NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 22-Mastercard has announced the inaugural Women SME Leaders Awards 2022, the first initiative of its kind to recognize and further empower women-owned and run SMEs in the Middle East and Africa.
The nominations are open to small enterprises owned and run by women and with a turnover of less than $13.6 million, the winners will be announced on 29 March 2022
“At Mastercard, we believe that women-owned businesses are the catalyst for economic growth, improving the lives of everyone, everywhere. That is why Mastercard has curated the Women SME Leaders Awards to recognize and celebrate women entrepreneurs across Middle East and Africa,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA for Mastercard.
The awards are jointly curated by the Entrepreneur Middle East team who will vet shortlisted companies and then pass onto the judging committee that will be chaired by Mastercard.
The awards stemmed out of the inaugural Mastercard SME Confidence Index conducted last year which revealed that 81 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the Middle East and Africa have a digital presence for their businesses, compared to 68 per cent of their male counterparts.
In terms of the digital footprint of these women entrepreneurs, social media (71 per cent) leads the way, followed by a company website (57 per cent).
These findings were aligned with Mastercard’s global commitment to connect 25 million women entrepreneurs to the digital economy by 2025, as part of its goal to build a more sustainable and inclusive world.
The index further suggested that growing confidence levels in digital as a business imperative, is tied to a deeper understanding and wider recognition among SMEs of the advantages that result from a growing digital economy.
