Women's Entrepreneurship Day 2020

Moza Al Fardh

Moza is an experienced Life and Career Coach with credentials of ACC by International Coach Federation. She was among the first 60 Chief Happiness and Positivity Officers within the UAE Government that helped her learn about connecting to self and changed her perspective on life. She loves reading and learning about wellbeing.

So what is your business venture?

I am the founder of Moza AlFardh Lifestyle Coaching. I founded this business to achieve my true passion; helping people. My venture focuses on 2 aspects.

Life coaching for women: goal setting, planning and execution, and maintaining work life balance.

Career coaching for college graduates, job seekers, or those looking to shift their career paths: career guidance, CV and interview preparation and so on.

What motivated you to start this entrepreneurial venture?

I have always been a person who likes to push my boundaries. In my career transformation journey over the past 14 years from HR specialist to coach, I discovered my desire to help people. It’s not been easy and I have alternated between being exceptionally exhilarated to completely drained. I received a lot of support from Abdullah from PwC Academy, my mentor and coach, who guided and coached me and helped me discover my niche - working with women and empowering them. Based on the feedback I got from my clients, I understood that the key focus areas for me were work life balance, career matters, goal setting and execution. I focused on my strengths and now I reap the reward by doing what I love and am passionate about.

What are the main lessons you have learnt and what's your vision for your business?

One of the most important lessons I have learnt is that it is never too late to achieve your goal once you set your mind to it. But for this, it is important to have focus and a plan. Your goals are just a wishlist. You need to have a vision of where you want to be, and then clearly think about the steps you need to take and the things you need to do to achieve that wishlist. It’s a journey that I undertook and I am very proud of.

I see myself, through the medium of my venture, being the light in people’s lives. Of course I want my coaching business to grow, but more importantly I want to run a business that is available to all those who want to become a better version of themselves. I hope that people can take the light of coaching, and shine their lives with it.

Any message you would like to share with other women entrepreneurs to encourage them?

Success is referred as SHE. Women are always successful. Remember that!

Amanda Line

Amanda Line is a PwC Partner and PwC’s Academy Leader in the Middle East. She has over 30 years diverse experience in financial services, education and consumer goods. Amanda holds board positions on several not-for-profit organisations, including Dubai College, ICAEW and Global Transformation Foundation. She is a ‘lifetime entrepreneur’ and has started and built 7 different businesses across 3 continents.

What is your entrepreneurial venture?

I am a serial entrepreneur. I build businesses, grow them, (and sometimes sell them) before moving on to the next one. 2 years ago, I saw an exciting opportunity when the UAE launched an initiative to enhance sustainable food security by encouraging modern farming. Together with a very talented farmer I founded New Leaf, a vertical farm in Dubai that grows microgreens in a chemical and pesticide free environment with a focus on maximising taste and nutritional value as well as reducing the time and miles from farm to table.

What was your motivation to start this business?

I am a strong believer in the UAE vision of building sustainability in fresh food and of course there is an increasing awareness of the importance of healthy eating and nutritious food (one of my personal passions). Having researched the market for microgreens we identified that there was an opportunity for a new business to compete with imported products. New Leaf is a business that contributes to the national agenda of my adopted home, improves individual and societal health and is my personal passion. For me that's a perfect storm!

What are the main lessons learnt you have learnt as a lifetime entrepreneur?

There are so many, but my top 3 would be;

• Have access to at least 3 times the start up capital that you think you may need - there are ALWAYS unforeseen circumstances (even before COVID)
• Grow slowly - a big contract or win could be the end of the business if you don't have the capital and resources to deliver and deliver well.
• Identify what makes you different. Even more important than being a technology-enabled business is understanding and delivering a unique and compelling customer experience.

Any message you would like to share with other women entrepreneurs to encourage them?

Being a woman might make other people think differently about you, but it shouldn’t make you think differently about yourself. Be an entrepreneur, not a female entrepreneur. Believe in yourself.Ankita Chaturvedi

Ankita is an HR professional and a Certified Learning and Development Manager. She is an Assoc CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) and has a Masters in Business Administration.

What’s your venture and what motivated you to start this business?

I am the founder of IRIS Management Consultant FZ-LLC which is an HR and management consultancy firm. The main aim of IRIS Management Consultant FZ-LLC is to help organisation’s achieve their vision accompanied with the achievement of it’s financial goals, along with a focus on employee wellbeing and employee motivation. This is achieved by offering organisations a wide range of consulting services; bespoke sessions; customised solutions in the field of Management, Organisation, People and HR.

How has your qualification helped you in your current role?

The CIPD qualification gave me the confidence I needed to start a business in the field of HR. The interactive classroom sessions gave me a holistic understanding of all the challenges encountered by professionals from diverse backgrounds and different approaches that can be adopted to overcome these challenges.

What message would you like to share with the audience?

Be patient and reward yourself with every achievement, however small it may be. Slow and steady wins the race, and nothing is impossible if you take one step at a time.