The Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship (SWIF) empowers women founders to scale purpose-driven ventures through a four-month leadership and venture-building journey.
Sector: Economic Empowerment
Region: UAE
Approval year: 2025
Economic Empowerment; Opportunity & Inclusion
Through this grant, we support the Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship (SWIF), launched by the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) to equip 12 women founders with the skills, networks, and resources to grow impactful businesses. SWIF builds on Sheraa’s decade-long experience nurturing over 180 startups and creating 1,900 jobs across the UAE. The program prioritizes founders based in Sharjah or expanding their operations to the Emirate, contributing to the region’s inclusive entrepreneurial growth.
The Sharjah Women Impact Fellowship (SWIF) is an initiative of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), launched under the patronage and vision of Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi. SWIF is rooted in Sharjah’s broader commitment to innovation, equity, and sustainable development, bringing together government, corporate, and investment partners to champion women’s leadership in business. Through its equity-free model, SWIF enables exceptional women founders to access world-class mentorship, funding opportunities, and strategic networks that expand their ventures’ impact and visibility.
Despite growing momentum in MENA’s entrepreneurship landscape, women remain significantly underrepresented. According to a 2022 TiE Dubai and Wamda case study, The Gender Gap in Startup Investment, only 2% of MENA investment funding went to solo women founders, while 5% of funding went to at least one female co-founder teams. The rest, 92.7% went to all male startups. Women founders typically receive less investment and fewer scaling opportunities.
SWIF addresses these gaps by focusing on leadership and systemic inclusion. It builds the visibility, confidence, and networks that women founders need to access funding and grow their enterprises. The Fellowship combines leadership development, peer learning, and venture-building opportunities for founders at the early and SME stages. This is a four-month fellowship with individual stipends for all 12 women founders.
By empowering women entrepreneurs to lead, innovate, and build resilient ventures, SWIF advances Meem Foundation’s mission to create inclusive pathways for women’s economic empowerment in the UAE and across the MENA region.
Source: WAMDA Research 2022
