Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship Empowers 12 Women Founders

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) has successfully concluded the first edition of the Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship (SWIF), bringing together 12 women founders for a programme focused on leadership and business growth.

SWIF aims to strengthen women-led businesses and enhance their presence in Sharjah’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and across the region. Participants received guidance in leadership, venture management, and strategic growth, while also connecting with mentors, investors, and ecosystem partners.

Sara Abdelaziz Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, said the fellowship highlights the growing maturity of women founders in managing ventures and navigating business challenges, emphasizing the value of a supportive ecosystem.

Fellows also benefited from an AED500,000 grant provided by Fikri Business Consultants to support business expansion. The grant, endowed by Dr. Asma Fikri and Amna Fikri in honor of their father, the late Dr. Mahmoud Mohamed Fikri, celebrates his legacy of empowering women and promoting community development.

The fellowship also contributed to regional research on women’s entrepreneurship in collaboration with the Meem Foundation. Fellows participated in a study on funding gaps, helping generate insights for future policies and ecosystem support.

SWIF applied a rigorous selection process, including CEO evaluation, psychometric assessments, behavioral interviews, and a weighted rubric, focusing on founders leading ventures with strong traction and growth potential.

The programme followed Sheraa’s 4D model: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deepen. This guided founders through personal leadership reflection, strategic venture development, and ecosystem engagement.

The fellowship was delivered with partners such as Accenture, Publicis Groupe, Orbis Terra Media, the Pearl Initiative, Kearney, EY, and Microsoft, offering expertise across leadership, branding, impact, and venture growth. Key sponsors included Fikri Business Consultants, Shurooq, Meem Foundation, and Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Real Estate.

Throughout the programme, founders engaged in a leadership retreat in Kalba, workshops with Accenture, SWIF X Publicis’ Atelier Potentialis, fireside chats with leaders like Haleema Al Owais, personal branding sessions, Scale Up MENA masterclasses, and impact measurement workshops with the Pearl Initiative. The programme concluded with a policy and advocacy readiness session with Kearney and a closing conversation with Dr. Asma Fikri.

Through SWIF, founders enhanced their leadership skills, expanded their ventures, and built valuable relationships across Sharjah’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, laying the foundation for long-term support for women-led businesses in the region.