Advice from three top local businesswomen – entrepreneur Joy Ajlouny of start-up Fetchr; connections queen Rana Nawas, head of the Dubai chapter of Ellevate Network; and angel investment expert Heather Henyon, who launched the Women Angel Investors Network – on how to start up, how to network like a pro and how they made their mark.
“People ask me how hard it is to do business here. My answer might surprise you: it’s a firm, ‘It’s not.’ I believe being a woman is a huge advantage in this region. When I negotiate, there are no ego clashes you might typically find with men. I have been nothing but respected and treated equally.”
Joy Aljouny, Fetchr
Rana Nawas, a senior vice president at GE Capital Aviation Services, is Palestinian-Lebanese. She has lived in Dubai since 1984 and runs the Dubai chapter of Ellevate Network (formerly 85Broads), a 20-year-old global networking community for professional women.
She says that, “due to the large expat community, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit of the UAE”, the Dubai chapter has a “high calibre of members and its networking events are some of the best attended globally”. It is 11 years old, meets every fortnight and has more than 650 members – including “male feminists”.
“Networking opportunities in Dubai are extensive,” says American Heather Henyon, founder and director of the Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN), which trains women to become “activist” investors.
Women invest through a pooled investment vehicle; so far 29 women and one man have invested $250,000 into four businesses. Ms Henyon has been in Dubai for a decade and advises other women to “pursue high quality networking”.