Grabbing opportunities

Forsa has given women in the UAE a voice, and financial might, to make their presence felt in the world of business.

In 2007, investments by women in the GCC reached a record Dh42 billion. This investment comprised approximately 12 per cent of current deposits in Gulf banks, while almost 20 per cent of mutual fund investments were from women.

In addition, it is reported that the UAE has more than 11,000 businesswomen managing investments worth more than $4 billion (about Dh14.6 billion). However, given Dubai's tremendous economic growth, Dubai World – Dubai's flag bearer in global investments – held the belief that this number could be improved.

In January 2007, Dubai World established Forsa – translated from the Arabic term for 'opportunity' – thus embarking on a unique strategy to work within the governmental framework of encouraging women to participate in the economic growth of the region.

Dubai World chairman Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem believed that Forsa would benefit from the group's network and expertise of leading companies such as Nakheel, Istithmar and DP World.

"There are great investment opportunities and we will give priority to Forsa," he said during the launch. Forsa's primary aim was to provide a viable route to investment opportunities to the growing bank of high net worth women in the UAE. The investment firm provided a portfolio of investment opportunities aligned with the growth sectors contributing to the region's GDP.

Currently, Forsa is geared to offer a portfolio of investment opportunities in real estate and private equity. It also set about providing capital to female-led and female-focused start-ups. Impressively, within the first five months, Forsa had raised Dh250 million.

According to a study conducted by Dubai Women's College in May of this year, the biggest challenge for Emirati female entrepreneurs is still access to capital.

To try to alleviate this problem, Forsa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders (MBRE) to work on a project to provide financial support for UAE national women entrepreneurs.

Akil Kazim, director of operations at MBRE, said the MoU would offer 'a financing product of venture capital or private equity stake in the business' to young entrepreneurs. This will seek to encourage
and support national women in line with the Dubai strategy 2015.
"The role of female entrepreneurs and employees is a priority for this country and Dubai. This MoU is a leap towards that direction."

It is hoped that this project will eventually be extended to include non-UAE nationals. The key belief at Forsa is that creating strategic collaborations is the main strategy for deal sourcing.

Says Kamal Tayara, CEO, Forsa, "It is moving forward and intends to maintain this momentum to fulfil our mission to become a gateway for women to the world of investment."