PepsiCo brought together notable female leaders for a roundtable discussion titled “Women as Agents of Social Change: Inspirational Stories of Women in Social Responsibility” at the 10th annual CSR Summit in Dubai. By capturing stories of struggle and success and fostering dialogue about how women can drive sustainable social change in the Middle East, PepsiCo illustrated the humanity behind CSR initiatives.

PepsiCo hosted female change agents at the roundtable, including Sahar Madani, founder of Women Empowerment Group (WE Group), president of the Diplomatic Ladies Group in the UAE and abaya fashion designer; Sara Dajani, Fulbright grant scholar working on building a socially-conscious business model in the agro-food sector; Rana Chmaitelly, founder of the Little Engineer, an edutainment center geared toward engaging youth in pre-engineering skills. The Little Engineer was recognized as one of the fastest growing companies to watch in the Arabia 5000.

Others were Maya Karanouh, CEO of TAGbrands and co-founder of MENA Design Research Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to design research and social change in MENA; Rawan Barakat, founder of Raneen, a non-profit organization aimed at creating audio drama stories for blind children between the ages of 5 and 16 years. Barakat dedicates her time to ensuring that special needs children are able to get the education they need to be included in cultural life.

Sahar Nasr, lead economist in the World Bank's Finance and Private Sector Development for MENA was one other speaker. Nasr is an advocate for social entrepreneurship and microfinance in Egypt.

“People are at the core of any CSR initiative, and PepsiCo recognizes that women play a critical role in driving social change and development,” said PepsiCo’s Asia, Middle East and Africa CEO Saad Abdul-Latif."