Ford Expanding its Female-Focused Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy to Include Riyadh

The Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy (HFEA) continues to go from strength to strength in the Middle East, with the latest female-focussed workshops taking place in their third round at Jeddah’s Effat Universityfrom May 1-3. The workshops also expand for the first time into Riyadh’s Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, the world’s largest university for women, marking the beginning of a new partnership.

The HFEA workshops are offered in line with Vision 2030, the Saudi government’s plan for economic and social reform that empowers women with the aim of increasing their numbers in the workforce. Among directives recently announced by the Saudi government is a historical decision allowing Saudi women to open their own business* without the consent of a male guardian.

In just 10 years, the number of female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia has increased by 35 per cent**, accounting for almost 40 per cent of all entrepreneurs in the Kingdom. Partaking in the HFEA workshops has afforded participants a unique perspective on how to combine the theory of entrepreneurship with the application of entrepreneurship.

“As Saudi Arabia continues to open up new and exciting opportunities for women, Ford remains focussed on providing the skills needed to design their own destiny,” said Simonetta Verdi, director, Government and Community Relations, Ford Middle East and Africa. “The applied learning techniques employed by the Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy workshops empower participants to gain a better understanding of their unique value contribution as future entrepreneurs and business leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”  

As itexpands its partnerships in the Kingdom to include Riyadh’s prominent Princess Nourah bint AbdulrahmanUniversity, Ford is bringing together the excellence of far-reaching, continent-crossing educational institutions, such as the United States’ Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Ireland’s Dublin City University (DCU) Business School, both playing a major part in shaping the first Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy workshop to be held in Riyadh, also 1-3 May, 2018.

Over the course of three days, around 100 aspiring businesswomen –between Riyadh’s Princess Nourah bint AbdulrahmanUniversity and Jeddah’s Effat University – will be trained in the art of entrepreneurship by HFEA instructors, offering an opportunity to fine-tune their entrepreneurial talents, with a view to creating a successful, thriving business. 

Taking place concurrently, and training up to 50 students on each of the women-only campuses, the Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy workshops, together with the Ford Motor Company Fund and Virginia Commonwealth University, will offer a great opportunity for local future business leaders to excel in their endeavours, and influence them to think and act like entrepreneurs.

Ford is also pleased to appoint Houda Jorio, professor of Management, Entrepreneurship and Operations Technology at the International Institute for Higher Education in Morocco, as a new programme chief. She becomes the first female programme lead to head up the workshop at Princess Nourah bint AbdulrahmanUniversity, providing the HFEA training in the Saudi capital.

The Ford Motor Company Fund invests about one third of the funds in support of education, including scholarships and programmes that help schools offer students new approaches to learning. Since its launch in 2015, the Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy has trained close to 250 entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa.

While Ford is firmly focussed on empowering the youth in Saudi Arabia, it is also gearing up to extend its Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy programmes further across the region, with Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai in the UAE, and Casablanca in Morocco, all holding HFEA events in May. 

The Henry Ford Entrepreneurship Academy is part of Ford’s global commitment to providing access and opportunities for women. From its Driving Skills for Life for Herprogramme, to projects focussed on helping end human trafficking, as well as numerous initiatives that provide professional development and leadership training, globally Ford Fund has long supported programmes that help women succeed by overcoming social, educational and financial obstacles.