How to Find Women Franchisees in the Middle Eastern Market

More women than men in this region intend to start a business in the Middle East announce Wamda, an entrepreneurial media site concentrated in the MENA. For every woman running a business, over six women intend to start a company, but for every male entrepreneur, only two and a half people intend to do so. There is no dearth of women who wants to start their own business and franchising prove to be their passport to help secure a foothold in the business world. However, in this part of the world living with many stereotypes and myths, women participation is relatively fresh and exciting and franchisors needs to consider several ways to find and attract women investors or aspiring entrepreneurs.

The statistics from a study by the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) are startling. Women investors control around 22% of the assets under management in the Middle East. That is around $0.7 trillion. And this is wealth that is expected to grow 8% through the years to 2014. Women in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, are estimated to hold billions in personal wealth; $12 billion belongs to Saudi Arabian women, of which 75% sits in cash deposits and 20% in unit trusts. Clearly, this is a fast-growing segment that businesses around the world are seeking to tap.

Before doing business in the Middle East, it is imperative to learn about areas such as business culture, business etiquette, meeting protocol and negotiation techniques. Through such knowledge, stereotypes are broken and barriers to communication reduced. Looking for women franchisees or potential franchise investors could be a challenge since many aspiring business women lack confidence and fear of failure doing business. However, there are certain venues and events where women presence is highly prominent like trade-shows, conferences, focus groups etc. Many women are exploring and looking out for new and exciting ideas in such venues where they could invest and run their own enterprise.

The Financial Services for Women Middle East Summit was recently held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai with the focus on the female customer. Or should we say the women investor who is increasingly sophisticated and looking for varied and high profile investment products that suit her risk appetite. In which case, there is much work to be done in that field. Strategies have to be retooled to fit the expectations of the wealthy Middle Eastern woman investor. Studies have to be conducted to understand and analyze these women’s investment appetite. Several financial products may have to be tailored to meet their needs. For it has become quite apparent, the rich woman investor from the Middle East wants more from her bank than a spa.

ABOUT FRANCORP MIDDLE EAST:

Francorp® Middle East is the largest Franchise Consulting firm in the MENA region. Being a renowned franchise company established in the US, Francorp Middle East provides franchise opportunities to companies with their comprehensive franchising resources including but not limited to Franchise Program Development, Strategic Planning, Legal Services, Franchise Operations Manual, Franchise Marketing and Sales Training through the seamless and coordinated efforts of an in-house team of expert Franchise Consultants. Over the years, Francorp has assisted more than 14,000 companies plan for expansion and to open new franchise through franchise business concept and have developed more than 4000 full franchise program including coffee shop franchise in Dubai and the UAE.

Hamburg Trading House is an authorized Shell Marine lubricants distributor in the UAE. In addition to Shell Marine Products, they are representing Tribomar in the United Arab Emirates for their Oil Manage