Sharjah 24: In celebration of International Women’s Day 2021, the Sharjah Business Women Council (SBWC), an affiliate of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment (NAMA), hosted a special edition of #SBWCTalks on Monday, March 8, featuring two dynamic businesswomen who shared stories of their unique approaches to entrepreneurship and success.

Held in partnership with Sharjah Ladies Club, the latest session of #SBWCTalks featured HE Shatha Allay, Founder of Al Shatha Beauty Spa, and Fatima Showaiter, Founder of Ark Coffee. The one-hour session in Arabic was held from 5pm to 6pm at the Sharjah Ladies Club. 

#SBWCTalks is an exclusive platform for SBWC members to share knowledge, explore best practices and learn from successful business professionals. 

In line with the International Women’s Day’s theme, #ChooseToChallenge, the two speakers detailed the difficulties, inspirations, and the lessons learnt while building their successful businesses. HE Shatha Allay and Fatima Showaiter also outlined the strategies for building resilience and continuing to stay motivated in challenging circumstances.

“My entrepreneurship journey started over 10 years ago with a fashion design project”, Her Excellency Shatha Allay told the discussion’s attendees, adding: “I’ve always focused on advancing my skillsets, and spent time in the media industry to gain essential marketing skills.”

“Managing finances was a big challenge, and I learned that having an accountant from the get-go coupled with time management are crucial for success. Another lesson for me was the increased likelihood fo falling prey to fraud as the business expands,” she said recounting her experience as the founder of the successful Al Shatha Beauty Spa. 

Allay noted that SBWC’s continued support throughout her journey played a major role in her success. “The Council’s nurturing environment boosted my confidence, while the networking opportunities they offered by helping me participate in exhibitions and events locally and globally deepened my industry knowledge and experience. All this made me who I am today in the business world.”

Fatima Showaiter said she found her true passion in a culinary academy she joined after finshing her education and starting to work. “Here, I started developing my ideas, which led me to travel the world and gain more experiences. My marketing major helped me a lot as it plays a vital role in business.”

“Beginings are always hard,” Fatima told her audience noting it was a challenge initaially to run her ‘zero-waste policy’ restaurant profitably. Noting the impartance of time management she said: “After years of experience, I realised that sorting priorities could save you years. The most important thing is to have an innovative idea and work towards your end-goal without giving up.”

Recounting SBWC’s role in her entrepreneurial journey, she noted: “The late Ameera BinKaram was one of my biggest supporters who always questioned me about my vision, business ideas, and project goals. SBWC helped me launch my restaurant and has been a pillar of support for me. I am looking at the future with great hope and wish that my relationship with SBWC leads to the birth of many innovative projects with environment protection at their core,” Showaiter concluded. 

SBWC has joined the International Women’s Day 2021 #ChooseToChallenge campaign with its own social media challenge, raising a strong call to action to female entrepreneurs in the UAE to come forward and share their personal experiences of winning over professional challenges, and offer their advice and knowledge to others seeking to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.

Mariam Bin Al Shaikh, Membership and Services Manager at SBWC, said: “International Women’s Day provides women worldwide a powerful platform to celebrate and highlight their achievements, forge gender parity, and boost efforts in the creation of an inclusive world. It is challenges that drive change, and with the launch of our new social media challenge where successful businesswomen share their impactful wisdom and insights, SBWC aims to foster an ecosystem of support for our community of aspiring women founders in Sharjah and across the UAE.” 

She added: “#SBWCTalks are inspirational in nature, and at the latest edition, our speakers highlighted how they tackled the personal and professional trials they encountered to fulfil their entrepreneurial dreams.  For new members, #SBWCTalks is also an opportunity to network with successful women entrepreneurs and explore the possibilities of starting their own businesses.”  

Launched in 2019, the SBWC Talks platform served as a vital support system for SBWC members since the COVID-19 outbreak. The platform was quickly transformed into a virtual interface, #SBWCTalks, and has kept members connected and engaged remotely.