Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Fund, Facebook to train female entrepreneurs in the UAE

Female entrepreneurs will be mentored along a series of courses managed and conducted by the Khalifa Fund, a statement said.

The one-day training will mentor the participants on sourcing business ideas, growing globally, and using social media to leverage commercial opportunities.

A thousand female entrepreneurs will be trained under this initiative.

“According to the Global Entrepreneur Monitor, about 80 per cent of women in UAE believe that entrepreneurship is a positive career choice, demonstrating a keen appetite for entrepreneurship amongst females in the UAE,” said Mouza Al Nasri, CEO, Khalifa Fund.

“This partnership which we have signed with Facebook reflects Khalifa Fund’s continued aim of increasing access to training, financing and support for those women who are aspiring to start and grow their early-stage start-ups into successful businesses.”

Khalifa Fund, since inception, has worked with 455 female entrepreneurs, having invested Dhs316.4m in start-ups and SMEs, which have been either founded or led by women. Of the 11,000 entrepreneurs who have participated in Khalifa Fund’s training programs, 59 per cent have been women.

Since the creation of the Khalifa Fund in 2007, the number of female entrepreneurs in the UAE has increased by 29.9 per cent, the statement said.

“Since the launch of our #SheMeansBusiness program in Dubai in 2017, we have trained over 14,000 women across Middle East and North Africa to use Facebook and Instagram to connect, share and grow their businesses,” said Derya Matraş, regional director for Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Facebook.

“We are positive that during this year, #SheMeansBusiness will further encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in the UAE and will support women as they embark on their journey as business leaders, catalysing the growth of the digital economy.”