More regulatory support urgedfor startup firms

Abu Dhabi: Despite the availability of a range of funding opportunities for entrepreneurs, more regulatory support is still required to help local start-up companies flourish in the country's open markets, senior officials said at a conference in the capital yesterday.

There is also a need for greater social support that will enable women entrepreneurs to pursue their business ideas, including vocational training and workplace flexibility, they added.

"Women are increasing their presence in fields that have traditionally been viewed as male-dominated spheres. However, while nearly 70 per cent of women in the UAE are today college graduates, entrepreneurship is still proving to a challenge for many Emirati women," said Fatima Al Jaber, chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Business Women's Council (ABWC) and chief operating officer of the Al Jaber Group.

She was speaking at the third annual Women in Leadership Forum, in which executives and businesswomen from across the region discussed barriers and opportunities experienced by women entrepreneurs. The three-day forum concludes today.

Statistics

According to statistics revealed at the forum, 15,000 trade licences have been issued to Emirati women across the UAE. Of these, 6,474 are owned by women in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Fatima said that attempts to promote more innovation by Emirati women would next year focus on the Western Region (Al Gharbia).

"The ABWC has noted that a large number of women entrepreneurs in the Western Region tend to work from their homes, Fatima said.

"This is why we have launched the Mubdi'ah initiative, which provides trade licences for home-based entrepreneurs. Moreover, we are in talks with various banks and financial institutions to create more loan-provision schemes for women, because although the UAE has an abundance of financial support for entrepreneurs, such as the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, few are specifically tailored for women," she added.

Attendees at the forum also highlighted that corporations had become more open to women in managerial and higher level positions. "In a recent study we conducted in the UAE, more than 74 per cent of respondents were male and they had an overwhelmingly positive response to women assuming leadership roles," said Sanjay Modi, managing director for India, Middle East and South Asia at renowned online employment portal Monster.com.

Award

15 women honoured

The Shaikha Shamsa Bint Suhail Award for Creative Women was launched in October 2010 by Shaikha Shamsa Bint Suhail, wife of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to honour creative and enterprising Emirati women.

The inaugural edition saw 15 winners chosen out of 164 nominations by a jury, and each winner was awarded Dh120,000 during a ceremony that took place at the Emirates Palace Hotel.

— Staff Report