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'Never give up believing in yourself', Emirati icon advises young entrepreneurs

Sheikha Hind Al Qasimi speaks about her inspirational journey and her spearheading the Sharjah Business Women's Council

“You are your biggest supporter. So, never give up on believing in yourself,” advises Sheikha Hind bint Majed Al Qasimi.

As Chairperson of Sharjah Business Women Council, Sheikha Hind has been an icon among Emirati women. She is a pioneering businesswoman; her creations fuse traditional Emirati elements with contemporary designs. Through SBWC, Sheikha Hind’s collection made its first public showcase in the 2011 edition of the ‘Made in Sharjah’ Exhibition. Subsequently, she has collaborated with numerous prestigious designers and labels and has had her work previewed worldwide.

“My love and passion for creating porcelain art pieces, inspired in me when I was quite young. My late mother and my biggest role model, prompted me to become an entrepreneur,” Sheikha Hind told Khaleej Times in an excluvie interview. “Initially it was just a window of self-expression, but as years went by, I knew it was my calling. So, I studied fine arts at the University of Sharjah to receive the theoretical and technical knowledge I needed to start my design label, Designed by Hind,” she added. She continues to run it successfully alongside her commitments at SBWC, as she continues to inspire SBWC’s members and women in general to boldly pursue their passions and keep moving forward.

Exceprts from the interview:

What are the main objectives of SBWC and what is your vision for the future?

Our main objective is to inspire and empower ambitious students, youth and women in the UAE and beyond to achieve their dream to become successful business owners and entrepreneurs. For close to 20 years, we have been making this happen under the visionary leadership of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, by training, upskilling and mentoring women, offering expert consultancy, comprehensive market introduction and guidance through market research to help them identify gaps and make the right move, networking and global exposure, and creating the right opportunities for them — be it in Sharjah or anywhere else in the world, by giving them market access, connecting them to investors who see the potential in their ideas, and by offering them a hassle-free one window service that’ll make their business setup journey in Sharjah a smooth, one-day process.

Our vision for the future is to continue putting in strong, dedicated efforts to achieve full integration of women in the economy, and not just in sectors that have been traditionally picked by/for women. From artificial intelligence, technology to renewable energy, agriculture and industry, we are and we will support and empower women to extract the maximum potential by the UAE’s future-focussed and high growth economy by offering the latest tools and resources women will need to excel in these sectors and others.

We are fortunate to live and work in a country that boasts one of the most attractive and resilient economies globally. At SBWC, our vision is to ensure that we remove any barriers between them and incredible opportunities that will allow them to drive their own personal growth and make more sizable and meaningful contributions to the national economy.

What are some of SBWC’s most prominent success stories to date?

Our diverse membership of 2,000+ — each one a prominent success story in its own right and proud achievements for the Council. A few I will mention include Nawal Al Nuaimi’s Paper Fig Sharjah, a homegrown restaurant and one of the most-loved spots in the UAE for hearty breakfasts and delicious sweet treats. Nawal’s business acumen and perseverance has enabled Paper Fig to grow from 7 to 45 staff and almost triple in size, in just two years. She has also been serving as a board member at SBWC for 3.5 years.

Latifa bin Haider, an SBWC member since 2020, realised her dream of educating, enabling and empowering more and more Emirati women to attain financial independence with Baytuki, a DIFC-registered and licensed start-up that enables local women to make micro-investments in real estate starting with as little as Dh5,000.

Veronica Santa Cruz, founded a robotic and smart solutions company, Creative Innovation Technology in 2020 in Sharjah. The 100 per cent homegrown company provides creative and innovative services to industrial design, graphic design, engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing businesses and government institutions alike via a robust multidisciplinary development process that is highly engaging and innovative, giving makers the opportunity to develop very different products from concept to market.

And last but not least, SBWC’s youngest member who was 7-year-old at the time, Al Dhabi Al Muhairi, the UAE’s youngest publisher at the time, as the youngest publisher in the world in both Arabic and English in the Guinness Book of Records at the age of seven. She won the title after 1,000 copies of her book entitled I Had an Idea were sold. The fact that we are able to support and empower women starting at such an early age, is a personal success story for SBWC.

How do you see women’s businesses prospering in the UAE?

Last year, our umbrella entity, NAMA Women Advancement (NAMA), published a report titled ‘Women-Owned Businesses in the United Arab Emirates: A Golden Opportunity’, in partnership with the UN Women’s Empowerment Section, which revealed that Emirati women entrepreneurs owned 50,000 businesses valued at Dh60 billion by the end of 2021.

In only 11 years, the value of businesses owned by women has increased five-fold, and this is just the beginning, considering the UAE’s status as the region’s top destination for doing businesses and its remarkable achievements in creating a level playing field for women.

Since Covid-19, we have learned as a global community that business and entrepreneurship offer the financial independence and flexibility that most women seek. The pandemic also created new business opportunities, as most industries started operating digitally. Female entrepreneurship in the UAE grew 68 per cent as the pandemic struck, outstripping men by 22 per cent. This upward trend has maintained itself for the past couple of years and is here to stay in the coming years with more women having the confidence, the opportunities and market access they need to grow and prosper in the UAE.

At SBWC, our vision is to continue upskilling, empowering and advising women — both established and aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs, and also focus on aligning ourselves with the established national principles, ‘Principles of the 50’, to build the UAE as the most vibrant and active economy globally, by driving national efforts by sustainably building on past initiatives and projects while constantly introducing new enterprises that attract female entrepreneurs from various industries.

What steps is the SBWC taking to promote the emirate’s business climate overseas? Are any partnerships being discussed with similar organisations abroad?

One of SBWC’s key focus areas is to forge partnerships with the government and private organisations and foundations in the UAE and internationally. We have created a strong local, regional and global presence with partnerships and programmes, and owing to the success and the global interest we received from women keen to establish their presence in Sharjah and the UAE, we decided to go global within a few years. For 10 years, SBWC has been supporting regional interests of businesswomen from around the world who have taken up the Council’s membership to leverage our expertise in offering them a comprehensive market introduction, facilitate their entry into the UAE and help them make the right connections by enabling their participation in leading trade and business events in the country.

By the end of 2022, SBWC had taken part in 180 exhibitions and forums in various sectors that bolstered its members’ presence on the international stage, including Gitex, Women in Tech Forum, and even Torino Fashion Week. The council also provided an opportunity for its members to take part in its trade missions to gain experience from their counterparts around the world.

SBWC has received a great number of delegations and missions that have further expanded the council’s network during these two decades, with its members reaching 48 countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas, including significant financial and economic centres such as the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Japan, Kuwait, Sweden, Brazil, and other countries that have strong economic partnerships with the UAE.

With focus turning to Web 3.0 and artificial intelligence, is the SBWC taking any specific steps to promote these two areas?

SBWC is dedicated to empowering women with the knowledge, resources, and connections necessary for them to embrace the business opportunities presented by frontier technologies like Web 3.0, AI and others. The success of our efforts are reflected in the success of our members as they establish themselves as leaders of future-focused sectors like fintech, robotics, smart solutions, and more.

Since its establishment, SBWC has launched 45 initiatives, including seven newly established projects in 2022, to equip and hone businesswomen’s skills and capabilities. As new sectors continue to sprout, new technologies emerge, and the demands of customers and businesses change, the Council continues to expand its purview to include these emerging fields within our scope to ensure women continue to prosper in these sectors.

For instance, SBWC has been an active participant at Gitex for over five years, where we are the official ‘Women in Tech’ partner of North Star Dubai (formerly, Gitex Future Stars). At the event, we fully sponsor unique ventures by women entrepreneurs in the technology sector, to further our mandate of creating fresh, strategic opportunities for female-owned and led startups in non-traditional fields on the world’s leading platforms.

By fostering an environment of proactive learning, fearless innovation and collaboration, we aim to continue contributing to the growth and success of our members in these transformative sectors that are shaping the future.

What advice would you give to young aspiring businesswomen?

Remember, as long as you have a goal, keep moving forward. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks and don’t be afraid to fail because each failure is a valuable lesson learnt and a stepping stone to success. Always be curious, be passionate learners, because the more you seek, the more you grow. Most importantly, don’t ever think you are alone. Seek support, ask for it, demand it. You deserve to be guided on your journey to business success. And there is no shame in asking for support. SBWC is here for you, every step of the way.