SHE CAN 2019 Turns The Focus On Failures In Entrepreneurship To Empower Egypt's Female Entrepreneurs
By: Entrepreneur Middle East
The conference held a wide range of panel discussions, talks and workshops on innovative thinking, creativity, technology, raising capital and invigorating female entrepreneurship in the ecosystem.
With its theme on ‘Successful Failures,’ SHE CAN 2019, one of MENA’s prominent women entrepreneurship conference, hosted its third annual edition at the Greek campus, Downtown Cairo, Egypt. Launched by Entreprenelle, an Egypt-based social enterprise driven by its purpose to empower women economically through awareness, education and access to resources, the conference held a wide range of panel discussions, talks and workshops on innovative thinking, creativity, technology, raising capital and invigorating female entrepreneurship in the ecosystem.
Gathering more than 5,000 participants and 50 partners including UN Women, the Swedish Embassy, the National Council for Women, Nahdet Masr, Avon, Orange and Export Development Bank of Egypt, it also highlighted the endeavors of Entrepenelle alumni. It was also an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from sessions featuring tips on pitching business ideas, mentorship, as well as startup competitions. Female-founded startups were also able to showcase their products and services in an exhibition area.
On the conference’s focus on the necessity of failure for one’s entrepreneurial path, Dorothy Shea, Deputy Ambassador of the US Embassy in Cairo commented: “As far as I’m conferenced the sky is the limit. Women should be able to achieve whatever their dreams are. What I was struck by was this idea of ‘successful failures’, we need to not fear failure, it’s not a destination, it is a stepping stone to success. Sometimes there can be a fear of failure, but as part of this entrepreneurship ecosystem, they are really trying to move that inhibition away. We learn from our failures and then we take our plans to the next level. I was really inspired by this theme.”
Founded in 2015, Entreprenelle has more than 10 entrepreneurship programs conducted in nine governorates including Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Minya, Assiut, Sohag and Aswan.