The MENA-OECD Women’s Economic Empowerment Forum (WEEF) is a specialised working group of the MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme, serving as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and regional cooperation for over 15 years. It brings together government representatives, financial institutions, international organisations, women entrepreneurs and business support networks from MENA and OECD economies to advance women's economic empowerment through policy dialogue, knowledge sharing and partnerships.
Since 2024, the WEEF has provided a high-level regional platform for advancing policy dialogue on women's financial inclusion and access to finance, alongside the implementation of the EU-OECD Regional Project on Enhancing Women Entrepreneurs’ Financial Inclusion and Access to Finance in the Southern Mediterranean (2024-2027). Covering eight MENA economies, the project combines country-level policy support with regional cooperation, enabling participating countries to address shared challenges, exchange expertise and accelerate progress on national reform priorities. The project has consolidated a regional multi-stakeholder network of policymakers, regulators, financial institutions and women’s business support organisations, strengthening institutional relationships, national ownership and the foundations for sustained cooperation beyond the project's duration. National Action Plans have become a shared framework for regional peer learning, enabling countries to draw on each other's experiences, identify common and emerging reform priorities, and adapt promising approaches to their national contexts. Targeted capacity-building and exchanges have also strengthened stakeholders' technical knowledge and ability to advance policy reforms. This regional approach is already translating into concrete progress at the national level, including steps towards harmonised definitions of women-owned and women-led businesses, improved collection and use of sex-disaggregated data, and stronger cooperation between financial authorities and other stakeholders across the region. Building on these achievements, the 2026 Forum will provide an opportunity to take stock of progress, strengthen regional partnerships and identify practical actions to deliver further results by the end of 2027.
Main expected outcomes:
- Strengthen high-level dialogue on the role of women's economic empowerment as a driver of growth, resilience and economic transformation in the MENA region.
- Share evidence and good practices on expanding women's access to finance, innovation ecosystems and capital markets, fostering peer learning across OECD and MENA countries and building on regional cooperation under the EU-OECD project.
- Identify policy reforms and partnerships to create more inclusive financial ecosystems, strengthen financial education and financial literacy policies, and support women entrepreneurs at different stages of their business journey.
- Advance the implementation of the EU-OECD regional project by building on progress achieved, strengthening cross-country cooperation and identifying concrete actions to support participating countries' national reform priorities in 2027.
For the first time, the WEEF will be organised back-to-back with the meetings of the OECD International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE) and within the broader framework of OECD Financial Markets Week, creating a unique opportunity to connect global expertise on financial education and financial markets with regional policy dialogue and practical cooperation on women's financial inclusion and entrepreneurship.
