UAE businesswomen find access to funding a challenge, study shows

Access to funding remains a critical challenge for UAE women entrepreneurs as they navigate financial constraints and investment priorities, data showed on Tuesday.

- Somshankar Bandyopadhyay

According to Visa’s Women SMB Digitalization Index, More than half (57 per cent) of women-owned businesses in the UAE rely on personal finances, while (43 per cent) turn to family and friends to set up their businesses.

The index highlights the significant progress women entrepreneurs have made in adopting digital payment methods and leveraging AI to enhance various aspects of their businesses. The announcement comes ahead of Marketplace for Good, a joint initiative by Visa and Meta, which was hosted at Visa’s regional HQ. in Dubai on Tuesday.

More than half of the survey respondents in the UAE claim to be savvier at accepting digital payments in-store and online (55 per cent) than last year.

Similar to the previous year’s results, most surveyed women entrepreneurs in the UAE continue to rely on personal savings (41 per cent) or reinvesting profits (37 per cent) to fund their business.