WEIF urges empowering women, youth, promoting innovation, entrepreneurship to attain SDGs

18 / 11 / 2019

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The 3rd World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum 2019 (WEIF 2019) underlined the importance of empowering women and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in order to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During WEIF which was held in Manama under the patronage of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Fatou Haidara, Managing Director, Policy and Program Support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said women account for half of the world’s population, wondering “How can we achieve the SDGs without women?”

She said the forum offered “an opportunity to shed light on UNIDO’s work in the area of women’s empowerment and put it in the context of the Industrial Revolution,” stressing “there is a gender gap. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution, if we do not [implement] the right policies and measures, the gap may widen further, and this is the last thing we want to happen. We want to work collectively and in different aspects.”

Haidara emphasized the need for more sustainability, inclusiveness and partnerships and the critical part that women and youth play in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs. Furthermore, she highlighted the achievements of the UNIDO ITPO Bahrain office stating that “ITPO Bahrain successfully contributes to reduce development imbalances by brokering investment and technology agreements while fostering entrepreneurship in developing countries over 40 years”, which is needed to create a better world for all.

During the get-together, UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador Veronika Peshkova highlighted the need to invest more in women’s economic empowerment and to ensure that gender equality is being implemented in all spheres of society.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hashem Hussein, the head of the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Bureau, said the forum was meant mainly to focus on “what the UN should do about the economic empowerment of youth and women.”

He pointed out that the lack job opportunities for young people today is a problem in all countries, especially in the developing world, and pointed out that the SDGs are suffering from an ‘investment gap’ of more than $250 billion annually, through 2030.

“We cannot achieve SDGs if the private sector and financial institutions did not play their parts. Humans are the main focus of development for the United Nations, they are the entrepreneurs in this field; a person who establishes a small- and medium-sized enterprise, creates jobs for himself and other young people”, he added.

Dr. Hussein said that the United Nations plays a role in helping countries, private sector actors, civil society institutions and individuals representing entrepreneurs to establish prosperous and sustainable projects.

According to Hussein, this is the first time that the Arab region has hosted the Arab Business Owners and Investors Summit, in conjunction with the Global Forum for Entrepreneurs and Investment Summit. Holding the two events conjointly showed the organizers belief in the need to have a common network linking investors and entrepreneurs.

Hussein stressed that the world continues to face enormous investment gaps for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the WEIF, which was first held in 2015, therefore continues to provide a unique platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to connect local, regional and global investors with entrepreneurs and start-ups, with an emphasis on youth and women, in order to develop partnerships and create joint initiatives for inclusive and sustainable development.

Therefore, the WEIF’s recommendations called on all governments, the private sector, academicians and civil society to promote entrepreneurship and innovative institutions in order to accelerate Sustainable Development Goals achievement.

The WEIF declaration – or Manama Declaration – urged the international community to include entrepreneurship and innovation in all economic and social dimensions of national policies aimed to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.

The declaration said entrepreneurship and innovation should be recognized as the main catalyst for creating jobs, booting economic growth and realizing social gains.

Spotlighting the role of targeted investment and innovation towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with special focus on ‘Harnessing the Potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the Digital Economy, the forum also aimed to promote investment in entrepreneurship and innovation amid the digital revolution in the Arab world.

The forum tackled the challenges and opportunities resulting from the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and its impact on the public and private sectors, and highlighted best practices and international policies needed to ensure the financial inclusion of youth and women, with emphasis on the Arab region and Africa.

United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Gueterres conveyed via a written statement that “the Fourth Industrial Revolution provides us with a tremendous opportunity. By leveraging emerging technologies with entrepreneurial spirit and investment, we can accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This is critical as we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs by 2030.”

The forum continued with a ministerial dialogue during which the need to have youth entrepreneurship integrated into national entrepreneurship strategies was stressed and emphasized by all parties.

Moreover, Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur bilateral meetings were organized on the margins of the event, allowing for high-level representatives and entrepreneurs to discuss investment and business opportunities during which 1000 bilateral meetings where held leading to 106 letters of intent being signed with an estimated investment of $22 million.

The forum also included discussions around the need for an enhanced financial and educational inclusion of entrepreneurs in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution as well as the need to better institutionalize innovations at the national, regional and global level. A special focus was also given to SDG9 which calls to “build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation” – the session stressed the importance of increasing investments in infrastructure, industrialization and innovations around the globe, but especially in developing countries, including the MENA region and Africa.

Three high-level side events supplemented the forum, namely the Start-up Investment Summit, the Second International Conference on Entrepreneurship, which underlined the need for innovation and investment as well as the role of education and universities to strengthen entrepreneurial spirits, and the event on “Sustainable Investments for Agenda 2030 – Investing in Green Industry” held under the patronage of the Supreme Council for Environment, represented by Dr Mohamed Mubarak Bin Daina.

The event also featured over 600 start-ups and entrepreneurs who were able to present their innovations and new technologies.

The forum’s closing session  came up with a consensus that a more inclusive and sustainable environment for entrepreneurs, especially youth and women on the macro and micro-level is key to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and that all partners have to closely work together to ensure a successful implementation of structural change in favor of entrepreneurship and economic development – this call of action was summarized in the 3rd Manama Declaration and announced by Dr. Hussein.

The declaration will be submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations General Assembly for its endorsement.

The WEIF was held concurrently with the 18th Arab Annual Investors Summit from 11 to 13 November 2019 in Manama.

The event was organized by UNIDO ITPO Bahrain in partnership with the Union of Arab Chambers and the support of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and the financial support of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

This global event brought together entrepreneurs, start-ups and investors as well as government representatives, NGOs and academia to exchange knowledge, share innovative best practices, leverage domestic and foreign direct investments, and to establish new partnerships in favor of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on innovative approaches afforded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The event was also attended by prominent leaders from the region, including Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid bin Isa Al Khalifa, Vice President of the Supreme Council for Environment, Mr. Zayed R. Al Zayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Bahrain, Yousef Bin Ibrahim Al Bassam, Chairman of the Board of Directors from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Dr. Khaled Hanafy, Secretary General of the Arab Union of Chambers, Mr. Aymen Tawfiq Almoayyed, Minister Youth and Sports Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Mr. Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, Minister of Entrepreneur Development of Malaysia, Mr. Jibril Rajoub, Minister of Youth and Sports of the State of Palestine, and Mr. M. Amadou Thiam, Minister or Institutional Reforms and Civil Society of the Republic of Mali.