London event to empower female Kurdish entrepreneurs

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish House London (KHL), a loose collaboration of Kurdish entrepreneurs in the English capital, will organize a special workshop on Sept. 19 for female businesspersons, whether well-established or just starting their careers.

The event, “Empowering Kurdish Women into Business,” aims to encourage female Kurdish entrepreneurs to take advantage of all resources available to them.

“We will be hearing from Kurdish female founders who will reveal what helped them build momentum for their business ideas,” read a statement.

KHL’s event organizer Zey Binboga told Kurdistan 24 there is a real need to promote Kurdish female entrepreneurs by giving an example of a previous event that celebrated six Kurdish entrepreneurs being accepted to a 9-month long business incubation program.

“That’s fantastic- it’s 30 percent of the cohort. But they are all men!” she exclaimed.

“We have to do something to encourage more Kurdish women to channel their innate strengths and courage into starting and running good businesses.”  

According to the group, Kurds all too commonly “come from communities where women are taught to play a submissive, supporting role. Often we are not instilled with the confidence and self-assurance needed to succeed in business and to make our idea and our dreams a reality.”

Therefore, KHL will present “Kurdish female founders who will reveal some of the tips and tools that helped them build momentum for their business ideas,” at the event. 

KHL launched in 2016 as a social enterprise supporting anyone from a Kurdish background in starting a business. It is located in London’s bustling King’s Cross district and strives to link “entrepreneurially spirited Kurds with the skills, funding and through a network of Kurds, to develop their ideas.”

It organizes networking and business events and mentoring for Kurdish start-ups, including support in preparing business plans and effective pitching strategies to get access to financing.

Promotional material for the event continued, “It’s time for more women in our community to show that they are multifaceted. Unless it is out of our own choice, let’s not see managing households and family as having to fill all our time. We can make our ideas happen and create waves in society through innovation.”

Past KHL workshops include, “Creating New Roots,” “The Possibility Mindset,” “How to Create a Game Changing Team to Make an Impact,” and “Financing Your Bright Idea.”

Editing by John J. Catherine