Global Women’s Forum Highlights Initiatives To Support Female Entrepreneurs In Securing Funding

The Global Women’s Forum Dubai 2024 featured a session titled ‘WIn Fellowship: Driving Tomorrow’s Innovations Through Entrepreneurship’. Sabrin Rahman, Managing Director and Head of Sustainability at HSBC Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, highlighted the impact women have when they enter the investment space. She noted that they bring fresh, resilient ideas to entrepreneurial projects.

Rahman pointed out a significant funding gap between male and female-led ventures. Funding often favours male-managed projects. She discussed HSBC's initiatives to unite stakeholders on a single platform. This effort aims to support women-led startups by providing incentives for their long-term success.

Despite progress over the past five years, Rahman emphasised that more needs to be done. Investors, incubators, and accelerators must offer both financial and technical support to women-led projects. The situation was more challenging five years ago, but improvements have been made.

Jumana Al Darwish, a UAE WIn Fellow and Founder of The Happy Box, acknowledged the achievements of female entrepreneurs over the last decade. However, she stressed that social, traditional, and cultural barriers still need addressing. These barriers can hinder progress and affect agility in entrepreneurship.

Al Darwish shared her personal experience of facing family objections when she left her government job to pursue entrepreneurship. Today, she collaborates with peers in the WIn Fellowship to empower women-led startups. They establish partnerships and create social enterprise platforms to provide essential support.

The efforts of these women are crucial in overcoming socio-cultural barriers that impede female entrepreneurs' progress. By working together, they aim to create digital access points that offer much-needed resources for women in business.

The session underscored the importance of continued efforts to bridge the funding gap for female entrepreneurs. It highlighted the need for supportive ecosystems that encourage innovation through diverse perspectives.

With inputs from WAM