Business | General
Businesswomen scoop awards in Oman
Visually impaired Briton gives inspirational speech about how she overcame obstacles to achieve success.
- By Sunil K. Vaidya, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:01 March 16, 2008
Muscat: A visually impaired British woman entrepre-neur advised delegates to embrace failure and love fear on the opening day of the two-day 'Women in Business Conference' on Saturday at the Muscat Inter-Continental Hotel.
Speaking at the annual event, Elizabeth Jackson, who lost her sight due to retinitis pimentos, a severe eye disorder, urged the large number of women delegates from different parts of the world to never give up.
Her extraordinary success story moved everyone as she talked about the success of her venture - Great Guns Telemarketing business.
She said: "Embrace failure, love it, listen to it, make it a friend, learn from it and treat it as a real asset."
"Governments in most Arab countries offer a dynamic environment for the career development of women and in expanding opportunities for women to a wider range of professions," said Huda Abdullah Al Habsi, director of marketing and product development at the Omantel.
Sayyida Alia Bint Thuwaini Al Said was guest of honour on opening day, which was also attended by Dr Rajiha Bint Abd Al Amir Bin Ali, Minister of Tourism.
Later in the evening, Khalil Abdullah Mohammad Al Khonji, chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended the awards ceremony.
The ceremony highlighted the top finalists, all vying for the title of "Businesswomen of the Year", and was a highly scrutinised competition taking into account all aspects of the business, such as profit, loss, operational procedures and marketing.
Bahrain's Huda Janahi was given the GCC Entrepreneur award while the Oman Young Entrepreneur Award went to Khaija Al Lamki. Faiz Abdul Aziz was adjudged the Executive of Year in Oman.
"We are ecstatic with the outcome of the conference this year," said Salma Al Hashemi, managing director of Eventscom, which organised the conference.
"Our speakers were enigmatic and captured the attention of their audience, and the feedback we have received from attendees is very positive," she added.
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