Riyadh is set to host more than 3,000 participants and 250 speakers at the Women Shaping Wealth Summit 2026, a two-day gathering focused on capital, investment, entrepreneurship and the growing economic influence of women across the Middle East and globally.

Organised by women’s leadership and career development platform PLAYBOOK, the summit will take place on September 28–29, 2026, bringing investors, founders, executives, policymakers and innovators together in the Saudi capital.

Rather than approaching women’s economic participation primarily through the lens of financial inclusion, the event is designed around a broader question: how women are increasingly creating, owning, investing and influencing capital.

The programme will combine discussions on investment and leadership with direct opportunities for founders to meet investors, including a Live Demo Day, startup showcases, curated networking, mentorship sessions and partnership opportunities.

“Women today are founders, investors, executives, policymakers and decision-makers influencing where capital goes and what it builds,” said Wafa Al Obaidat, Founder of PLAYBOOK. She said the summit aims to convert those conversations into access, relationships and measurable opportunities.

Three Tracks Explore Capital, Wellbeing and Influence

Women Shaping Wealth will organise its programme around three content tracks addressing different dimensions of wealth and economic influence.

Money in Motion will focus on finance, entrepreneurship and capital, while Wealth in Wellbeing will examine the connection between health, longevity, performance and economic value. The third track, Power in Networks, will explore leadership, influence and policy.

The structure reflects an attempt to broaden the traditional discussion around women’s financial participation by looking at how economic influence is created through business ownership, investment decisions, professional networks and leadership positions.

Among the prominent participants will be HRH Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, who is scheduled to deliver virtual opening remarks.

She will be joined by regional and international figures from investment, government, business, entrepreneurship and innovation during the two-day programme.

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Female Founders to Pitch Investors at Live Demo Day

Beyond its main-stage programme, the summit will create several formats intended to produce direct business and investment connections.

A dedicated Live Demo Day will connect female founders with investors, while startup and founder showcases will give entrepreneurs additional opportunities to present their businesses.

The summit will also feature curated speed networking, mentorship and peer sessions designed to connect participants according to their professional and investment interests.

For founders, those formats could make the event more commercially relevant than a conventional leadership conference. Access to investors, mentors and potential partners can be particularly important for entrepreneurs seeking capital or market connections across the GCC.

“We don’t want people to leave Riyadh simply feeling inspired,” Al Obaidat said. “We want them to leave with a new investor connection, a business opportunity, a mentor, a partnership, a commitment or a clearer path towards building and deploying wealth.”

Summit Seeks Measurable Commitments Beyond the Event

PLAYBOOK is also introducing a Pledges for Progress platform through which participating leaders and organisations can make measurable commitments that will be followed up after the summit.

The event will provide space for strategic partnerships and memorandum of understanding (MOU) signings, with the aim of translating discussions into documented initiatives and longer-term collaborations.

That focus on measurable outcomes comes as women’s economic participation across the GCC increasingly extends beyond employment into entrepreneurship, investment, corporate boards and policymaking.

For PLAYBOOK, the summit builds on its existing work across the region through financial education, leadership programmes, networking and investment-focused experiences.

The platform provides women with access to knowledge, mentorship, professional networks and opportunities through its digital community, programmes, events and partnerships.

Riyadh Becomes Meeting Point for Women, Capital and Entrepreneurship

Choosing Riyadh places the summit within one of the region’s rapidly developing investment and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation has created a growing concentration of investors, companies, founders and technology businesses in the capital, while women’s participation across the Kingdom’s business landscape has also become an increasingly visible part of that transformation.

Women Shaping Wealth aims to use that environment to connect participants from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the wider GCC with an international community of investors, executives and entrepreneurs.

The event’s emphasis on capital also reflects a changing conversation around women’s economic influence. Participation in the workforce remains important, but the summit is looking further along the economic value chain toward who starts companies, allocates investment, joins boards, shapes policy and builds influential professional networks.

For PLAYBOOK, success will therefore be measured not only by the more than 3,000 people expected to attend, but by the investment relationships, partnerships and commitments that emerge after they leave Riyadh.