerdash, taking part in the program is exciting, albeit a little daunting.“The classes have been very good so far,” she said.
“There are so many new concepts; I’m not sure I’ll be able to do everything I’ve learned in those five weeks.”

Ahmad El-Nemr

   To Rana Habash, a Palestinian entrepreneur with an environmental consultation business, participating in
the program represents a professional turning point. For more than 10 years, she has done consulting work for
various industrial firms and international agencies including the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.“I joined this program to learn accounting, managerial skills, how to market my business, and putting strategies and plans into action in the short and long term,” she said. “The program is providing a sustainable service in that there is a mentoring period after the courses end. ...Thanks to everyone who shared to make this program see the light, and for us –– Palestinian women –– it gave us a great opportunity at this critical time of our lives.”

   Echoing the same sentiment, Hend Zayed, a jewelry designer from Egypt, noted how WEL has helped her
develop a new holistic attitude at work.“I discovered I don’t have to do and supervise everything on my own,” she said.“From the very first week, I learned how to reconstruct my personality and way of thinking. … I hope to be able to pass on what I’ve learned to my family and to other women like me –– women who want
to be successful leaders.”

   Classes for the second and third cohorts will take place in May and June 2009, respectively. For more
information, visit www1.aucegypt.edu/welprogram or
e-mail welapply@aucegypt.edu.

WEL Participants in Class