PepsiCo, the global food and beverage company, launched Tamakani, a dedicated platform that aims to support and inspire generations of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The platform will help create opportunities and guidance for women with promising capabilities, provide support to realize aspirations, scale up innovative initiatives, and mentor Saudi women to realize their full potential. To launch Tamakani, PepsiCo partnered with Eggdancer Productions, the first production company in Saudi Arabia owned and managed by Saudi women - Dania Nassief and Danya Alhamrani, for a red-carpet screening of ‘RISE – The Journey of Women in Saudi Arabia' at VOX Cinemas in Jeddah. The documentary chronicles the changing social landscape of Saudi Arabia through remarkable stories of the most influential women in the past 50 years in the field of media, education, politics and sports. Drawing strength from their own culture and religion, the women featured in the documentary describe diverse ways in which they strive towards their unique potential. Some of the influencers who took part in the documentary are Muna AbuSulayman, Thuraya Obaid, Raha Moharrak, Dr. Fatima Nassief, Dr. Suad Juffali, Khairyah Abu Laban, Bayan Zahran, Somayya Jabarti, Dr. Samira Islam, and Dr. Lama Al-Sulaiman, to name a few. Speaking on the launch of Tamakani, Tamer Mosalam, GCC-Levant Foods Vice President and Business Unit General Manager, PepsiCo, said: "Empowering women and providing them with opportunities to thrive is a core component of PepsiCo's Winning with Purpose strategy. With the launch of Tamakani, we further our commitment to provide equal opportunities for empowerment and enablement for every member of the society to realize their full potential in the workforce and in society. By doing so, they contribute to the efforts made to support the ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030 and realizing the core pillars of the Kingdom's vision to achieve a thriving economy." Following the screening, Tamer Mosalam participated in a panel discussion on the role of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along with Lina Al Maeena, Dr. Thuraya Obaid and Khairiah Abulaban, the co-founders of Eggdancer Productions who are also key Saudi influencers. The discussion revolved around how women contribute to the economy, and the importance of empowering women to hold a stronger position in society, engaging men as advocates and the role of women in realizing Saudi Vision 2030. "We are proud to partner with PepsiCo and be part of Tamakani launch. Female empowerment is one of the key priorities for the Saudi government and through RISE we are fortunate to bring to life inspiring stories of influential women in the Kingdom," said Dania Nassief, Co-founder of Eggdancer Productions. The Tamakani platform will focus on a number of key areas - women in the workforce that will shed light on work-life balance, career growth, overcoming challenges; female empowerment to support and mentor younger generation of Saudi women to push boundaries and women of the future which will highlight women with influence that are shaping the future of the Kingdom. The initiative will also focus on engaging men as advocates who support women as co-workers and family members. PepsiCo hires women across all functions as managers, engineers and on the frontlines, where they work on a specifically developed ladies-only packaging line, called the ‘Pink Line' in the plants, with many more working throughout PepsiCo's offices, warehouses and facilities in the Kingdom. In addition, the company launched the region's first Million Women Mentors® chapter in Riyadh, a global movement designed to support the engagement of millions of STEM mentors, both male and female, in order to increase the interest and confidence of girls and women to persist and succeed in STEM programs and careers. — SG
