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12/26/2017 NBF–banking options for female Emirati entrepreneurs | CPI Financial | CPI Financial | Features | Details financial analysis and comments

Thursday 21, December 2017 by Jessica Combes
NBF–banking options for female

Emirati entrepreneurs

National Bank of Fujairah has made moves to accommodate the financing needs of their female Emirati
clientele.

Zainab Hussain Ahmed Ibrahim, Unit Head, Elham at National Bank of Fujairah

According to the 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index developed by the Global Entrepreneurship Development
Institute, one of the weakest areas identified for the MENA region, and the UAE, was access to Tier 1 financing,
pertaining to debt capital and financial literacy.

Further information available from the Ministry of Economy suggests that the rate of women setting up businesses
rose from a rate of 0.1 per cent in 2006 to 1.4 per cent in 2011. Today, according to the Ministry, approximately half
of the SME sector is managed by women. Although hard data remains difficult to come by, the Government has
flagged this segment as a national priority, according to Zainab Hussain Ahmed Ibrahim, Unit Head, Elham at
National Bank of Fujairah (NBF).

She added that focus groups that were organised by NBF led to the conclusion that Emirati businesswomen and
entrepreneurs greatly appreciate more support for their aspirations. As such, NBF Elham, a collection of banking
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