Visa, the global leader in digital payments, has announced the launch of its global “She’s Next” initiative in Qatar to empower local women entrepreneurs.
This initiative represents a global program to support female owners of small and medium-sized companies by providing financing, training and mentorship opportunities. All female entrepreneurs from various sectors in Qatar can apply to join the program until June 23.
One winner will receive a $50,000 grant, a tailored training program offered by Menasa, as well as access to She’s Next resources such as the Workshop Library and Entrepreneur Community.
Shashank Singh, General Manager, Kuwait and Qatar, Visa, said: “With Qatar’s digital economy booming following hosting one of the world’s biggest sporting events, we are delighted to launch our global ‘She’s Next’ initiative for the first time in Qatar to support locally owned businesses. by women.”
Singh added, “The ‘Women-Owned SME Digitization Index’ highlights the importance of digital transformation for companies, and identifies the opportunities offered by the ‘She’s Next’ program in creating an effective ecosystem that supports the next generation of women entrepreneurs in achieving their business goals. The program contributes to Bridging the gender gap in entrepreneurship, and harnessing the power of technology to move towards equality between them.”
She’s Next is part of Visa’s efforts to support the digital transformation of women-owned businesses. In a move considered the first of its kind, the company announced the launch of the “Digitization Index for Small and Medium Enterprises Owned by Women in the State of Qatar,” which measures digital maturity using five axes: electronic presence, acceptance of digital payments, awareness of payment security, interaction with customers, and customer retention. . At the level of the State of Qatar, the survey revealed that women-owned companies achieved higher scores in the areas of electronic presence, customer retention, and digital marketing.
It is noteworthy that since 2020, Visa has invested nearly $3 million in more than 250 grants and training programs for women entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized businesses worldwide through the “She’s Next” grant program in the United States, Canada, India, and Ireland. Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco.
