Foreign Ministry Backs Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking on Monday at the International Women’s Leadership Conference titled “Naghsh-e Jahan, Naghsh-e Zanan” (The Role of Women in the World’s Design), hosted by the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce, Zahra Ershadi praised the resilience and global contributions of Iranian businesswomen.

“Despite unjust sanctions, Iranian women entrepreneurs have played a key role in presenting the country’s economic and cultural potential to the international community,” she said.

Ershadi added that if the activities of these women are systematically guided within the framework of national economic strategies, they can significantly accelerate the country’s development.

She emphasized the importance of cooperation between government institutions and the private sector to transform this vital potential into sustainable economic growth, stating:

“Expanding Iran’s global economic relations is impossible without engaging half of the country’s population — women.”

Ershadi noted that in the past decade, women have made remarkable progress in higher education, in knowledge-based enterprises, and in the private sector, calling these achievements “a promising sign for the nation’s future.”

“Sanctions have not stopped the determination of creative Iranian women,” she added. “They have continued to shine in driving economic dynamism.”

She stressed that facilitating women’s participation across sectors is a core strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is committed to creating supportive mechanisms for women in diplomacy, trade, and international cooperation.

At the same conference, Zahra Khodadadi, head of the Parliamentary Women and Family Caucus, announced that the Seventh National Development Plan sets a target of 25% growth in women’s job skills, to be pursued through comprehensive training in marketing and modern digital technologies.

Khodadadi stated that expanding innovation infrastructure for women and families will make business activities more flexible and inclusive.

“We need to create mother-and-child innovation centers where women can balance family responsibilities with economic and social participation,” she explained.

She underlined that economic and social resilience requires a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach, involving both government and private institutions.

The lawmaker noted that women entrepreneurs operating in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have proven their ability to achieve maximum efficiency with limited resources.

“Women have always turned challenges into opportunities,” Khodadadi said. “Through creativity and entrepreneurship, they have contributed meaningfully to the national economy.”

She added that Iranian women have created new income models through local businesses, and are playing visible roles in fields such as digital health, green technology, sustainable agriculture, and the knowledge-based economy.

In macroeconomic policymaking, she said, women’s role in strengthening economic resilience is being emphasized. Achieving tangible results from this strategy, however, requires production networking and participation in economic consortiums.

“Women entrepreneurs are at the forefront of promoting a human-centered economy, contributing to national identity, innovation, and social participation,” Khodadadi remarked.

She added that women often excel during critical economic moments, and stressed that establishing fair mechanisms to develop and simplify women’s entrepreneurship, along with revising related laws, is now a legislative priority.

The event, focused on women’s roles in economic resilience and reconstruction, brought together Iranian and international women entrepreneurs at the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce. “Foreign Ministry”

Highlights included the unveiling of the National Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs, several economic-focused expert panels, and honoring distinguished women business leaders.

According to officials, during the first half of this year, more than 64,000 electronic business license applications were submitted in Isfahan Province — a sign of the growing participation of women in Iran’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.