Forsa invests in Arab businesswomen

Investment is probably the most male-dominated sector in any region, let alone the Middle East. Arab women have a relatively little experience in it, and generally not enough to enable them to lead their investments safely.

For that reason Dubai World launched Forsa early this year. Announced in January, it is an investment fund that focuses exclusively on women. And as the company's slogan suggests, Forsa was established by women and for women.

'Traditionally, regardless of which part of the world you are in, the percentage of women as investors is very low. So it's important to encourage, facilitate, and mentor that need in the market in order to get women to invest and develop their confidence with a company that is specifically focused on their needs', explains Shamsa Rashid, CEO Forsa.

Rashid insists that while there are certainly some companies that have divisions for women, nobody focuses on women investors and their needs, something Forsa wants to do.

Pink Ribbon

It's easy to scoff at a company such as Forsa, and wonder why women would need an investment company exclusive to them. Questions spring to mind such as whether they have special needs that are different to those of men and what is stopping them from working with an investment company that deals with both sexes. Rashid seems to have all the answers.

'Women have less experience in investment compared to men. So they need simple products, which they can touch, feel and understand. But most of the products that are in the market don't cater to that.'

From an investment risk appetite point of view, Rashid sees that women's needs look different. They are far more interested in preserving their capital and having security against what they are investing in, so their capital can at least be kept or identified upfront.

Rashid believes that when it comes to addressing women, most companies simply put a pink ribbon on the very same products and then promote them as 'women's products'.

But Forsa adopts a different approach. 'We truly focus by carrying our researches to find out what women's needs are, how they invest and what their preferred ways of investments are. So we're truly focused on their needs, not just rapping a product and selling it', explains Rashid.

A women's territory

Within six months, Forsa raised Dhs250m through two investment funds.

Forsa Fund 1, the company's first general fund, generated Dhs200m, and Forsa Real Estate 1, Forsa's first real estate fund, raised Dhs50m. According to the company, the first amount will be invested in various sectors including education, retail, and healthcare while the second will go into the company's first real estate project that it has already inaugurated.

Rashid says this as an exciting time for Forsa and women investors alike, especially coming after the long and thorough stages of conceptualising the company, and then its fund-raising campaign in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

The real estate project is supposed to offer diverse investment opportunities for women with excellent return prospects, according to Rashid. This comes at a time that sees increasing number of women becoming more involved in investments in the UAE.

'Certainly most women investors are involved in the equity market, but a growing number are looking at other venues and other projects that they can have access to through a company like Forsa', Rashid adds.

When asked if Forsa would welcome interested men in their services, Rashid claimed that there are a big number of companies already catering for male investors. 'Forsa is a women's company. We're proud of that and we want to keep it a territory of ours.'

See also:
The Emirati Business Women of Tomorrow
China ripe for Middle East investment
Working With Islamic Finance