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Fez- Three Moroccan women were selected among Forbes’ 200 most powerful women in the Arab World in 2014 in the category “family business.”
The three powerful Moroccan women fare well as they occupy the first 50 spots of the most influential Arab women included in the list.
The first Moroccan woman on the list is Meriem Bensalah Chaqroun, who ranked 15th, followed by the CEO of Aksal Group, Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch, who ranked 18th and Nadia Kettani, Head of the the Casablanca-based International Law Firm Kettani, who ranked 49th. The three women were listed by Jeune Afriqe and other 5 Moroccan women as the most influential 25 African women of 2013.
Meriem Bensalah Chaqroun
An MBA graduate in International Managment and Finance from University of Dallas, Texas, USA, Meriem Bensalah Chaqroun was elected Wednesday, May 16, 2012 as President of the CGE M. She also directed for 23 years the mineral water companies Sidi Ali, Oulmes, and Bahia. She is the daughter of Abdelkader Bensalah, founder of the conglomerate Holmarcom.
Salwa Akhannouch
Head of Akwa Group, a distributor of petroleum products, Salwa Akhannouch is a prominent Moroccan businesswoman who heads the franchise group Aksal, founded in 2004. Her ambitious project, Morocco Mall, is the largest shopping center of Africa and the Middle East and in the world top five. Her father, the famous Berber businessman Ahmed Haj Belfiqih, made his fortune in the tea trade. She is married to Aziz Akhannouch, Minister of Agriculture.
Nadia Kettani
Since1992, Nadia Kettani has been a Partner, Co-Manager and the Head of the International Consulting Department at Kettani Law Firm in Casablanca, one of Morocco’s oldest and most prestigious law firms. Kettani Law Firm’s project and corporate finance experts have been involved in advising the $1.6 billion financing of projects at the port of Jorf Lasfar.
Gulf Women top the list
The list of the 200 most powerful Arab women is topped by United Arab Emirates’ Raja Easa El Gurg, Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group LLC. She is followed by Saudi Arabia’ Lubna Olayan, Vice Chairperson of the Board & CEO of Olayan Financing Company, and Bahrain’s Mona Almoayyed, Managing Director of Y K Almoayyed & Sons Group.
Forbes’ ranking was elaborated based on 7 criteria, namely the degree of power associated with the position, the years of professional experience, the family generation the individual belongs to, Individual’s media interaction and online presence, the number of years in operation, the number of countries in which the organization has operations, and the number of employees.
