The event was separated into three sessions: An opening session with contributions and welcoming remarks by Mr. Hassan Dbouk, President of the Union of Municipalities in Tyre, Hana Nasser, Representative of KAS, and HE Inaya Ezzeddine, Chairwoman of the Committee for Women and Youth, as well as with the presentation of the study on women’s entrepreneurs presented by Ms. Randa Yassir, Head of SMART Center. Subsequently, two workshops were hosted on “Empowering and Developing Capacities in Financial Management and Finance” and the “Challenges and Solutions in Advertising and Marketing”. The women’s products exhibition was started at the end of the first session and was open to guests and participants throughout the day. The sessions were moderated by Mr. Ali Amis, Dr. Walaa Harb and Dr. Marys Younes.

In his speech Mr. Hassan Dabouk, emphasized the importance of the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in vulnerable areas. Supported by the findings presented by Ms. Randa Yassir, he referred to the enormous economic potential for the Lebanese society – a point that was also put up by KAS Representative Hana Nasser. In her speech Mrs. Inaya Ezzeddine reported on the legislative measures taken to ensure the rights of women in rural areas that support the sustainability of their businesses.

The first workshop focused on the development of capacities in financial management. Moderated by Ms. Walaa Harb, the capacity building trainer Ms. Ghina Farran and the accredited trainer Mr. Abed Mokaddem from the International Labor Organization (ILO) tackled this topic. The panel was followed by the presentation of success stories and a Q&A session. The possibility to forward qestions and reamarks to the panelists was lively used by the present women entrepreneurs.

The second session aimed on practical solutions for advertising and marketing. Ms. Marys Younes moderated two panels featuring the Co-founder and General Manager of VISIONAIRS Management Consulting, Mr. Abdel Ghaleb, who reported solutions for marketing products for the “Lebanon Family Planning Association” and the Commander of UNIFIL’s Western Sector, General Diodato Abagnara, who gave a speech on professional internet marketing. The panels were closed with the presentation of success stories and a discussion.

KAS thanks all participants and guests for their valued contributions to the panels, discussions and the exhibition.

The event will be repeated in the cities of Ersal/ Baalbek-Hermel, and Halba/ Northern Lebanon in the upcoming months.