Female finances on the up

Nicola Horlick is CEO of Bramdiva, a wealth management service offered exclusively for wealthy women. Bramdiva is about to launch services in the Middle East, starting in Dubai in 2007. One of the greatest opportunities I see in the wealth management global market is in the Middle East where the growth in female wealth is gaining attention.

"I first noticed this trend at the beginning of 2006 since when I have been working to develop various alliances in key territories including Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. I hope to extend Bramdiva [the women's wealth management company based in London] further still in time into Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.A handful of important developments have emerged since the Gulf region drew my attention. In Bahrain, the Abu Dhabi Investment House has launched Masrafy to target high net worth women in the Gulf region. In January this year, Dubai World launched Forsa, a fund aimed at providing investment opportunities for women and educational and financial support for female entrepreneurs. The fund, which hopes to raise AED 1 billion, has the enthusiastic support of Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World.But, we would be wrong to assume this is a very recent phenomenon. The entrepreneurial Sheikha Hanadi bint Nasser bin Khaled Al Thani recognised the opportunity nine years ago when in 1998 she established the Qatar Ladies Investment Company. That has since developed into a powerful and award-winning financial institution under a new name, Amwal. "Continue to the full story from Source.