Sheraa Selects 14 Women Entrepreneurs for 2nd SWIF Fellowship

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) has chosen 14 female entrepreneurs for the second edition of the Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship (SWIF), a six-month program that seeks to assist mature companies to progress to the next level of development. The chosen entrepreneurs have shown business traction and are ready to scale up their business and develop their leadership skills and sustainable growth.

The selected group consists of nine SMEs and five startups that belong to diverse industries, such as F&B, FMCG, creativity, sustainability, manufacturing, EdTech, and healthcare. The fellowship offers participants a chance to exchange their viewpoints on concerning business issues and develop solutions to achieve their business goals.

Key Highlights:

• Sheraa selects 14 women entrepreneurs for the second edition of its SWIF Fellowship
• Six-month fellowship focuses on leadership development, mentorship, and business growth
• SWIF connects women founders with strategic networks, pitch coaching, and expert guidance

SWIF began with an orientation event with a role-played leadership assessment carried out by Evolve Careers. The exercise served as a benchmarking tool for the evaluation of leadership development and problem key areas. The participants shared their entrepreneurial stories and discussed current challenges in leadership development and expansion of their businesses.

In line with Sheraa’s LEAD framework, a structured approach for equipping entrepreneurs with the skills and experience needed to build resilient businesses, SWIF consists of mentoring, coaching, hands-on training and networking.

The programme includes a leadership training session hosted by Noona Nafousi, the CEO of NEO Noor, at Chedi Al Bait in Sharjah, as well as specialist masterclasses on how to craft a good pitch and presentation. The fellows will use the knowledge acquired during these sessions to tackle their current challenges and prepare themselves to explore new business opportunities.

The cohort comprises an array of experienced businesses operating within consumer markets, creative industries, sustainability, education, technology, and health care. The entrepreneurs who have participated in the event include Eva Davidova, founder of Tamre; Kim Thompson, founder of Raw Coffee Company; Tanaz Shahriari, founder of Miva Flavour House; and Aysha Alyahyaee, founder of Akiro Cafe and Bakery.

Sara Abdelaziz Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, stressed the significance of developing leadership skills along with the business. She stressed on the fact that setting up a business is just the start of an entrepreneur’s story, while its development and further expansion requires ongoing enhancements.

Founders in other ventures included individuals who are developing businesses in areas of sustainability, education, technology, beauty and wellness, and healthcare. Together, these entrepreneurs illustrate the wide variety of industries present in the entrepreneurial ecosystem provided by Sheraa. Their presence shows different business models that women entrepreneurs are using to build their ventures and respond to market needs.

The creative economy was represented by Fatma Almulla, founder of FMM; Maryam Al Shehhi, co-founder of Al Aswad; and Medina Beganovic, founder of Wonder. Christine Wilson, founder of Peahead.eco, contributes to the mix with her multi-industry business, combining sustainability, creative industries, and manufacturing.