Prime Highlights 

• Executive Tea Club expands to Dubai and Bahrain, connecting Portuguese businesswomen with Middle East leaders.  

• The network has grown from 28 to over 530 members in three years.  

Key Facts 

• Executive Tea Club is a Portuguese women’s business networking community founded three years ago.  

• The club launched a bilingual app in June to help members connect and share opportunities.  

Background 

Portuguese female business executives have formed a business networking group in the Middle East called the Executive Tea Club, which currently boasts more than 500 members. This network organization has spread its wings to Dubai and Bahrain as well. 

The Executive Tea Club connects Portuguese businesswomen with established leaders in the Middle East, supports the international growth of Portuguese companies, and promotes partnerships across new markets. Co-founder Raquel Mota Pinto explained that the club’s ambassadors in Dubai and Bahrain have helped build stronger local networks and connections in each market. 

Mota Pinto said the two markets reflected a mindset built on ambition, openness and creativity, describing them as cosmopolitan and multicultural, with a strong presence of expatriate businesswomen. 

Founded three years ago with 28 executives, the network has grown to more than 530 members following over 50 sessions. Its members include board directors, CEOs, consultants and professionals from sectors such as finance, technology, healthcare and law. The club currently operates in three Portuguese districts and plans to expand further across the country. 

In June, to mark its third anniversary, the club launched a bilingual mobile app that lets members connect remotely, share business opportunities and access a digital resource library. 

Mota Pinto noted that female representation on the boards of listed Portuguese companies had more than doubled over the past eight years, reaching nearly 37%, though challenges such as pay gaps and work-life balance issues persist.