Business & Money | Wednesday 15 June, 2016 5:20 pm |

Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC), an affiliate of Nama Women Advancement Establishment (Nama), has successfully held its annual Ramadan Summit, with the event taking place yesterday (Tuesday) at Al Jawaher Reception & Convention Centre in Sharjah. 

 

Titled ‘Self Reflections,’ the summit - which takes place each year on the side-lines of SBWC’s Ramadan Suhoor - attracted more than 250 business women and society ladies who gathered to listen to the success stories of a number of inspirational speakers. The programme had been devised by SBWC to help motivate and encourage women entrepreneurs to set up enterprises that both contribute to female self-empowerment and to economic development in the UAE. 

 

Among those attending the Ramadan Summit were H.E Ameera BinKaram, Deputy Chairperson of Nama and Chairperson of SBWC; Hala Kazim, counsellor, artist, author and founder of ‘Journey Through Change’ and Asma Hilal Lootah, entrepreneur and founder of The Hundred Pilates Studio in Dubai and The Hundred Wellness Centre project. Also in attendance were the Motivational Speaker Anas Bukhash, Co-Founder of Ahdaaf and Founder & Managing Director of Bukhash Brothers; and Muna Harib Al Muhairi, Founder of Breathing Numbers Humanitarian Act and Director of Branding and Corproate Communications in Dubai Parks and Resorts.

 

"Sharjah has become an incubator of businesswomen and their projects thanks to the support of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah and his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. Sharjah Business Women Council serves as a platform to empower women professionally and economically and attract the largest possible number of women and young ladies to the world of entrepreneurship," said HE Ameera BinKaram, Chairperson of SBWC. 

  

“By the end of last year, in collaboration with our partners in the international foundation Education for Employment, SBWC launched the Jeel entrepreneurship initiative, through which we seek to support Emirati entrepreneurs and businesswomen in Sharjah and provide them with counselling and training services in order to ignite their spirit of innovation and creativity,” she added. 

 

BinKaram pointed out that SBWC has recently placed an extra emphasis on training, with this focus leading to the launch of the Badiri Women’s Enterprise Development Virtual Academy - the first-of-its-kind initiative in the region. She revealed that in the near future Badiri Academy will witness the inauguration of the strategic partnership with FazINOVA Innovation and Entrepreneurship School. She also underlined that the implementation of these initiatives and projects had resulted in a significant increase in SBWC's membership applications, with SBWC having received 141 new membership submissions during the first five months of this year - a growth rate of 13 per cent.

 

Speakers participating at SBWC’s Ramadan Summit included Anas Bukhash, whose presentation was titled ‘Introspection & Perseverance.’ He discussed how life consists of exploratory stages that make individuals imagine and think of how they can fulfil their wishes. He noted that the first six years of life are the most critical for developing personality, while further education plays an important role in shaping a future career.

 

Addressing the subject of generosity in her panel discussion titled ‘The Power of Kindness & the Virtues of Giving Back,’ Muna Harib Al Muhairi focussed on her Breathing Numbers charity initiative and how giving can change people's lives for the better. She highlighted how giving is based on affection, sympathy and compassion and an act that boosts one's self-confidence and creates optimism about the future. She expressed her belief that giving helps build a cohesive society and instils positive energy by making donors feel influential.

 

For her turn, Asma Hilal Lootah pointed out in her presentation ‘Fitness & Wellbeing’ that healthy living can help people overcome obstacles and difficulties that would otherwise prevent them from fulfilling their ambitions. She said that it was this conviction allied to her desire to start a new business that would benefit all segments of society that led her to open the Hundred Wellness Centre project.

 

In her speech ‘Wellness and Positive Change,’ Hala Kazim spoke about her personal journey for change, which saw her embarking on a different career before coming to the conclusion that she needed to do something to help people and make a positive change in society. She underscored the importance of embracing a healthy lifestyle and highlighted how the power of positivity can make people think optimistically.

 

Established in 2002, SBWC aims to create and enhance the work environment for women and to train and prepare women to enter into private economic activities that will lead to greater social and economic development. To achieve its aim, the council carries out a range of programmes and activities, including conferences, seminars, workshops and research. It also forges partnerships with government and private organisations and foundations in the UAE and beyond.