DMCC, Ministry of Economy launch UAE women’s financial literacy platform

DMCC, the UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism and EWA Group have launched NAYRA, a financial literacy and sustainable finance platform for women and girls that starts with a university pilot in Q3 2026. The effort is meant to build financial confidence, entrepreneurship pathways and data for the UAE’s National Financial Literacy Strategy.

Why it matters: - NAYRA is designed to strengthen financial capability, entrepreneurship and economic participation among women and girls in the UAE. - The pilot is expected to reach about 5,000 participants across three leading UAE universities in its first year. - The initiative is tied to the UAE National Financial Literacy Strategy (2026–2030), so the pilot data is intended to help shape wider policy and rollout. - The platform targets a gap in many financial literacy programs: turning education into measurable economic outcomes.

What happened: - DMCC launched NAYRA with the UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism and the EWA Group at the Belgian Residence in Abu Dhabi. - The launch brought together government, banking, university and business representatives from the UAE and Europe. - Attendees included H.E. Abdulla Alsaleh, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy & Tourism, as well as representatives from the UAE Central Bank, Sanadak, UAE Banks Federation, DMCC, the American University of Sharjah and the BeNeLux Business Council. - The American University of Sharjah is piloting the initiative. - The program begins its pilot phase in Q3 2026 with leading universities across the UAE.

The details: - NAYRA combines financial education, entrepreneurship pathways and a new Financial Confidence Index framework. - The Financial Confidence Index is meant to measure financial confidence, behavioral readiness and economic participation, not just financial knowledge. - Policymakers, universities and ecosystem partners are expected to use the framework to better understand how financial education translates into action. - The framework is being piloted under the UAE National Financial Literacy Strategy (2026–2030), with findings intended to inform regional and international use. - The digital platform is designed to connect participants with education resources, entrepreneurship support, mentors, networks and market opportunities. - The platform will first serve the UAE ecosystem with access to UAE-based mentors, business networks, free zone pathways and market opportunities. - The platform is built to scale to wider international cohorts in later phases. - The platform is expected to support interest in entrepreneurship, SME creation, investment readiness, sustainable finance, career development and long-term financial planning. - The pilot will generate one of the UAE’s first large-scale datasets focused on financial capability among young women in the Emirates. - The findings are expected to support implementation of the UAE National Financial Literacy Strategy (2026–2030). - SMEs account for about 94% of UAE businesses and 63.5% of non-oil GDP. - The ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision targets one million SMEs and a rise in the entrepreneur success rate from 30% to 50% over the coming decade.

Between the lines: - The launch comes as the UAE continues investing across technology, sustainable finance, trade, innovation and the knowledge economy. - Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey identifies the UAE as the only country where women’s financial literacy averages higher than men’s, by four percentage points. - OECD’s 2022 PISA financial literacy assessment found UAE girls outperformed UAE boys. - The initiative is built around the view that financial confidence drives saving, investing and entrepreneurship separately from financial knowledge alone. - The university-first rollout reflects a focus on young women entering the workforce as a foundation for household and national economic resilience. - The high school phase is planned because financial habits form early. - McKinsey Global Institute has estimated that bringing each GCC country to the best regional standard for women’s workforce participation could add $180 billion to the regional economy, with full parity reaching $830 billion. - Official figures place over one million women in the UAE’s private sector workforce, with women representing nearly half of the country’s entrepreneurs and owning a significant share of SMEs. - Yulia Stark, president of the European Women’s Association, said many global financial literacy programs have focused on participation metrics rather than economic impact.

What’s next: - The Q2 2026 pilot will test the Financial Confidence Index methodology. - The pilot will validate curriculum and engagement pathways. - The partners will collect data and participant feedback during the trial. - The initiative will build partnerships across education and industry. - The team is preparing for wider national rollout phases. - The program will start with university students and extend to high school cohorts from Q4. - The LinkedIn page for EWA Group is available as More information.