Sharjah Council Unveils 16 Recommendations for Women Entrepreneurs

The Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC), in partnership with the American University of Sharjah (AUS), has released two policy papers with 16 recommendations to support women entrepreneurs and social enterprises. The recommendations are centred on enhancing access to finance, market opportunities, professional networks and appropriate mentorship for women entrepreneurs to gain access to growth.

Alya Saif Al Shamsi, Director of Corporate Communications at SBWC, has released this in a special statement to Sharjah 24. The recommendations were the result of two years of research and dialogue conducted on women entrepreneurs' experiences, needs and challenges.

The research involved four dialogue sessions and field work to explore the challenges faced by women in the setting up and running of their businesses. One of the major findings showed that 75% of the respondents sourced the funding for their business from their own savings, which indicates that there is a need to make financial sources available to enterprising women.

Key Highlights

• SBWC introduces 16 recommendations to support women entrepreneurs and social enterprises
• Research finds 75% of participants relied on personal savings to launch businesses
• Policy papers address financing, market access, mentorship and professional networks

The results indicated that several barriers exist within women's businesses such as inadequate access to finance, poor market access, lack of suitable networks and no adequate mentorship for them. These barriers can impede businesses in developing and in reaching customers, investors, and potential businesses partners.

The recommendations aim to address these issues by expanding financing opportunities, improving market access, and strengthening professional connections. Improved access to funding can enable women to start new businesses, invest in them and to expand. Better network connections and mentorship can also offer business owners real-world advice, industry connections, and business development opportunities.

Alya Saif noted that the two policy papers align with the seven pillars of the National Agenda for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The pillars are: funding, ease of doing business, innovation, business support, digital transformation, human capital and increasing demand.

The recommendations are aligned with the overall action to enhance entrepreneurship and strengthen SMEs. The measures also emphasize the need to support women's business environment, especially in terms of access to finance, digitalization, skills and participation in the market.

The research procedure comprised a survey of 119 women entrepreneurs as well as consultations with the representatives of various government organizations, financial institutions, investors, and academia. These conversations identified the real-life challenges that women face when starting and developing businesses.

The two policy papers are based on these findings and include recommendations on possible actions to fill current gaps in entrepreneurial support. The recommendations are targeted at a range of issues around funding, market access, mentoring and professional networks, in order to offer more opportunities for women entrepreneurs and social enterprises to build a sustainable business and increase their market footprint.