The Sharjah Business Women Council has launched a new e-commerce program worth a total of AED 3.6 million ($980,000) to strengthen the activities of women-led businesses in the digital retail market. Under the one-year program, which will be carried out in cooperation with Packman Portal LLC, 1,000 fully integrated online stores will be provided to council members who meet the required conditions.
The program was announced following the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Maryam Bin Al Shaikh, Director of the Sharjah Business Women Council, and Mohamed Al Rashed, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Packman Portal LLC.
Each Store in the Sharjah Program Is Worth AED 3,600
Each entrepreneur participating in the program will benefit from a free e-commerce store with an annual value of AED 3,600. The package offered will include a dedicated website for the business, payment infrastructure, a product management system, an administrative dashboard, customizable design features, hands-on training, and continuous technical support.
Thanks to this infrastructure, women entrepreneurs will be able to launch a new online retail operation or expand their existing digital operations. The program aims to help businesses reach broader customer groups with their products and increase their competitiveness in e-commerce.
Free Service for a Second Year for Those Receiving 365 Orders
Under the agreement, businesses that receive at least 365 customer orders during the first year will also be able to benefit from the e-commerce store service free of charge in the second year. In this way, the support will cover not only the establishment of the store but also the continuation of the digital growth of businesses that actively generate sales.
Maryam Bin Al Shaikh stated that, for many entrepreneurs, the greatest challenge is not creating a good product or service, but ensuring that customers discover those products and services. Al Shaikh said that a strong digital presence has become a necessity in today’s economy and noted that the cooperation would bring technological infrastructure together with practical knowledge.
Al Shaikh stated that, through the program, women business owners would be able to establish a professional online presence, reach wider markets, and grow their businesses more securely. She also emphasized that women-led businesses with improved digital capabilities would contribute to Sharjah’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and the UAE’s digital economy.
Artificial Intelligence Will Accelerate Online Store Setup
Packman’s artificial intelligence-powered system can automatically create the store structure, product categories, and content after entrepreneurs describe their businesses in natural language. The company states that, with this infrastructure, online stores can be made ready for use in less than one hour. The platform also provides the opportunity to manage payment, inventory, orders, warehousing, shipping, and operational processes through a single dashboard.
Packman Portal Founder and CEO Abdulaziz Almulhem said that every entrepreneur, regardless of their starting point, should have access to the tools required to compete in the digital economy. Almulhem stated that the partnership was part of their goal to support entrepreneurs first in the UAE and then in regional and global markets.
Training on Digital Marketing and Inventory Management Will Be Provided
As part of the program, practical workshops will be organized on digital entrepreneurship, e-commerce store setup, inventory and product management, digital marketing, customer service, performance optimization, and sustainable business growth. The parties will also develop awareness campaigns and new joint projects to increase the participation of women-led businesses in Sharjah’s digital economy. The UAE e-commerce market generated approximately $8.1 billion, equivalent to AED 29.8 billion, in revenue in 2025. The market is expected to continue growing at an annual rate of between 10% and 15% throughout 2026.