The National:
A year ago, Badour Al Massabi and Hend Al Nuaimi would have been at a loss to describe what, exactly, an entrepreneur does.
Now they are not only preparing to open their own businesses, but they also hold events to educate other female students at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.
“We are empowering women, the new leaders, to open their businesses,” says Ms Al Massabi, 21, who is vice president of an entrepreneurship club at the university.
Ms Massabi and the club’s president, Ms Al Nuaimi, set up the group after taking an entrepreneurship class last semester.
“When I started teaching entrepreneurship, most students didn’t really know what [it] really meant,” says Victor Huang, who teaches the course at Zayed University and is an assistant professor of entrepreneurship there.
“If you asked them to translate entrepreneurship into the Arabic language, there were a variety of different translations, which was quite fascinating.
In the past, the club’s members have attended workshops and seminars run by groups such as Tamakkan, which provides business advice and moral support.
But the group’s seven members now aim to launch a number of businesses and are seeking sponsors to back the ventures.
Photo by Shenli Leong