Palestine Bank Signs Strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Women Entrepreneurs Forum and Launches the "Excellence Award for Women Entrepreneurs" Coinciding with International Women's Day

SadaNews Economy - In line with its strategic partnership with the Women Entrepreneurs Forum, Palestine Bank signed a strategic memorandum of understanding to launch the "Excellence Award for Women Entrepreneurs". This award aims to highlight women who have made a tangible positive economic and social impact, demonstrated leadership and pioneering excellence in their respective fields, and achieved resilience and continuity despite current economic and social challenges, embodying the bank's firm commitment to supporting Palestinian women and enhancing their pivotal role in economic and social development.

The memorandum was signed at the headquarters of Palestine Bank in Ramallah, in the presence of Mr. Mahmoud Al-Shawa, the General Manager, Engineer Shereen Al-Shala, Chairperson of the Board, and Ms. Nora Regina Alawneh, Executive Director, along with several board members from the forum and officials from both sides.

The award, announced in conjunction with "International Women's Day", will aim to spotlight the achievements of women entrepreneurs and celebrate their creativity and qualitative contributions across various economic sectors, particularly in light of the increasing challenges they face in the business environment. The award also aims to enhance the competitiveness of women-led projects and encourage more women to enter the world of entrepreneurship by expanding networks of collaboration and integration between women entrepreneurs and actors in the financial and economic sectors.

Palestine Bank's support for launching the Excellence Award for Women Entrepreneurs is part of the "Palestinian" program, which focuses on economically and socially empowering Palestinian women by facilitating their access to banking services, providing advisory and non-financial support, and building capacities to enhance their active integration into the labor market and improve their living standards and those of their families, especially in light of the current economic challenges. This program reflects Palestine Bank's commitment to supporting Palestinian women and enhancing their role in economic and social development sustainably.

In this context, Mr. Mahmoud Al-Shawa, General Manager of Palestine Bank, expressed his pride in the bank's support for launching the "Excellence Award for Women Entrepreneurs" in partnership with the Women Entrepreneurs Forum, stressing that this initiative will embody the bank's strategic orientations toward economically empowering women and enhancing their active participation in the national economy, contributing to the consolidation of sustainable development principles, expanding the scope of financial inclusion, and supporting the growth of the Palestinian economy by creating new and sustainable job opportunities.

Al-Shawa added that this support aligns with Palestine Bank's vision for social impact, which focuses on integrating the social dimension into its various activities and institutional practices, emphasizing the bank's commitment to continue providing various forms of support to national institutions throughout the homeland, enabling them to fulfill their roles and responsibilities towards the Palestinian community and enhance its resilience.

He pointed out that Palestine Bank is investing in programs and initiatives that focus on capacity building and enhancing women's economic status, including the "Palestinian" program, which aims to support women and facilitate their access to banking services, alongside providing non-financial advisory services, contributing to enhancing their integration into the labor market and improving their living standards and those of their families, especially in light of the current economic challenges.

For her part, Al-Shala valued the strategic partnership with Palestine Bank and its support for the Women Entrepreneurs Forum in launching this award, considering it an important platform to highlight women's contributions to the business sector and an opportunity to enhance the presence of women-led projects at both local and international levels, as well as to expand networks and build strategic partnerships with the public and private sectors and financial institutions.

She affirmed that entrepreneurship is an effective tool for empowering women to face economic and social challenges and build a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities, pointing out that the launch of the award will enhance the forum's message of integrating women more broadly and effectively into the economic scene, celebrating the outstanding contributions made by women entrepreneurs across various sectors despite ongoing social and economic challenges.

It is worth noting that this strategic cooperation between Palestine Bank and the Women Entrepreneurs Forum is a model of effective partnership between the banking sector and civil society institutions, emphasizing the importance of unifying efforts to support Palestinian women and enhance their role as a key partner in building a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable national economy.