21–22 October 2025, Cairo, Egypt

Women across the MENA region are central to food systems as producers, processors, innovators, and knowledge holders. Yet, entrenched barriers continue to restrict their full participation in agro-food value chains. These include limited access to land and finance, poor representation in cooperatives and decision-making structures, exclusion from innovation ecosystems, and gender-blind agricultural policies.

At a time when Mediterranean countries face converging crises—from climate volatility to food insecurity and youth unemployment—women-led innovation holds the potential to transform agro-food systems and drive sustainable development.

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), with the financial support of AECID (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo) and in collaboration with CIHEAM, FAO-NENA Regional Office, and the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EI/AUC Egypt), is organizing a two-day Stakeholder Dialogue and Training Workshop in Cairo on 21–22 October 2025. This gathering is a milestone in co-designing a Regional Agenda on Innovation for Women Entrepreneurs in Agro-Food Value Chains.

The objectives of this event are to strengthen entrepreneurial and innovation skills tailored to women in agro-food value chains, to share gender-sensitive technologies and climate-smart solutions, to build a network of women entrepreneurs, incubators, researchers, and financial actors across the region, and to facilitate policy dialogue to shape a Regional Innovation Agenda for women in agro-food.

The programme includes capacity-building workshops on 21–22 October, training 30–40 women entrepreneurs and cooperative leaders from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia on innovation-driven approaches, business modeling, access to finance, and policy engagement. On 22 October, a stakeholder dialogue will bring together 60–80 key regional actors—including UN agencies, donors, financial institutions, civil society, and academia—for a half-day consultation to co-develop priorities for a Regional Innovation Agenda.

Discussions will focus on inclusive innovation ecosystems, access to finance and infrastructure, enabling policies and institutions, and women’s leadership and collective action. The expected outcomes include a draft framework for a Regional Innovation Agenda, enhanced regional collaboration, and concrete commitments to empower women entrepreneurs in agro-food systems.

This Dialogue aims to unleash women’s potential as innovators, business leaders, and investors, ensuring they are fully integrated into building resilient and sustainable food systems in the MENA region.