Egypt, alongside the UAE, secured the most entries in this year’s Forbes Middle East’s 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen, scoring a total of 7 spots each against representatives from 19 different nationalities and 17 sectors.

Forbes ME described the women as leaders “holding some of the most challenging and important positions in MENA, as well as playing fundamental roles in making the Middle East a globally competitive marketplace.”

Leading the charge for Egyptian women on the list is EFG Hermes’ chairperson Mona Zulficar, who ranked 20th on the list overall, followed by Pakinam Kafafi TAQA Arabia’s CEO in 21st place.

The Orientals Group’s power siblings, Farida and Yasmine Khamis take 27th place together as Egypt’s “3rd” most powerful businesswomen.

Following the sisters were Cisco’s vice president of Middle East and Africa Reem Asaad (32), Commercial Bank of Kuwait’s CEO Elham Mahfouz (34), CEO of Integrated Diagnostics Holdings Hend El-Sherbini (36), and SAP’s head of Business Process Intelligence for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa Hoda Mansour (38).

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In Forbes ME’s 2021 list, Mahfouz led the charge in 16th place, followed by Zulficar in 17th, and Kafafi in 18th.

UAE-based Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group’s group managing director and vice chairperson Raja Easa Al Gurg maintained her top spot on the list, Landmark Group’s chair and CEO Renuka Jagtiani followed in 2nd place, with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) group CEO Hana Al Rostamani taking 3rd place.

Over 25% of the women on this year’s list are leaders of regional offices and divisions for multinational companies, with leaders in the banking and financial services sector dominating the list with 16 entries, diversified conglomerates and the retail sector with 6 entries each, and the technology sector with 5 entries.