Having a real women empowerment change in Africa will come with "patience, perseverance, partnership and passion," said top Egyptian businesswoman Mona Zulficar at Africa 2018 Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh on Saturday. In Egypt, women own only 30 percent of the country's small and medium-sized businesses, driving the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) to back women-owned businesses with dedicated funding through partnerships with banks, said Zulficar. The law is an agent and a powerful empowerment tool to bring change, added Zulficar, who is non-executive chairperson of Egyptian leading investment bank EFG-Hermes and founding partner of Zulficar & Partners Law Firm. However, when it comes to obstacles to women empowerment, culture and tradition are more powerful than any legal existing systems, she said. "We cannot address issues of culture, tradition, and mindset shifts without the support of men. For these to shift we need, passion, patience, perseverance and partnership …," Zulficar said. “Women have to build partnerships among self and with civil organizations and government.” Africa 2018 Forum, one of the biggest gatherings in the continent, kicked off in Sharm El-Sheikh on Saturday, under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Co-organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA), the forum is placing this year a special focus on issues of concern to African youth and women empowerment.
