The inaugural Women Shaping Wealth Summit opened in Riyadh on Monday, bringing together more than 3,000 investors, founders, executives and business leaders from across the Gulf, the wider Arab world and international markets for two days of dialogue, investment and connection around one of the most significant shifts in the global economy: the growing influence of women over capital, investment and wealth.
Organized by PLAYBOOK, a leading wealth tech platform for women, the Summit is hosted by H.E. Deemah Al Yahya, Chairwoman of the Advisory Board of Women Spark, an angel investment network backing women-led ventures and now part of PLAYBOOK.
The Summit is being held in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia through Invest Saudi, at The Garage at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), bringing together women shaping businesses, deploying capital, building investment portfolios and influencing the institutions defining the future of regional and global markets.
PLAYBOOK’s ecosystem is built around four pillars; knowledge, networks, capital and opportunity and today connects more than 11,000 members across 120 countries. The platform has facilitated more than 800 speaking opportunities and 150 workshops across the Middle East and North Africa, while Women Spark has funded more than 20 startups.
“Over the next decade, more women will control more capital than any generation before them. The question is whether they will be in the rooms where it gets deployed,” said H.E. Deemah Al Yahya. “Riyadh has become a financial capital of the region; a place where Gulf, international and emerging-market capital increasingly converge. Bringing this conversation here puts women at the center of where those decisions are being made.”
Sara Al Sayed, Senior Executive Advisor to the Minister of Investment, delivered the opening address on behalf of the Ministry of Investment. The Ministry further highlighted the investment potential emerging across Saudi Arabia’s growth sectors and regions through a curated panel discussion focused on the evolving investment landscape.
For Wafa Al Obaidat, Founder and CEO of PLAYBOOK, who co-founded the company alongside Shreya Rammohan, Nada Darwish and Ismahan AlSaad, the Summit represents the evolution of a platform created to give women greater access to the conversations, networks and opportunities surrounding wealth.
“I realized there was another world happening right next door,” said Al Obaidat. “So we set out to create that third space for women. Women are earning more, building more, investing more and taking greater ownership of their financial futures. We wanted to create a room that brings the right people together around that moment.” She added: “Women Shaping Wealth will become an annual experience. Our ambition is to build it into one of the defining gatherings for women and wealth in the region.”
A Global Shift in Wealth and Capital
The Summit comes at a pivotal moment for women’s economic influence. Women are expected to control an increasingly significant share of global wealth over the coming decade. In the United States alone, McKinsey estimates that women could control much of the approximately US$30 trillion in financial assets expected to change hands by 2030.
This transfer represents more than a shift in ownership. It is creating new opportunities for women to play a greater role in how capital is allocated; from investing in startups and funds to building businesses, managing family wealth and leading the institutions shaping global markets.
Reflecting the international scale of this conversation, the inaugural Women Shaping Wealth Summit features 240 speakers representing more than 20 countries.
Regional and international voices participating in the Summit include Rama Chakaki of Qatar Science & Technology Park, Amal Dokhan of 500 Global, Afnan Ababtain of the Ministry of Investment, and impact and development leader Muna AbuSulayman, alongside investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers and executives from across the global financial and business ecosystem.
From Understanding Wealth to Deploying It
The two-day programme is designed to move the conversation from understanding wealth to actively shaping and deploying it.
The Summit opens with The Wealth Shift, exploring the changing relationship between women, money, power and opportunity, before moving into From Capital to Intentional Investing, addressing capital allocation, investment strategy, governance and legacy.
Across the two days, more than 80 sessions and 12 workshops are taking place across three stages, structured around the Summit’s three core themes:
- Money in Motion explores investment, entrepreneurship, capital and financial opportunity.
- Power in Networks examines the relationships, communities and connections that influence access, leadership and growth.
- Wealth in Wellbeing considers health, longevity and personal wellbeing as essential components of sustainable wealth and success.
- Investment is also being translated into direct opportunity through the Summit’s Power Pitch stage, where 39 women-led startups are presenting their businesses to investors and industry leaders.
An Ecosystem Built Around Investment and Opportunity
The Women Shaping Wealth Summit is supported by Strategic Partners including the Ministry of Investment through Invest Saudi, UBS, Range Rover and Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB).
Additional strategic partners include Vista Equity Partners, Floward, Tarmeez Capital, Vennre, FinBursa, Alpaca, BALINCA, AlHashimi Pearls, Strategy&, the World Bank Group and Andersen.
The Summit is further supported by more than 100 ecosystem, gifting and learning partners, with The Garage at KACST serving as Venue Partner.
