The art of starting up

A group of female Emirati students have been given a career boost thanks to a new course aimed at helping them become successful entrepreneurs.

The Tawteen Women in the Workplace project sees 17 graduates being given free legal advice by international law firm DLA Piper about how best to go about setting up their business, with everything covered from location to registering their company.

With different rules affecting businesses depending on where they are based – whether in a free zone or the Emirates – the women, who are participating in an entrepreneur training programme at Al Ain University, will soon be experts in the process.

Wafa' Tarnowska, manager of DLA Piper Middle East's corporate social responsibility initiative, says this is an important course to help women make an impact in the workplace.

"The programme sends out a message to women that they can be successful in business. We have some great examples already in the UAE such as Rajah Al Gurg and there is no reason why these women cannot follow in their footsteps," she says.

During the three-week course, DLA Piper's legal consultants discussed finance, marketing and how to set up a business over three intensive sessions to the women selected from 400 applicants. It will complete next week when Tarnowska and two of her colleagues visit Al Ain to judge each applicant's business proposal.

Although the project has been taking place in Dubai for the past four years, it is the first time it has reached Al Ain, but Tarnowska says targeting women outside the city is vital as they do not always have the same opportunities.

"People in Al Ain don't have access to the same facilities as those in Dubai and most people working there are employed by the government rather than in the private sector so rather than providing them with a job we are giving them the skills to launch their own business," she says.

Tawteen was set up by the Emirates Foundation as a national campaign to increase the number of Emiratis in the private sector. It began last year and saw a number of international companies paired with local ones to achieve the aim. DLA Piper was linked with the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and they have worked together on the Women in the Workplace project with ADCB offering lower rates on commercial loans for the participants.

It chose to focus on women, which the firm believes are at the centre of family and as such, if they can be empowered, it will have knock-on benefits for the rest of the household. Other projects have included helping women, also in the Western Region, to find jobs in the energy field.

Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Managing Director of Emirates Foundation, says: "There is an unprecedented surge of Emirati women entering the workforce. We aim to support them by providing sustainable solutions to ensure their continued growth and success."

When developing the course, Tarnowska also considered data from World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick, who said that 13 per cent of businesses in the Arab World are owned by women and are very successful as a result of their transparency.

"They also employ more women and use websites effectively to boost interest, so it's a vital part of a company," adds Tarnowska.

The success of the pilot project means it will be replicated. Manal Al Rashedi, senior project co-ordinator at Tawteen says: "I think the course will definitely happen again especially because the partners want projects that are sustainable so we hope to keep doing it."

Tarnowska adds: "We are trying to present positive role models and give opportunities to women."




OBSTACLES TO WORK

As part of the Tawteen initiative, the Emirates Foundation, with the help of DLA Piper, has commissioned research into the factors preventing women going to work. YouGov Siraj is in the process of collecting data from women across the country to find out some of the most pressing issues concerning them, which will then be looked into by the Emirates Foundation in the hope of finding a solution.

Manal Al Rashedi, senior project co-ordinator at Tawteen, says: "There is high female unemployment in Al Ain and in the western region, so once this research is done we can look at what aid they need, from financial to counselling."