After a long journey from NYC toKabul, I found out that I had to leave at 6am in the morning to Dahka with 10 other business women fromKabul. It was an exciting trip that I have been waiting for. So I forgot about my jetlag and tiredness as this trip could help us to reach our goal to work in Central and South of Asia. I would have the chance to meet with women entrepreneurs and thought leaders from 11 different countries.
I had the chance before to go to different conferences through NATO, USAID and some Governments. This time, the U.S. Department of State was hosting the South Asia Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium in Dhaka, Bangladesh that invited 122 women from different private sectors, governments, businesses and associations in support of the New Silk Road vision of enhancing regional economic integration and advancing economic growth, peace, and stability.
This symposium was for three days, from December 8th to 11th, in Dahka. We arrived at 6pm at the airport and it was exciting for us to see the city and meet with people. But unfortunately, there was a strike in the streets so we were not allowed to leave the hotel.
Bangladesh is a country in South Asia bordered by India and Burma. It’s the world’s eighth most populated country. It was interesting for me to see Dhaka, the largest city in Bangladesh. I heard that Bangladesh, like Afghanistan, faces a number of major changes like poverty, corruption, over population, and vulnerability to climate change. But Bangladesh had some positive progress in the Human Development index, reduced the population growth and improved maternal and child health. Francesco Rulli believes that Bangladesh can be the second country to work on after Afghanistanin Central andSouth Asia.
This symposium was hold in the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel and invited 120 leaders and women entrepreneurs from South Asia. It was focused on several topics like empowerment through entrepreneurship and trade, the role of women in technology and economic development and factors that create an enabling environment for women’s entrepreneurship and governance.
But the key topic which caught my attention was the role of women in technology and economic development. Francesco Rulli’s projects in Afghanistanand vision to extend them to Central and South Asiais related to the empowerment of women through social media and the growth of educational skills .
Francesco Rulli said about targeting marking: “Digital media is a way to communicate, just like language and traditions. It takes discipline and education.”
He runs Film Annex, a successful online professional film distribution network with over 50 million unique viewers per month and hundreds of thousands of registered users. He proved and showed with his creative idea how he could make a successful business model in digital media within a few years. As he says, “critical thinking is fundamental to entrepreneurship and success”. That’s right Mr. Rulli, you are the example of that.
Working with Film Annex brings a lot of opportunity for Afghan students and female bloggers. So far, our web channel Afghan Development has 3.7 million viewers, has connected 7 schools to the internet and provided social media tools for 30,000 students who have access to our Examer Educational software. Now, Francesco Rulli and I plan through Citadel of NYC to extend the program to all Central and South Asian countries. We want to give the chance to female filmmakers and students in Afghanistan and Central and South Asia to use Film Annex’s technology to monetize their blogs and documentaries, promote their work and ideas and have access to the Examer. It would help them to promote and sponsor them financially. Francesco Rulli says that digital media defines many forms of information and communication. He believes that the quality of videos and articles matches his vision to educate the youth of Central and South of Asia.
This symposium gave me the chance to meet incredible women who work in different sectors and are interested in our technology and power of social media in their country. The goal of the symposium is to build stronger economic ties in South and Central Asia and connect women entrepreneurs together.
I would like thank Ambassador Verveer and her team for their leadership and for organizing such a successful symposium to enhance women’s businesses and bring peace and stability.
Roya Mahboob
