As we approach International Women’s Day, Global Village celebrates the many women who have achieved success right here in Global Village.

While women are making their mark in the traditional fields of education, healthcare, and research, few are prepared to take risks and aspire to be entrepreneurs.

However, this is changing thanks to forward thinking organizations who appreciate the role women Entrepreneurs can play in boosting the economy.Since its establishment in 1997, Global Village, part of Dubai Holding Entertainment,has empowered female entrepreneurs and provided them with a conducive platform to set up their businesses and the opportunity to establish themselves as successful business owners.

Women entrepreneurs at Global Village are Dubai’s homegrown success stories – displaying a wide variety of innovations that have enabled then to create flourishing businesses.Be it as investors who have brought new and unique products to Global Village or as entrepreneurs who have established restaurant chains, women have always led from the front.

Of the total exhibitors at Global Village, an impressive 33 percent are female entrepreneurs who have invested in either country pavilions, retail shops, kiosks, SMEs, attractions, or restaurants. Their dedication has resulted in a proven track record of success with guests, garnering solid business results, enriched communities and much more.

This year, Global Village, the UAE and wider region’s leading multicultural family destination for culture, shopping, and entertainment is celebrating International Women’s Dayby showcasing some of the female powerhouses who started small and went on to successfully establish their brands over the years.

Jordanian, Hanadi Ahmed is a perfect example of an entrepreneurial success story emerging from Global Village. Hanadi first visited Dubai in 1997,when Global Village had just been launched, and spotted the perfect business opportunity. Two years later in 1999, Hanadi opened her first shop at the Park and started selling gift items with a capital of just AED 10,000. Within a month, she had made a profit of AED 18,000. A few years down the line, Hanadi expanded her business exponentially and opened six shops in a number of country pavilions, experimenting with different items each time. She moved to Dubai from Jordan soon after and opened an exhibition company. Initially, she collaborated with a friend, invested in the UAE country pavilion, and a few years later took full ownership of the Morocco pavilion.

Adding to her success story are GVWOW Awards for Best Pavilion, Best Façade, and Best Heritage that Hanadi has been winning for the past six years. “Global Village becomes bigger and better with each passing year. I consider it a school that has taught me all about business, she says.Hanadi maintains a positive outlook for the future and plans to invest in more country pavilions.

KhanokphunKhumpiranonth, the owner of Yahya Seafood Restaurant, is another inspirational success story of a female entrepreneur emerging from Global Village. From selling Tom Yum soup at the Thailand Pavilion in 2006 to becoming the owner of a restaurant that has a branch in Dubai’s prime location as well as in Malaysia, Khanokphun remains refreshingly grounded despite her incredible success.

In 2015, Khanokphun started selling Thai food from a kiosk and then a food cart with the purpose to make the cuisine popular amongst the guests.Her food became such a hit that people queued for it until gates closed every day. In 2018, she successfully opened the Yahya Seafood Restaurant at Global Village and expanded to the Deira Waterfront market simultaneously.

Today, she has a legacy.

“I had customers who were children when they started visiting me at Global Village and now they are adults with children of their own. I owe this success to Global Village, a place where I do not spend on marketing myself because people from all over the world spread the word.”

While Global Village celebrates the success of its entrepreneurs, Dubai Holding, in an event to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, will also showcase leading female talent from the Group and share expertise across Dubai’s leading sectors. The event is an opportunity for key stakeholders to learn first-hand about Dubai Holding’s business sectors from leading women while confirming the Group’s commitment to Gender Equality (SDG5) on International Women’s Day.