The Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) and Creative Zone organised on Tuesday  October 20,2020 a virtual session under the theme "Ways to secure funding for startups". The event comes as part of the "She Leads" business accelerator program, the first of its kind to be launched in Dubai and one of the Council's and Creative Zone's initiatives to train, support, and nurture female entrepreneurs and empower them to launch their business successfully.

The session, which was moderated by Lorenzo Jooris, CEO of Creative Zone, and presented by Padmini Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder, Rise & Xare, was attended by 100 entrepreneurs who had signed up for the accelerator programme. The objectives touched on project funding and timing phases, identification of the appropriate financial institutions, the proper methods to get the startup funded, and what to do if your funding request declined.

"We are so overwhelmed with the response She Leads is getting. Seeing the attendees come together after the webinars is extremely heartening because this was precisely the spirit we wanted to accomplish throughout the 12-week program. We aim to bring women entrepreneurs together so they can continue to empower their counterparts to prosper and succeed in their professional lives," said Nadine Halabi, Business Development Manager, DBWC.

'She Leads' Accelerator targets women in building successful businesses by assisting them in developing critical capacities, the absence of which can obstruct their progress; for example, many female business owners don't get adequate access to capital, networking, and technical assistance, their legal rights, and getting customers," she added.

"Business incubators and accelerators play an important role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering training and services, and connecting business owners to opportunities and resources, helping them overcome various challenges that limit business development and growth, such as not having access to investors, and no financial, technical and mentoring support ", said Lorenzo Jooris, CEO of Creative Zone. 

The session also reviewed methods of obtaining financial support by presenting accurate financial statements and feasibility studies, maintaining a good credit score, and providing the required financial guarantees. At the same time, the recommendations included the importance of picking the right projects and sectors, establishing a reliable team, presenting a well-rounded and realistic business plan, and building and maintaining good working relationships with project owners, investors, and financial institutions.

About She Leads

She Leads, an accelerator and incubator programme, is brought together by Creative Zone and Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC). The programme will train, support and nurture women entrepreneurs through 12-week intensive online training modules, focusing upon acquiring possible solutions to the barriers, women face when starting and growing businesses, such as knowledge of and access to finance, their legal rights, getting customers and a lack of relatable role models and mentors.

About DBWC

Established in 2002, under the umbrella of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dubai Business Women Council is the UAE's leading platform for the personal and professional development of businesswomen in the Emirate of Dubai. Since its establishment, the Council has dedicated its efforts to enhancing gender parity in society and encouraging women to play an active role in building the country and stimulating sustainable development. Providing education, training and networking opportunities to aid in achieving holistic development and meeting career aspirations of UAE-based business women (both Emirati and expatriates) is at the heart of the DBWC's mission, in addition to inspiring and encouraging women to play their role in society and the economy. DBWC's tailored workshops and seminars are hosted exclusively for its members and provide valuable information about the latest knowledge, skills and best practices for women entrepreneurs and leaders. Membership is open to employed businesswomen who live in Dubai, across the UAE and within the region.

About Creative Zone 

Creative Zone is Dubai's largest and most trusted business setup advisory firm. Creative Zone's registration professionals have helped thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs and SMEs grow their businesses in the UAE since its launch by Mahesh Dalamal and Steve Mayne in 2010. The Company was created with a simple yet revolutionary model for the UAE marketplace; to serve as a one-stop-shop, with flexible payment plans, for easy company incorporation. Creative Zone has now evolved to provide added business support services to create an ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs and SMEs to set up, sustain, and grow their businesses and contribute to the UAE's position as the global location of choice for company setup. 

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