New platform to address needs of UAE's women entrepreneurs established

A new platform to address the needs of women entrepreneurs in the UAE and beyond has established by serial entrepreneur Ellen Mannaert with the aim of building a business: understanding, creating and protecting wealth.

The inaugural session was attended Dr Sheikha Ayesha Bint Saud Al Qassimi, guest of honour also joined by a gathering of women founders, entrepreneurs, investors and professionals for an event focused on one of the most important — and often least discussed — aspects of building a business: understanding, creating and protecting wealth.

The presence of Dr Sheikha Ayesha Bint Saud Al Qassimi added another dimension to the gathering, underscoring the importance of creating a space where women can speak openly about wealth, equity, ownership, and financial knowledge, and giving the initiative a significant moment of recognition.

Ellen Mannaert, entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Era Of You, a community created around the belief that women building businesses should not have to navigate growth alone, also created The Wealth Room as an exclusive community for women founders.

For her, The Wealth Room wasn't another networking event. She said: “The panel discussions were essential. Not because anyone needed motivation to build. They’re already building. What we needed was comfort, being comfortable asking about equity, understanding what you are giving up, understanding how to structure a company so wealth stays in your hands, and being willing to mentor the next woman and say: here’s what I know, here’s what you need to know, and here’s how we open doors for each other.”

She further added that the new platform built on a simple premise: women building businesses need more than inspiration.

They need knowledge. They need access. They need the confidence to ask difficult questions about money, ownership and investment. And they need environments where women at different stages of their entrepreneurial journeys can share experience openly.

The conversations inside the room moved beyond the familiar language of ambition and success.

She said “the first Wealth Room took place in Dubai, but the initiative is intended to extend beyond the UAE. Future gatherings are being developed in London and Miami, with the broader ambition of creating an international network of women founders who can exchange knowledge, experience and access across markets.”

Women discussed what it means to raise capital, how equity works, what dilution can mean for founders, how ownership can change as a company grows, and the importance of understanding the legal and financial structures surrounding wealth.

The emphasis was not on theory, but on the practical realities that entrepreneurs encounter when they begin scaling businesses, working with investors and making decisions that can have long-term implications for what they have built.

From building businesses to building lasting wealth

The conversations reflected a wider shift taking place among women entrepreneurs in the Gulf and internationally.

As more women establish companies, raise capital and expand into new markets, the conversation is increasingly moving from simply building a business to understanding what happens to ownership and wealth as that business grows. The Wealth Room creates space for those questions.

Participants explored the realities of fundraising and investment, the importance of understanding cap tables and dilution, and the role that appropriate legal and corporate structures can play in protecting what founders create.