Dubai: The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) has been a great facilitator of small and medium businesses (SMEs) that form the backbone of Dubai's economy.
Laila Suhail, chief executive of DSF, elaborated on the event's contribution to empowering women and promoting entrepreneurship in the emirate, in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:
Gulf News: How did the DSF assist Emirati women entrepreneurs in setting up and expanding small businesses? Is it successful?
Laila Suhail: Since its inception back in 1996, DSF has always been a platform for creative initiatives due to its colourful and diversified nature of events. We had always made it a point to organise events that cater to women and teenage girls who want to depend on themselves and fulfill their ambitions. This segment of the community has always struggled to showcase its talents and we at Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) gave many the chance to do so through our events in DSF and DSS (Dubai Summer Surprises) too; whether their talents were in fashion, art, cooking or many others we always created events to embrace them, such as "House of Talents", "Creations", "Sheila and Abaya", "Art Oasis", "Food Festival", "Min Biladi".
What is the profile of Emirati women entrepreneurs who started their businesses through DSF?
I don't think that there is a certain profile that we can mould all Emirati women entrepreneurs in, but we have mainly noticed that the Emirati women who start their businesses during our events are always eager to prove themselves, not afraid to learn, very hard working with great determination; we simply support them in the beginning and then they continue on their own.
How many women entrepreneurs got off the ground through DSF? And what are the most common activities in which they are engaged?
We don't have a specific figure for participants due to the vast number of people who participate every year in hundreds of DSF events, but they mainly engage themselves in fashion, heritage and culinary events.
What is their motivation to enter into business? Is it a hobby, additional income, experience, or planning to grow up in business?
I have to say that many of our success stories started as a hobby first, just wanting to prove that they can fulfil their talents, but once they start feeling the success they take their talents further to develop their skills and take it more seriously. Most DSF visitors are multinational, and to be able to draw attention with your work by such audience, that itself is a rewarding experience.
Also, many Emirati women view some of our events as the perfect platform to start their own businesses and gain additional income by doing something that they genuinely like; they keep coming back to DSF. So, whatever the drive, they can always reach their goals through DSF.
To what extent women could entrepreneurs help support the family and enhance the UAE economy?
UAE women are very lucky; we live in a country where all doors are open for us to achieve and reach beyond our goals; hence, we find that women entrepreneurs constitute an integral part of the UAE community fabric, they are pivotal in supporting their families and the economy overall.
So instead of being a burden on the country and on their families, Emirati women are known for their courage and their drive towards accomplishing their visions, setting an example for others and creating a workforce that is not to be underestimated at all. We do have many examples in the country of many Emirati women who started from nothing and have reached high ranks in terms of business and leadership.
