Taking challenges head-on

Dubai - Naseba chief shares her views on UAE's efforts to nurture female entrepreneurs and create diversity

Donning many hats is part of her existence. Balancing home, career and boardroom decisions - you name it and she is there to take head-on every challenge and yet she aspires in all this to make place for her to stand firm.
She is the new face of the Emirati woman who is cutting across all the sectors of the economy straight to a ministerial position in the newly formed UAE cabinet, narrowing the gender disparity in the country. The number of women ministers in the cabinet today are eight out of 29 members thereby raising the representation of women to 27.5 per cent.
Endorsing this view and bringing a new face to the forefront of Emirati and expat women in the UAE is naseba's chief executive officer Sophie Le Ray, spearheading a crusade for women empowerment and equality. In an interview with Khaleej Times, Le Ray shares her take on UAE's effort to boost young talent and women entrepreneurship and bridge gender disparity.
"The career opportunities available for Emirati women are already far greater than those available for women in other countries in the region. And this is set to improve consistently, with the backing of the government," she said.
Bright future ahead
As UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri mentioned in his opening speech at the Global WIL Economic Forum 2015 that women in the country are running 11,000 businesses worth $5 billion, the financial empowerment of Emirati women is a priority for the UAE government, who is keen to double this figures, if not triple, in the next five years by taking concrete steps to achieve the target.
"The minister fully understands not only the moral but also the financial value of pursuing gender parity," said Le Ray.
According to a study by the International Monetary Fund, if the UAE had an equal number of women and men working, it would raise the country's gross domestic product by 12 per cent.
"A trend that I think will be vitally important to women's economic empowerment in the country is the growth of social businesses and the idea of 'Instapreneurs', i.e. entrepreneurs who are using Instagram and similar social media channels in order to promote and sell their products online," said Le Ray.
She has two simple pieces of advice for young female entrepreneurs in the UAE: be creative, and be bold. "If the path you have chosen for yourself is blocked by circumstances beyond your control, forge a new path. If you cannot go around your obstacles, climb over them. Dig beneath them. Learn to build a plane, earn a pilot's licence, and fly over them," Le Ray said.
Young female entrepreneurs and aspiring business leaders are part of a generation that has moved beyond the vision of climbing the corporate ladder. They dream of building the ladder and encourage others to climb it. 
Naseba offers business facilitation platforms
Established in 2002, Naseba  offers business facilitation platforms for clients who want to develop in growth markets by conducting exhaustive research, match buyers and sellers and then produce high-profile events, all with a strategic focus on facilitating deals - all in the right place and at the right time. It is a global company with offices in Dubai, Bangalore and Chicago, and presence in Algiers, Jeddah, Shanghai, and Kuala Lumpur.
The company is focused on key sectors, leveraging expertise to create deal flow, foster networking and train leaders. Naseba has the capacity to help clients enter new markets, raise capital, secure partners and close sales.
Awards to highlight female leadership
Naseba introduced the WIL Achievement Awards in 2007 to highlight excellence within female leadership, gender parity, and innovation. It is rewarding not only powerful women in business and female entrepreneurs, but also advocates for gender parity, and global game changers and thought leaders who have pushed the global parity agenda - often at the risk of their personal safety.The awards also recognise the contributions of institutions and initiatives, at the grassroot level and upwards, that have been instrumental in providing working women with the support that they need to fully contribute to their economies.Cherie Blair, founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (UK); and Almas Jiwani, president of the UN Women Canada National Committee (Canada)' were among winners. The awards have also recognized initiatives like EY's 'Women. Fast forward.' and 'Uforo Iban Uto Inwang' (She's Empowered Through Agriculture), an initiative created by the People, Environment and Sustain-ability Foundation.
sandhya@khaleejtimes.com