Leading the new ‘She’s Next’ partnership in the United Arab Emirates are, from left, Visa’s Saeeda Jaffer; PublisHer’s Bodour Al Qasimi (Image: Nabs Ahmedi); and Emirates Nature’s Laila Mostafa Abdullatif
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Grant Application Deadline: October 1
Our readers who were at the Sharjah Booksellers Conference in late April will remember, the PublisHer program of support for women in international publishing inaugurated its specialized PublisHer Lounge in a new partnership with the retail electronic payments network Visa, the details of which have been released today (August 28), Emirati Women’s Day.
Visa is in a third edition of its She’s Next program in the United Arab Emirates, and is working again with PublisHer as its partner—this time to provide a substantial US$50,000 grant (183,625 UAE dirhams) to a woman publisher in the UAE. The program later this year will follow up on this publishing-based grant with three more iterations for women, in fashion, food, and entrepreneurship.
Application details and information is here.
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, PublisHer was created during the 2019 London Book Fair (this year March 12 to 14) by Sharjah publisher Bodour Al Qasimi—the past president of the International Publishers Association (IPA) and now president and board chairwoman of the American University at Sharjah and chairwoman of the Sharjah Book Authority. PublisHer has continued to expand its reach and traction, in addressing “entrenched gender imbalances and driving a worldwide agenda for change in the publishing industry.”
Visa’s She’s Next is an advocacy program intended to support women striving to finance, manage, and expand their small businesses. This third edition of She’s Next is designed to empower female publishers by providing them with networking opportunities, mentorship, training, and funding to thrive in the publishing industry. She’s Next has the backing of the wider UAE publishing industry with Sharjah Publishing City supporting it as its licensing partner, and the Sharjah Book Authority and Emirates Publishing Association committing as support partners.
The winner of the $50,000 She’s Next grant will have not only to a training program tailored to her needs, but also access to the “She’s Next Club,” which offers resources including a workshop library and a community of entrepreneurs.
The program is informed by two rounds of Visa’s research called the Women SMB (Small- and Medium-sized Businesses) Digitalization Index. These data points are developed by scoring businesses on five indicators:
- Online presence
- Digital payments acceptance
- Payment security awareness
- Customer engagement
- Customer retention
Some of the results of this research made by Visa indicate that:
- 36 percent of women entrepreneurs in the UAE see access to capital as a major barrier to business growth
- More than half of respondents (51 percent) say they aspire to explore new markets or industries to expand the business
- Nearly half of surveyed women-owned businesses (46 percent) say they want to enhance the range of products they offer
- And nearly half (42 percent) of women entrepreneurs find partnership/networking opportunities a key challenge
And as Visa has deepened its insights into the needs and potentials of the region’s markets, with Emirates Nature-WWF (in association with the World Wildlife Fund of the UAE) joining the program this year, and “She’s Next in Food” is set for a November launch.
‘A Call to Action’
Saeeda Jaffar, Visa’s senior vice-president and group country manager for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is quoted in today’s announcement, saying, “She’s Next is dedicated to supporting women-owned businesses on their growth journey. This year‘s partnership with PublisHer seeks to further strengthen this mission.
With Visa’s research pointing to the challenge of networking and partnership for nearly half of women entrepreneurs, “We’re committed to addressing these challenges by offering ample networking opportunities, as well as funding, mentorship, and resources to empower women-owned businesses in the publishing industry and helping them thrive in a competitive market.
“PublisHer is a call to action, an initiative that seeks to support an empowered community of creative entrepreneurs and provide viable solutions to the many gender-based inequities that have long characterized the industry.”
In joining today’s messaging to the news media, Al Qasimi says, “At PublisHer, we are dedicated to the empowerment of women in publishing and improving opportunities for women to grow and thrive around the world.
“Publishing is characterized by both creativity and entrepreneurship, and we strive to give women platforms to demonstrate their skills and talents.
“Our partnership with the Visa’s She’s Next initiative provides such a platform, shining a much-needed light on local publishing talent. We’re thrilled to be working with Visa in support of our mission.”
And Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, director general of Emirates Nature-WWF, says, “Women offer diverse perspectives and experiences, which contribute to more comprehensive strategies and solutions that work for 100 percent of humanity.
“Emirates Nature-WWF is delighted to support women-led businesses and initiatives in conservation, sustainability, and other fields through guidance and unbiased mentorship.”
A Growing Track Record
In 2023, Publishing Perspectives understands, Visa’s collaborative initiatives in Gulf Cooperation Council markets—She’s Next, and another program called She Trades—trained 340 women from six countries and responsible for as many as 12,000 employees. That work, done in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) was assessed at 96 percent of its participants reporting improved skills and 97 percent reporting increased self-confidence.
The third edition of She’s Next this year is bringing Microsoft Philanthropies onboard “to further enhance women entrepreneurs’ business and digital skills, improve their competitiveness, market access, and financial inclusion.”
Many who use Visa may not be aware that since 2020, the company reports investing some US$3 million in more than 250 grants and coaching for women who own small- and medium-sized businesses in nations including the United States, Canada, India, Ireland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Pakistan, Kenya, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, and Morocco.
Again, for those interested in applying and/or learning more, there’s a dedicated site for the program in which PublisHer and Visa are partnering here.
More from Publishing Perspectives on PublisHer is here, more on women in publishing is here, more on Sharjah’s publishing market and activities is here, and more on the United Arab Emirates and international publishing is here.