Two Qatari women among Forbes 'Most Powerful Businesswomen in Mena' list


(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Lani Rose R Dizon | The Peninsula

Doha: Two inspiring Qatari businesswomen - Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser Al Thani, Founder & Chairperson of Amwal and Founder & CEO of Al Wa`ab City Real Estate; and Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani, Deputy CEO & Chief Business Officer at Qatar financial Centre (QFC) – have been ranked among this year's Forbes Middle East's“50 Most Powerful Businesswomen in Mena”.

Qatar's two business leaders join the list of the region's most powerful female movers and shakers in the corporate world, who hold some of the most challenging and most important roles in making the Mena region a globally competitive marketplace. 

According to Forbes, this year's list of Mena's most influential and successful businesswomen features representatives of 19 different nationalities and 17 sectors. The banking and financial services sector is the most dominant with 16 entries, followed by diversified conglomerates and the retail sector with six entries each, and the technology sector with five. 

The annual list also features 12 newcomers including eight businesswomen who are based in the UAE, two from Qatar, and two in Saudi Arabia. The list was constructed based on the size of the business, the individual's accomplishments over the past year, CSR, and other initiatives. 

Many of these businesswomen have led their companies to cross major milestones in 2021, despite the challenging global business circumstances during the pandemic, Forbes added. 

Ranked eighth in the list, Sheikha Hanadi was described as the founder of Amwal, formerly known as Qatar Ladies Investment Company, in 1998, which was the first investment company to receive a license from the Qatar Central Bank to operate in the investment banking, asset management, and wealth management industries in the country. 

Sheikha Hanadi, who started her career as a lecturing assistant in the economics department at Qatar University, also founded the Al Wa`ab City Real Estate development project in 2005 with a cost of $3.2bn.“She is the current CEO of the project, which spread over 1.2 million square metres and will be home to over 8,000 people once complete. Sheikha Hanadi is also a founding Chair at INJAZ Qatar, Vice-Chairwoman of NBK Holdings, and serves on the boards of several other organisations and firms,” said Forbes. 

Ranked 47th on the list of the region's most powerful businesswomen, Sheikha Alanoud was recognised for her contributions in the development of Qatar's financial industry. 

Sheikha Alanoud has joined the QFC in 2016. She was the Managing Director of Business Development before taking on her current role.

“She was honoured by the World Economic Forum in 2021 as a Young Global Leader. Last year, as many as 282 new firms joined QFC from 60 countries, and QFC signed 20 MoUs, the latest of which was with the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council,” Forbes added.

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