Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) has announced that 42 members submitted their applications to join in the 2nd cycle of DBWC Mentorship Programme 2019, which was launched following the resounding success achieved in the first cycle.

The six-month programme, which will end in October, will foster businesswomen and female entrepreneurs’ skills, develop their expertise, and enhance their competitiveness within the business community.

The progamme was launched as part of the DBWC’s leading initiatives to celebrate the Year of Tolerance. The steering committee of the 2nd cycle has recently held a meeting to approve the names of mentees and bring them together with the counselors, where 32 mentors paired with 32 participants in order to appoint the right mentor for the right participant, given that each mentee seeks to develop a particular area.

Members of the steering committee include Nadine Halabi, Business Development Manager of DBWC, Hanane Arif, Head of Communication and CSR and Business Development officer at Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking Middle East, and Salma Sakhnini, Founder and Managing Director ICON Investment Consultants, and Nazha Osseiran, managing partner of Chipmunk General Trading. The Executive Committee of DBWC will also hold a meeting on Saturday in the presence of the mentors so as to introduce trainees to the mechanisms and methods of mentorship.

The participating members will be mentored by renowned experts specialised in professional disciplines, according to a comprehensive plan set based on the mentors’ meeting with the participants.

Representatives of prominent international companies are delivering the training including Patchi, Google, BWC, Facebook, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Edelman, University of Wollongong-Dubai (UOWD), Canon Middle East, among many more.

Commenting on the occasion, Nadine Halabi said: “The DBWC mentorship programme has become an essential pillar of the council’s plans. It focuses on enhancing the competitiveness of its members, through offering customized mentorship and training that meet the mentees needs. This is in fact what makes our mentorship programme special, the way it responses to the needs and requirements of each participant.

It is no doubt one of our unique initiatives thanks to being up to date with the best practices adopted in the field of vocational guidance. It will help participants develop their personal entrepreneurial characteristics and get necessary support when needed from networks and organizations concerned with developing projects” Halabi added.

She stressed that the programme will enable participating members bolster their capacities, nurture their skills and improve the institutional and professional performance. Through its diverse initiatives, the DBWC is committed to empower its members and enhance their skills and this is the ultimate goal of all DBWC’s year-round programmes, initiatives and events.

Meanwhile the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) hosted the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Conference on April 25 to highlight the best practices in women’s healthcare and human development, and provide training in meditation, well-being and happiness.

Held at the headquarters of Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), the conference focused on promoting women’s awareness of appropriate health practices, how to adopt a more balanced and healthy lifestyle and how to pursue and adapt to their careers, and achieve personal and professional success.

The event comes as part of the DBWC’s efforts to promote the Year of Tolerance and enhance concepts and practices of tolerance among Dubai businesswomen.  Dr Raja Al Gurg, President of the Dubai Business Women Council, stressed the council’s keenness to support businesswomen and female professionals in Dubai, to help them excel and realise impressive achievements locally and internationally. We are doing our best to boost their contribution to the growth of Dubai and the UAE’s business and investment environment as well as promoting economic development efforts across all sectors, Al Gurg said.

She added that the DBWC is committed to consolidating values of tolerance and cultural diversity. The Year of Tolerance provides a broad space to unleash businesswomen’s potential and enhance human concepts as well as values of diversity and multiculturalism.

The membership database of the Dubai Business Women Council (DBWC) has grown by 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, bringing the total number of members to 949, up from 864 by the end of 2018, according to a statement from the group.

The increase in the membership database “reflects the important role played by the council in support of businesswomen to enhance their competitiveness in the country’s labour market,” the statement said.