Across the region, women entrepreneurs are launching fast-growing businesses, building job pipelines, and making a significant contribution to diversifying the economy. This is not a public organization or symbolic milestone. It is a structural change with real commercial impact.
Women entrepreneurs today are working in all fields that create vision and productivity. From technology, finance, culture, retail, healthcare to the creative economy. They are not waiting to be invited to the conversation, they are setting the agenda.
In the UAE, this evolution has been deliberate. Regulatory change, openness to global markets and a long-term commitment to diversification have created an environment where trade is seen as a major economic transformation. Women are not positioned as a niche demographic or special category of founder. They are increasingly being recognized for what they are: business leaders, operators and growth drivers.
Having grown up in the UAE and built my career across Europe and the Middle East, I know that today’s businesswomen don’t just respond to opportunity, they shape it.
The important question today is not whether women can build businesses here, but how fast and to what extent those businesses can grow.
Entrepreneurs like Mona Ataya, who founded Mumzworld and successfully spun off a regional retail group, are showing how digital platforms can push boundaries. Huda Kattan transformed her personal brand into Huda Beauty, which is now one of the world’s most recognized consumer brands in the Middle East, proving that the connection between culture and global practice is inseparable.
These are not isolated success stories. They reflect a broader reality: women in the region are not only building companies, but also reshaping entire sectors.
In my experience as a founder, scale has always been the real test. Building CRUSH Agency was never about opening another events business; it was about creating a platform that can work with international standards. This desire was confirmed early on when global institutions such as TIME Magazine entrusted my team to deliver the TIME100 Impact awards, a project that required world-class governance, trusted partnerships, and consistent delivery under international scrutiny.
As a founder and CEO, I am often asked about resilience, especially as a female entrepreneur. It’s an important quality, but it’s also often misunderstood. Being strong doesn’t mean putting up with obstacles. It’s about making the right decisions under pressure, adapting quickly, and maintaining a long-term perspective in changing environments.
Middle East markets are moving fast. Expectations are high. The competition is global. Successful entrepreneurs here do so by understanding positions, governance, and long-term value creation, not by relying on a particular choice.
When I launched ICOS. with CRUSH, the decision was strategic, not symbolic. I saw a clear market gap. Extraordinary regional talent was there, but there was a clear place to be taken to be a trusted bridge between that talent and global luxury brands, especially when cultural flexibility, intelligence, and building long-term relationships are a matter of commercial results, while also attracting international talent to the region.
This is increasingly true for women entrepreneurs in the region: identifying inefficiencies, creating ethical solutions, and working with a commercial purpose.
There is now ample evidence that women-led businesses deliver strong commercial results when they are given equal access to capital and opportunities. Diverse leadership teams consistently outperform their peers, especially in innovation-driven sectors. Yet women-led businesses across the region still receive a relatively small share of investment.
This gap does not reflect ability. It is a gap in perception.
What is often overlooked is that the UAE is already building much of the infrastructure needed to close this gap. The country remains among the world’s leading markets for women entrepreneurs, according to the MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, reflecting strong regulatory frameworks, ease of business ownership, and institutional support for female entrepreneurs.
From the user’s perspective, the opportunity is clear. Investors who support women-led businesses in the UAE do not make decisions based on values; they make smart tradesmen. And the region’s next phase of growth will be shaped by innovators who combine cultural intelligence with global execution.
One of the most under-recognized areas of women’s entrepreneurship in the region is the creative and cultural economy. Yet the sector plays an important role in shaping global perception, attracting investment, and building soft power.
Creative industries, from experience creation to content, talent, and cultural platforms, do not exist in one place. They influence the way cities operate, how brands gain cultural value, and how the region is understood around the world.
Women bring more expertise to this space. They introduce structure, governance, and quality to industries that were once considered illegal or unconventional. In doing so, they turn art into an economic commodity rather than a soft commodity. This is where female founders created both commercial and cultural importance to the region.
Women entrepreneurs in the Middle East are moving from visibility to influence, from participation to leadership. The next phase requires less encouragement and more commitment: purposeful investment, board-level training, and a willingness to see women founders not as emerging talent, but as long-term value creators.
And the commercial momentum is already evident. A Mastercard study published in March 2025 found that 84 percent of women in the UAE are considering starting their own business. This is a powerful sign of entrepreneurial intent that, when compared to funds and networks, can translate into real economic growth.
Women are changing the economic and cultural landscape of the UAE: with determination, strategy, and scale.
