Doha, Qatar – 15 October 2014: Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) Q.S.C., one of the leading petrochemical powerhouses in the region and a pioneer in petrochemical production, will sponsor the 5th edition of Qatar International Businesswomen Forum (QIBWF), taking place on the 8th and 9th of December 2014 at the St Regis in Doha.
On the occasion, Dr. Al Mulla highlighted the pivotal role played by women in Qatar’s economy and mentioned, “As the fastest growing segment of Qatar’s workforce, women are a strategic priority for employment. We are reaching out further than ever to support our current employees and to provide stimulating opportunities for women to succeed at QAPCO. Our sponsorship of the Qatar International Business Women Forum is part of our efforts to empower women within our organization.”
Dr. Al Mulla added, “Our objective is to ensure that women at QAPCO are well equipped with the tools and skills to reach their aspirations, to excel professionally as well as socially. As a valuable knowledge sharing and networking platform, I believe the QIBWF will inspire, encourage and support a promising new generation of women in business.”
“QIBWF 2014 will address through discussions and workshops the economic and social roles of women and how they will be impacted by ongoing developments in the region. The forum will also cover a wide range of topics such as leadership, entrepreneurship, management, finance, culture and social issues while paying a tribute to the past and current achievements made by businesswomen in Qatar and the Arab world” said Ahmed Yaseen Al Hammadi, Public Affairs and Communications Department Manager at QAPCO.
“We are delighted to welcome QAPCO on board as our sponsor for the 5th edition of the Qatar International Businesswomen Forum,” said Aisha Alfardan, Vice Chairwoman of the Qatari Businesswomen Association. “Such support of one of the leading petrochemical powerhouses in the region and a pioneer in petrochemical production to the Forum is certainly a huge acknowledgement of the growing significance of the role that women play in business and economic development. This only serves to encourage us to achieve even more and further increase our numbers within the ranks of tomorrow’s business leaders”.
“We are indeed grateful for this support from the public and private sector of Qatar, particularly the oil and gas industry,” she added. “With the confirmation of QAPCO’s sponsorship, we are confident that more companies will follow and support the Forum as well.”
Overall, the QIBWF 2014 aims to mobilize businesswomen and allow them to play an effective role in meeting and overcoming regional and international economic challenges, and in building new foundations for the economy of the future.
QAPCO is committed to providing an innovative and outstanding learning environment for all by fostering personal development and by creating a community and shared activities for the women working at QAPCO. As such, QAPCO established the Ladies Women Group. As evidence of QAPCO’s ongoing support to its female workforce, since 2010, the number of women employed at QAPCO has increased by 72%. QAPCO’s ambition is to remain an employer of choice in Qatar, always striving to exceed the expectations of its employees, by supporting their success professionally and socially.
QAPCO also regularly engages with its educational partners such as Community College Qatar and College of the North Atlantic Qatar to empower the younger generation of women in Qatar. Together with those institutions QAPCO sponsored a pair of seminars on leadership for female students. Those workshops served as a platform for young, ambitious women to learn important leadership skills and discover how to best achieve their career goals.
For his part, Mr Raed Chehaib, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Business Network echoed the importance of QAPCO’s support to the Forum. “The increasing role of today’s women achievers in a wide range of business sectors, including oil and gas, is a result of their conscious effort towards the further development of their knowledge and skills. We are thankful for the support and sponsorship of QAPCO as this enables us to work closely with the private sector in achieving this objective,” he said. “As formal education at schools and universities provide them with the fundamental tools necessary to pursue their careers, it is platforms such as this Forum that serve to further enlighten women about their huge potential to effect positive change in society” he concluded.
About QAPCO: QAPCO is a Qatar-based company established in 1974 and is a joint venture between Industries Qatar (80%) and Total Petrochemicals (20%). The company is one of the largest producers of low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the region besides producing ethylene, sulphur and other petrochemical products. QAPCO is involved in a number of joint ventures that include QATOFIN, QVC, and QPPC, making QAPCO a regional petrochemical powerhouse.
LDPE is considered as the most widely used type of plastic, offering innovative solutions and applications such as food packaging, agricultural films, toys, cables and playing a key role in the development of green building solutions. LDPE enriches our everyday life, making it more practical, safer, lighter and better.The LDPE produced by QAPCO is a high quality food-contact safe grade polymer and complies with local, EU and U.S. FDA standards related to food packaging safety.