Arabia Parkey, The Daily Iowan
Women from Saudi Arabia will have the opportunity to learn entrepreneurship skills as part of the country’s efforts to diversify its economy with the help from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
Tippie is partnering with the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah and Education for Employment, an international nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. aimed to empower youth in the Middle East and North Africa through employment programs and training.
The organizations will launch a one-year project aimed to provide entrepreneurship training to women in Saudi Arabia. The project is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 goals to diversify and grow the Saudi economy.
The U.S. Department of State-funded project will provide 50 women in the western region of Saudi Arabia with professional training and connections with successful Saudi women and U.S. women mentors in business fields where Saudi women are traditionally underrepresented.
“Saudi Arabia has been successful on the international market and is successful in business, but women often have played a lesser role in that success,” said Kelly Bedeian, assistant director and grants administrator for the UI Institute of International Business in the business school.
Bedeian said fields in which women are underrepresented in Saudi Arabia include logistics, construction, real estate, technology, culinary arts, and entertainment.