UAE-based conglomerate Crescent Enterprises has extended its partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to empower and support more female entrepreneurs across the Middle East for a second year.

In a continuation of its relationship established last year, a new group of seven female and male Crescent Enterprises employees will provide an extended range of professional expertise and guidance across the areas of finance, communication and marketing, business development, law, and digital literacy, through the foundation’s unique online Mentoring Women in Business Programme, said a statement.

The female unemployment rates among youth are particularly high in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, according to a report by the United Nations.

Up to 39.4 per cent of young women are unemployed in the Middle East and 34.1 per cent in North Africa, it said.

The female participation in the workplace also remains low at 25 per cent in the Mena Region compared to 50 per cent globally, according to the World Bank.

In view of these statistics, Crescent Enterprises is seeking to contribute to addressing these issues plaguing the region including through its work with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women by providing guidance and sustainable solutions to the challenges female entrepreneurs face.  

Ola Al Haj Hussin, corporate citizenship manager, Crescent, said: “The high female unemployment and attrition rates in the Arab Region represents a significant loss of highly educated talent. In extending our partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women we hope to be able to continue to encourage and support more women develop their business acumen as they embark on their own entrepreneurial journeys.

“In turn these women will also play a very significant role in addressing the most pressing community needs, spurring sustainable growth by creating job opportunities for others as they witness their own professional success.” - TradeArabia News Service