Officials during the meeting on Sunday.

Dr Amna Khalifa Al Ali-Board of Directors Member-Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairwoman of Ajman Businesswomen Council (AJBWC), received a delegation from the Fujairah Businesswomen Committee led by Aisha Mohammad Al Jassim, Board of Directors Member of Fujairah Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Chair of the Committee.

The meeting aimed at discussing the cooperation, exchanging experiences and organising future events serving the female entrepreneurs.

During the meeting, Abeer Eid Al Faraj, Director of the Ajman Businesswomen Council’s Office, briefed the delegation about the Council’s strategic plan, the key projects and initiatives to be carried out this year. The attendees were also briefed on the training plan that will be carried out in cooperation with partners from government and private entities.

The delegation of the Fujairah Businesswomen Committee was also introduced to the “Rofoof” initiative, which has grown from an internal platform for marketing the members’ products inside the Council to a sustainable marketing platform in the Ajman Markets Cooperative Society and other business facilities.

Dr. Amna Khalifa confirmed the AJBWC’s keenness to create value-added services for its members in order to increase their sales and encourage them to develop their investments. The delegation also toured the Ajman centre for Entrepreneurship to learn about the investment opportunities that it provides for entrepreneurs and its role as a sustainable exhibition platform.

The attendees praised the directives of the leadership to create a supportive business environment for the female entrepreneurs and businesswomen and to provide the necessary ingredients to ensure their direct contribution to the GDP.

They further stressed the importance of continuous cooperation and coordination to improve services directed at businesswomen and to keep up with their aspirations and ambitions.

For her part, Aisha Al Jassim reviewed the efforts of the Fujairah Chamber in creating a committee concerned with the projects of businesswomen in order to provide a supportive platform for them so that they can develop their ideas and projects.

She also reiterated the Committee’s keenness to develop its relations with the businesswomen’s councils in the country, and that it started its field visits with the AJBWC.

Al Jassim commended the efforts of the AJBWC and its role in providing a competitive climate with all the possibilities that serve its members and ensure sustainability of their enterprises. She also appreciated the good reception and the detailed explanation about all types of support directed to businesswomen.

The Ajman Businesswomen Council (AJBWC) affiliating with the Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier with the International centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) to strengthen cooperation on supporting agripreneurship and capacity development.

The MoU is aimed to create means and tools that stimulate businesswomen to invest in the agricultural sector and increase their contribution to food security.

The MoU was signed by Dr Amna Khalifa Al Ali, Chairwoman of AJBWC and Dr Tarifa Alzaabi, Acting Director General of ICBA, at the headquarters of the AJBWC-Ajman centre for Entrepreneurship. Under the agreement, AJBWC and ICBA aim to develop projects and capacity development programmes including training workshops focused on agricultural entrepreneurship targeting the AJBWC members, among others.

Commenting on the MoU, Dr Amna Khalifa stressed its importance in increasing the existing cooperation between the AJBWC and ICBA, encouraging businesswomen to agricultural projects through the “Plant and Reap” initiative, which is one of the AJBWC’s main initiatives for 2021. “This initiative aims at encouraging businesswomen to achieve self-sufficiency in agricultural products by providing appropriate support for equipping greenhouses, making use of unused spaces in homes, and relying on modern agricultural technologies and hydroponics,” Dr Amna said.

She continued, “The AJBWC is keen to address the food security and the mechanisms required to support the agricultural sector by directing entrepreneurs to enter this field, especially in light of the great agricultural progress taking place in the country relying on modern agricultural models and innovative tools, which bodes well for successful agricultural projects.”

Dr Amna hailed the efforts of ICBA and its role in implementing research and development programmes aimed at enhancing the agricultural productivity and its sustainability by relying on creativity and innovation to support food security programmes. For her part, Dr Tarifa Alzaabi said: “We are delighted to join forces with AJBWC that will help us to scale up our existing capacity development efforts and boost agricultural entrepreneurship in the UAE and other countries.