“We do not want a mentality of men versus women, but rather a comprehensive mentality for knowledge sharing between the two genders in order to build the best products,” says the cofounder of the MENA region’s first all-female investment fund, Womena.
Launched in Dubai in November 2014 Chantalle Dumonceaux was clear about their role – a space that helps female investors and entrepreneurs to meet and make deals. She also sees the group as an educational space for its members to learn about seed investment and the ecosystem, all to help them make better investment decisions.
Advancement of female investment
The founders, Dumonceaux and Elissa Freiha, have been friends since university and say that since that time they knew they would create something together. “We saw that […] the market has many needs, such as the large number of capitals that are not always invested in the right place, or for the best deal, due to the lack of education and investment regulatory authorities,” says Dumonceaux.
“We kept on thinking and doing research, and found that there is no platform for women who want to invest, so we decided to launch Womena from Dubai,” says Dumonceaux. “Women often walk to meeting halls full of men and feel intimidated to ask questions, or do not find a space suitable for their needs. We wanted to give women their own space while gathering resources from all community actors.”
Linking the words ‘women’ and ‘MENA’ they have accompanied the word Womena with the image of the number five, three times over, symbolizing the birth date of Sayyida Khadija, whom Dumonceaux describes as “the first angel investor. The Prophet Muhammad’s wife came from a very rich family and invested her own funds to help people do business. She is an inspiring model for female angel investors in the region.”
Original article by Pamela Kesrouani
Continue reading at Wamda:
Womena, solving the gender imbalance of the region’s angel investors
Comments
Facebook
Twitter
Contact
Elan.tv
Comments