Women's net worth in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council may grow as much as 15 per cent to about $258 billion in the 10 years through 2023. Photo / Getty
"The woman's segment is definitely an area of focus for Islamic banks and will continue to be," Ashruff Jamall, the Dubai-based head of the Islamic finance division at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, said by phone on February 2.
The efforts highlight the growing economic power of women in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, where the proportion of the female population in the labour market jumped to an average 38 per cent from 28 per cent in the two decades through 2013, according to World Bank data.
Women's net worth in the GCC may grow as much as 15 per cent to about $258 billion in the 10 years through 2023, according to Kuwait Finance Centre, an asset manager and investment bank.
Al Hilal has seen "a lot of demand" for its card, according to Mohamed Zaqout, head of personal banking at the lender. In the GCC, the majority of women have their own bank accounts, according to a PwC study published in October. Female customers are less "prone to switching banks" than men, Jamall said this week.
"One of our missions is ensuring Islamic banking caters to all the segments, including modern UAE women," Al Hilal's Zaqout said by phone from Abu Dhabi on January 26. "The Islamic market is growing and we wanted to offer something unique to this important sector."
The female focus is not necessarily new. Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the biggest Shariah-compliant lender in the UAE, has had a segment of the business called Johara dedicated to women since 2000, and currently has seven exclusive branches. The women's business is an important and "very profitable" unit for the bank, Chief Executive Officer Adnan Chilwan said at a press event in Dubai on January 25, declining to provide figures.
The women sector has been comparatively neglected in the past and women are now becoming increasingly more independent in respect to looking after their own banking needs."The women sector has been comparatively neglected in the past and women are now becoming increasingly more independent in respect to looking after their own banking needs," Jamall said by email yesterday. "It has become a natural area of focus for Islamic banks."
Oman's Bank Nizwa in October introduced a ladies' banking service in response to what it called a "dramatic increase" in the percentage of women in the workforce. Female workers climbed to 29 per cent from 18 per cent in the two decades through 2013, as the country's population almost doubled, according to World Bank data.
In the UAE, the gains were more dramatic. About 47 per cent of women held jobs in 2013, compared with 29 per cent two decades earlier. The country's population grew more than four-fold in the period.
While women are present in greater numbers in the workforce, their roles remain limited. In most developing countries, less than 10 per cent of senior positions are held by women, and in the majority of Middle Eastern nations it is under 2 per cent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
In Abu Dhabi, where Al Hilal Bank is based, about 16 per cent of the total workforce was female in 2013, according to data provided by the government. Women, including Emirati and foreign nationals, accounted for about a quarter of the population in the UAE in 2010, according to government data.
"GCC women are being empowered and have the liberty and influence to make decisions on their own," Muhammad Ashfaq-Ur-Rehman, an independent Islamic finance consultant who previously worked at Standard Chartered Plc, said by email on February 2. "Any offering catering to women would certainly elevate the performance and increase the acceptance level."
Thank you for reaching out to us. We are happy to receive your opinion and request. If you need advert or sponsored post, We’re excited you’re considering advertising or sponsoring a post on our blog. Your support is what keeps us going. With the current trend, it’s very obvious content marketing is the way to go. Banner advertising and trying to get customers through Google Adwords may get you customers but it has been proven beyond doubt that Content Marketing has more lasting benefits.
We offer majorly two types of advertising:
1. Sponsored Posts: If you are really interested in publishing a sponsored post or a press release, video content, advertorial or any other kind of sponsored post, then you are at the right place.
WHAT KIND OF SPONSORED POSTS DO WE ACCEPT?
Generally, a sponsored post can be any of the following:
Press release
Advertorial
Video content
Article
Interview
This kind of post is usually written to promote you or your business. However, we do prefer posts that naturally flow with the site’s general content. This means we can also promote artists, songs, cosmetic products and things that you love of all products or services.
DURATION & BONUSES
Every sponsored article will remain live on the site as long as this website exists. The duration is indefinite! Again, we will share your post on our social media channels and our email subscribers too will get to read your article. You’re exposing your article to our: Twitter followers, Facebook fans and other social networks.
We will also try as much as possible to optimize your post for search engines as well.
Submission of Materials : Sponsored post should be well written in English language and all materials must be delivered via electronic medium. All sponsored posts must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail on Microsoft Word unless otherwise noted.
PRICING
The price largely depends on if you’re writing the content or we’re to do that. But if your are writing the content, it is $60 per article.
2. Banner Advertising: We also offer banner advertising in various sizes and of course, our prices are flexible. you may choose to for the weekly rate or simply buy your desired number of impressions.
Technical Details And Pricing
Banner Size 300 X 250 pixels : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Banner Size 728 X 90 pixels: Appears on the top right Corner of the homepage and all pages on the site.
Large rectangle Banner Size (336x280) : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Small square (200x200) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Half page (300x600) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Portrait (300x1050) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Billboard (970x250) : Appears on the home page.
Submission of Materials : Banner ads can be in jpeg, jpg and gif format. All materials must be deliverd via electronic medium. All ads must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail in the ordered pixel dimensions unless otherwise noted.
For advertising offers, send an email with your name,company, website, country and advert or sponsored post you want to appear on our website to advert @ alexa. ng
Normally, we should respond within 48 hours.