Sharjah: NAMA Women Advancement Establishment is expanding their entrepreneurship initiative, which is focused on creating a generation of female entrepreneurs, to more communities in Sharjah, it was announced.
NAMA, an organisation dedicated to developing opportunities for women in the economic, professional and social spheres, said the expansion of their Jeel Entrepreneurship Initiative will help more Emirati women benefit from the free tuition and mentoring designed to improve their business skills.
The Jeel programme was launched in December 2015 under the patronage of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to build the capacity of women in remote areas of Sharjah to convert their ideas into viable businesses.
Shaikha Jawaher is also the chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and NAMA Women Advancement Establishment.
Reem BinKaram, Director of NAMA said that “Jeel was established to build the capacity of women entrepreneurs by converting their business ideas into fully functional operating enterprises, and to equip women who are passionate about starting their own businesses with the requisite skills to do so. Jeel is ideal for women looking to transform their ambitions into viable business plans, with the successful ventures that result being vital for the UAE’s small business sector and assisting its economic growth.”
Jeel 2017 follows on from the success of the first Jeel programme, which targeted female entrepreneurs in Sharjah’s Dibba Al Hisn community. The programme is conducted in collaboration with Education For Employment — Global (EFE-Global), a regional organisation that works to create job opportunities for unemployed youth in the Middle East and North Africa by providing world-class professional and technical training.
Participants in the first Jeel programme have undergone three phases of training and mentorship in business skills; including participation in workshops that tested their business acumen and strategy seminars that taught them how to create workable business plans.
As a first step in initiating Jeel in 2017, the project team is hosting open houses in five locations where the initiative is expanding to. The open houses are scheduled to take place from April 17 to 20 and April 25 in Kalba, Khorfakkan, Dibba Al Hisn and Al Dhaid.
Organised for women interested in participating in the programme, the activity aims to introduce Jeel and attract attendees to its three-day ‘Business Ideation Boot Camp.’
Applicants can contact jeel@namawomen.ae or call +971 56 788 5091 to avail more information on the venues of the open houses, requirements for application and the process.
Schedule of the open houses:
April 17 | Kalba
10:00am — 11:30am | University of Sharjah
12:00pm — 01:30pm | Kalba Cultural Centre
April 18 | Khorfakkan
10:00am — 11:30am | Chamber of Commerce & Industry
12:00pm — 01:30pm | University of Sharjah
April 19 | Dibba Al Hisn
12:00pm — 01:30pm | Cultural Centre
April 20 | Dibba Al Hisn
12:30pm — 02:00pm | University of Sharjah
April 25 | Al Dhaid
12:00pm — 01:30pm | University of Sharjah
