Afnan Al-Zayani

Career

Al Zayani pursued a career in the family business and assumed leadership positions that culminated in her buying one of the family companies in 1999. She soon became involved in regional networks of businesswomen, chairing the Bahrain Businesswomen's Association from 2002 to 2004. She set an ambitious agenda for the Association, including teaching businesswomen to benefit from the Bahrain–United States Free Trade Agreement and supporting small-to-medium enterprises. In 2006, she founded the Middle East and North Africa Businesswomen's Network, a regional grouping of such organizations, with the assistance of the United States Department of State and the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative. She owns Al Zayani Commercial Services, a retailer of office equipment, and continues to serve on the Businesswomen's Association Board. From 2005 to 2013, she served as Chairwoman of the Businesswomen's Committee of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is one of the most prominent regional authors and TV personalities in the culinary field.