Government support is a critical component of entrepreneurship ecosystem development. What efforts have Middle East governments made recently to support entrepreneurs and scale small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? What gaps have yet to be filled?

The Atlantic Council’s empowerME Initiative held a virtual event on Monday, February 7th at 9:00 am EST/4:00 pm EET/5:00 pm AST/6:00 pm UAE featuring United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs H.E. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship H.E. Ahmad Al-Hanandeh, Arab Republic of Egypt Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Rania Al-Mashat, and Kingdom of Bahrain Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism H.E. Zayed R. Alzayani to shed light on how their governments are nurturing innovation.

The empowerME Initiative in partnership with Imagine Labs also unveiled the Middle East Entrepreneurship Program Tracker, a cutting-edge visualization of the networks in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs, on the same date!

Featuring

H.E. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi
Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs
United Arab Emirates

H.E. Ahmad Al-Hanandeh
Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship 
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

H.E. Rania Al-Mashat
Minister of International Cooperation
Arab Republic of Egypt

H.E. Zayed R. Alzayani
Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism
Kingdom of Bahrain

Moderated by

Amjad Ahmad
empowerME Director and Resident Senior Fellow
Atlantic Council