The FINANCIAL — Inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to encourage entrepreneurship in the country, Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC), part of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and MasterCard launched Ro’Ya (‘Vision’ in Arabic), an exciting new initiative aimed at driving entrepreneurship amongst women in the UAE, according to MasterCard.
Ro’Ya is a result of a recently announced collaboration between DBWC and MasterCard that builds on the efforts of both organizations to mobilize and encourage women to participate in the economic sector by realizing their entrepreneurial ventures. The aim of the program is to provide coaching and mentorship to aspiring female entrepreneurs looking to establish new businesses.
The MasterCard Index of Women’s Advancement, which measures the socioeconomic level of women compared to men across Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, has shown that while more women have access to tertiary education and job opportunities, there is still room for improvement, especially when it comes to women owning their own businesses and taking up positions as business and government leaders in the region. In fact, according to the Carnegie Endowment Centre, around 95 percent of the private sector in the Middle East and North Africa region is owned by SMEs; however, the same report says that only 2.5 per cent of these are owned by women. This pales in comparison to figures from the International Finance Corporation which suggests that, on a global scale, 37 per cent of global enterprises are women-owned, according to MasterCard.
Through Ro’Ya, aspiring and existing female entrepreneurs who are either citizens or residents of the UAE will be encouraged to submit their business proposals through a dedicated microsite on www.dbwc.ae, where necessary information regarding the proposed venture will need to be shared. Entries should represent concepts that are in the idea development phase but which have not been implemented yet. The submissions will then undergo exhaustive screening by a joint panel of experts from MasterCard and DBWC, as well as independent judges, and shortlisted candidates will be invited to a live presentation of their ideas at a closing gala event, during which the winners will be determined.
The top three women entrepreneurs will receive a cash prize of USD 50,000, USD 30,000 and USD 20,000 respectively to be used towards start-up costs, according to MasterCard. In addition, five candidates will also receive USD 5,000 each. MasterCard will also continue to work very closely with the top winners, after the competition is over, to provide professional guidance and relevant networking opportunities that will kick-start their businesses and prepare them for long term-success.
Running alongside the application process, MasterCard and DBWC will organize a series of group training sessions open for applicants and members of the public, as well as individual coaching sessions for shortlisted candidates, to share insights into creating and managing successful business entities. More details of these sessions will be featured on the Ro’Ya micro site.
Submissions to participate in the program will be accepted until March 30, 2014, according to MasterCard.
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