Forbes list: Nine from Oman in top 100

Nine women from Oman have made it to the Forbes Middle East’s 100 Power Businesswomen in the 2020 list. With the strong show by Omani women, the sultanate is placed second in in the number of representations from a country.

Hind Bahwan, founder and chairperson, Bahwan CyberTek Group, leads the race with 29th rank. She is followed by Areej Mohsin Darwish and Lujaina Mohsin Darwish, chairperson and deputy chairperson respectively of Mohsin Haider Darwish at 34th. Devaki Khimji, managing director, Al Tasnim Group, with 44th rank, makes it to the top 50.

Amal Suhail Bahwan, vice chairperson, Suhail Bahwan Group Holding, is ranked 51st, followed by Sayyida Rawan al Said, CEO, Takaful Oman Insurance and chairperson, NBO at 61st, Sharifa al Harthy, vice chairperson, MB Holding at 64th, Salma Nasser al Maawali, CEO, FriENDi mobile Oman at 83rd and Huda al Lawati, partner, Gateway Partners at 85th position.

Most of the women on the list have been working their way up a steep career ladder for decades to reach the top. In the 2020 list, there are 22 new entries and 23 nationalities represented across 28 sectors.

Emiratis are the most prevalent nationality with 23 entries. There are also nine Egyptians, nine Omanis and eight Lebanese women. British women have the highest representation among non-Arabs with seven entries.

The top 10 list is dominated by Saudis, with three of the country’s biggest names in the top five: Samba Financial Group’s Rania Nashar, Tadawul’s Sarah al Suhaimi and Saudi British Bank’s Lubna Olayan.

The list was prepared via nominations and through research based on criteria including the size of the businesses that they head, their accomplishments over the last year, the initiatives they champion and their overall work experience. ‘The majority (79) of the 100 women are self-made, 16 of whom have started their own businesses. And 21 women work in their family businesses, with many of them starting out when it was rare to find women in workplace. There are 21 women from the banking and financial services sector, including four from stock exchanges and financial regulators,’ the magazine stated.

The public sector is also well represented, with 13 women on the list heading government organisations, including director general of Smart Dubai, Aisha bin Bishr, who is overseeing Dubai’s digital transformation and Sarah al Suhaimi who chairs Tadawul, the region’s biggest stock exchange, which recently handled the IPO of the world’s most valuable company, Aramco. “These Arab women are not only driving economic growth in the region, but they are also representatives of the Middle East’s strong female leadership and are an influence across all areas of life from e-commerce to financial services,” said Khuloud al Omian, editor-in-chief of Forbes Middle East.

Most of the women have been working their way up a steep career ladder for decades