Kuwait Financial Centre Leverages Investment Expertise to Evaluate Projects Led by Female Entrepreneurs

The Kuwait Financial Centre (“Markaz”) concluded its participation in the “Women Create Wealth 2026” Summit, held on September 28 and 29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dina Al-Rafai, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Wealth Management and Business Development at “Markaz,” participated as a judge in the “Live Pitch Day” panel. The “Markaz” women’s delegation at the summit also included Rasha Osman, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Investment Banking (Capital Markets and Fixed Income); Sandus Saad, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications; and Lisa Amin, Head of European Real Estate Business Development within the International Real Estate division.

The summit featured a two-day live pitch program that brought together female entrepreneurs with angel investors, venture capital firm representatives, and key investment decision-makers. The program enabled participating projects to present their business models to the judging panel and receive direct feedback from investors regarding development opportunities and the requirements necessary to attract funding.

“Markaz’s” contribution to the competition judging was based on its extensive experience in wealth management and investment opportunity evaluation, including assessing the clarity of the business model and its alignment with market needs, growth potential, the ability to build sustainable value, and the entrepreneur’s readiness to secure appropriate financing.

On this occasion, Al-Rafai clarified that “innovation is the starting point for any promising venture; however, transforming an idea into an investment-attractive project requires a clear business model, a precise understanding of the market, genuine growth potential, and a compelling path to building sustainable value. ‘Live Pitch Day’ allowed us to closely observe projects led by female entrepreneurs and evaluate their ability to address real needs in wealth management, investment, and financial services.”

She added: “Financial institutions and investors can play a crucial role in helping promising ventures attract capital by clarifying what investors seek and translating evaluation criteria into actionable feedback. This type of guidance helps female entrepreneurs refine their business models, identify areas requiring further work, and build the capabilities needed for the next stage of growth. At ‘Markaz,’ we were keen to leverage our deep expertise in wealth management and investment opportunity evaluation to provide maximum support to the participating female entrepreneurs.”

“Markaz’s” participation in the summit is an extension of its role in regional platforms that bring together entrepreneurs, investors, and sector experts. At the “MoneyTech 2025” conference, “Markaz” participated as a strategic partner for the fourth consecutive year, while Professor Dina Al-Rafai spoke in a session discussing the needs of the new generation of founders and investors, and the transformations reshaping wealth management. Additionally, “Markaz” sponsored the “GCC Connect: E2I – Kuwait 2026” forum at the Gold level, contributing to enriching discussions on startup financing, innovation ecosystem development, and strengthening links between entrepreneurs, capital sources, and expertise.

Through its presence at these and other platforms, “Markaz” continues to enhance investment dialogues with its practical expertise, assist promising ventures in understanding market and investor requirements, and contribute to elevating business models in Kuwait and the region, as well as their capacity for growth and creating sustainable value.