Interview with Mrs. Raja Easa Saleh Al Gurg, President of DBWC, conducted by Neity Maddock, Executive Editor

 Executive Women' meets with Mrs. Raja Easa Saleh Al Gurg, President of the Dubai Business Women Council to find out more about their Ro'Ya initiative and its impact on Dubai's economic growth.

As a council to further the business sense of UAE based women, how did the concept of Ro'Ya come about?

Ro'Ya, which means vision in Arabic, is a result of a recently announced collaboration between DBWC and MasterCard. On the 25th of September 2013, a MasterCard delegation led by Mrs. Ann Cairns, President, International Markets- MasterCard Worldwide met Mrs. Raja Al Gurg, President, DBWC, and announced a collaboration between the two entities aimed at driving and fostering entrepreneurship among women in the UAE and Ro'Ya was conceptualized as a result of the partnership. Both entities value the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship hence a harmonious multi-beneficial partnership was signed with a common vision of empowering women in the UAE.

With the support of MasterCard, what are the tangible benefits to Ro'Ya?

Ro'Ya is not just a competition, it's an opportunity to motivate women to become active members of the society by presenting their unique business ideas and in return provide them with the coaching and mentoring required to make them experts in presenting their ideas, empower them to establish it and enrich them with a network platform that will provide the support to see them through.

As I understand, the forthcoming training sessions will focus on 'the conceptualization' phase and new ventures by women entrepreneurs?

What is the specific reason behind choosing this specific phase? Through Ro'Ya we want to give women the opportunity to enrich their business acumen and empower them through knowledge and the ability to potentially start their own business. By providing professional training sessions on the different elements of the conceptualizations phase of a business, we'll be able to provide the in-depth information the applicants require to transform their initial business plans, which they have submitted by March 30th, into a solid, clearly defined plan, based on the information and support they received throughout the various sessions. Applicants will then also be able to rework their plans and re-submit it to stand a better chance of becoming the winner.

Applicants can look forward to exclusive in-depth training sessions that will be hosted by experienced professionals from MasterCard and various industry experts through the DBWC. The sessions will cover elements like: business plan fundamentals, creating a unique customer value proposition, how to define your operating module, doing business in the UAE, including PR and Marketing in your operations and how to take care of your business' future. We will also be opening these sessions to the DBWC members and the general female community.

As part of the competition, on what criteria will the judges base a sound business plan?

There are certain broad criteria that we will be looking at: how viable is this business opportunity? Is this a sustainable model that will actually generate revenue? Will it create jobs? And then we will be looking at how innovative the idea is.

You mention that Ro'Ya will provide coaching, mentoring and some financial assistance to the winners. Can you elaborate how this will be structured for the benefit of women entrepreneurs?

We will be selecting and announcing the top three female entrepreneurs at the gala evening later in November where the first prize winner will receive a cash prize of USD 50,000. The second prize winner will receive USD 30,000 and third USD 20,000, respectively, to be used towards start-up costs. Furthermore, MasterCard will also be providing sound mentoring and training to the top three winners for one year to ensure the ladies receive adequate support to start up their new ventures and that they are guided and supported through the various phases of a new business. In addition, five candidates, who will showcase exceptional talent and potential, will also receive USD 5,000 each as notable mention which will assist them in making their dreams come true.

Will Ro'Ya become an annual campaign? Can the community look forward to similar campaigns in the future?

It is our goal to establish Ro'Ya as an ongoing female support network and an initiative that women look forward to participate in and be associated with. We will continue to implement innovative initiatives, like Ro'Ya, to provide women with a platform for their inspiring, intellectual and noteworthy voices to be heard. We certainly invite other partners and the community to proactively support such initiatives in order to create a general sense of importance and to add value to all parties involved.

What is the relevance of initiatives like this for the DBWC?

The UAE's leadership has a strong vision for the future of our nation, and it is our responsibility, as women and advocates for women's empowerment, to do our utmost to achieve the goals our leaders have established. In nurturing the female entrepreneur population, we are contributing to economic growth, while encouraging the betterment of our community and creating job opportunities in exciting new businesses. There is unlimited potential to be found amongst the women living in the UAE, and we must unlock it, for the benefit of all.

Ro'Ya will play an essential role in fostering a stronger entrepreneurial spirit and enabling ambitious businesswomen in the UAE. It is our goal to support, guide and mentor the dreams of our women entrepreneurs.

To view the interview click here