Doha Abdelkhaleq is the co-founder, owner and executive partner of Eskadenia, which is one of Jordan’s biggest software companies. She founded the company with her husband in 2000, after having worked together for Ericsson in Shanghai, Stockholm, Beirut, and Beijing. Her company exports products in the Gulf region but also across Europe. From the start, they had a vision, she says: “We have been ambitious from day one, this is a company that has been established in Jordan with the objectives of being an international exporter of IT solutions products”. In 2015, Eskadenia was awarded “One of the best 20 companies to work for in Jordan”.
Before being a business woman, Doha is actually a trained lawyer, she studied at the London School of Economics.
She has been involved in women empowerment activities for many years now. In 2014, she launched Because I Care, which is a women networking portal. It’s also a non-profit website that links women with volunteering opportunities. Before that, in 2013, Eskadenia was accredited with the Gender Equity Seal thanks to their implementation of the concept in their workplace. Some 30 percent of the company’s 200 employees are women.
She wished for women to study more computer sciences, she says: “the retention in the IT sector is higher among women as most males end up going to Dubai for better job opportunities. “That’s our biggest challenge. We need to push women more into sciences.” She adds: “I think if you have the right competency and skills at the right time, then you can make it. I don’t think being a woman is a disadvantage … The good thing about business is that the rules are known to everyone. It is about how you develop your chances, how you serve your clients, employees, and produce good products, I work hard and do get along; that is my recipe”.
