Reuters Life- United Arab Emirates investment firm Forsa is hoping to tap the largely overlooked market of wealthy Gulf Arab women with the launch of funds worth 250 million dirhams (34 millionpounds) open to female investors only.
Women in the Gulf hold about $40 billion (20 billion pounds) of the region’s wealth and their earning power is on the rise, attracting a growing number of women-specific investment ventures.
Forsa, set up by government-owned Dubai World in January, offers a 200 million dirham general fund and a 50 million dirham real estate fund which Shamsa Noor Ali Rashid, chief executive of the firm said had proved popular with Emirati women.
Forsa has also joined forces with Dubai firm The National Investor (TNI) to give women more access to investment products.
“The Forsa-TNI venture enables women to partake in the stock and capital markets in the same way that their male counterparts do,” Orhan Osmansoy, chief executive of TNI, told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference on Monday to launch the funds.
