The 2nd cycle of Dubai business Women Council (DBWC) Mentorship Programme 2019 has come to a successful conclusion recently, at the Council’s premises at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

A panel discussion was held on the sidelines of the closing ceremony where mentors and participants highlighted the importance of developing and fostering female entrepreneurs’ skills and expertise within the business community.

The six-month prorgamme has paired 34 businesswomen with 34 mentors, who helped participants foster their skills, develop their expertise and assist in enhancing their competitiveness writhing the business community.

Interestingly, the 2nd cycle of DBWC Mentorship Programme 2019 has seen an impressive growth in the number of participants by 89% compared to 18 participants in first cycle. Such a remarkable improvement reflects female entrepreneurs’ keenness to bolster their skills and capacities and acquire fresh knowledge.

Representatives from prominent companies such as Google, PwC, JP Morgan Chase, Edelman Middle East, Cannon Middle east, Patchi, Ince and Co, Societe Generale and more offered customised mentorship and training based on the needs and requirements of the participants.

Nadine Halabi, Business Development Manager of DBWC, stressed that the mentorship programme has achieved its goals. It stimulated trainees’ abilities to share expertise, knowledge and information and improved their institutional skills such as marketing, management, financial planning and other skills that women entrepreneurs needed.

“Working in the business environment in Dubai requires exceptional skills due to the high competitiveness that makes the business environment special. With that in mind, the training programme was developed in an exemplary manner that took into consideration all requirements and the best internationally adopted practices in the field of training and mentorship”, Halabi added.

She further added: “The growing number of participants reflects the quality and efficiency of the programme, making it an exceptional platform to sharpen entrepreneurs’ skills and develop their expertise. In line with the vision of the Council’s President, Dr. Raja AL Gurg, we are continuously committed to launching quality initiatives that will help women unleash their potential and improve their competitive edge in the business community” Halabi concluded.

All of Omar Qirem- CEO at Edelman Middle East, Celine Aoun- Founder of Tete a Tete Lab, Mohammad Agwah- Business Manager for Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan at JP Morgan Chase Bank and Karina Arce- Founder of Roundstone, took part in the panel discussion, highlighting the most important lessons learned from the programme while sharing their institutional success stories.

Members of the steering committee of the DBWC Mentorship Programme 2019 included Nadine Halabi, Business Development Manager of DBWC, Hanane Arif, Head of Communication and CSR and Business Development officer at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking Middle East, and Salma Sakhnini, Founder and Managing Director ICON Investment Consultants, and Nazha Osseiran, managing partner of Chipmunk General Trading.

Separately, Pearl Initiative, the business-led non-profit organisation promoting a culture of corporate transparency and accountability in the Gulf region, recently collaborated with the Dubai Business Women Council, DBWC, to hold a two-day workshop for MSMEs to demonstrate and explain the long-term benefits of good corporate governance practices.

The workshop also allowed participants to engage with effective ways and tools with which to apply governance for improved business outcomes. It targeted 30 Dubai-based MSMEs and was held at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Attendees who completed the workshop received a Continued Professional Development certification, which is globally recognised and will add value to their business engagement activities throughout their careers.

After receiving an introduction to corporate governance principles, stakeholder management, corporate culture and workforce diversity, attendees engaged in activities and exercises, which demonstrated how they can successfully apply governance principles for sustained business success. The workshop comes in the wake of a workshop rolled out earlier this year in Oman, by the Pearl Initiative in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation, where Omani MSMEs were trained to apply the best practices in corporate governance to boost their market competitiveness.

WAM