Sima Ganwani Ved
Sima Ganwani Ved is the Founder and Chairwoman of the renowned Apparel Group. The multi-billion-dollar company based in the UAE has firmly established itself as one of the largest retailers in the Middle East with an impressive portfolio of 85+ prestigious brands across 2,300+ stores in 14 countries, supported by a dedicated workforce of over 24,000 employees. Over the years, Sima Ganwani Ved’s achievements garnered numerous professional and personal awards and accolades including The Philanthropreneur of the Year, Retailer of the Year, Great Place to Work, Great Women’s Award and Emirates Woman of the Year Awards.
Sima Ganwani Ved, born in Africa, embarked on a remarkable journey that would shape her into the successful entrepreneur she is today. In the 1970s, she relocated to Dubai alongside her self-made entrepreneur father, immersing herself in a world of ambition and opportunity. She later moved to the UK to pursue her education, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree from King’s College London, followed by an MBA in Business Management. At the age of 20, Sima Ganwani Ved made her foray into the business world as a Department Manager in her father’s shopping mall. This experience laid a solid foundation for her work ethic and reinforced her commitment to sound business principles.
In addition to her remarkable achievements in the business world, Sima Ganwani Ved is also an active member of various global organizations such as YPO and CEO. Sima Ganwani Ved’s compassionate nature extends beyond her professional pursuits and that led her to mentor her teenage daughter, Sarisha Ved to launch her own Athleisure brand, F5 Global where 100% of the profits from the “Tees for Fees” collection go towards children’s education. Simultaneously, Sima Ganwani Ved also mentored her eldest daughter, Selina Ved, to establish NESSA, a social e-commerce beauty platform.
“When you think about female empowerment; you have a vague figure of someone in your head, but then you meet Sima and you go like, oh wait a minute; that’s female empowerment, that’s what it looks like!”, said Eva Longoria at the Global Gift Gala in Dubai, before bestowing Mrs. Ved with the Philantropreneur of the Year Award.
As a dynamic individual who displays a diverse range of talents and interests, Sima Ganwani Ved likes to reinvent herself creatively, embracing new ventures and challenges. In the early 2000s, she embarked on a writing journey, contributing a column to a newspaper for two and a half years, and simultaneously won awards for her play acting. In 2000, Sima Ganwani Ved launched her own TV chat show “Hi Tea with Sima Ved” on Star Plus International. Stay tuned to witness what unfolds next!
AS A FEMALE FOUNDER AND RETAIL TITAN, MY DUTY IS TO CREATE VALUE, CHALLENGE, STAY RELEVANT.
Recognition
Sima’s outstanding involvement and dedication in making a significant contribution to changing lives at an international level has not gone unnoticed.
In 2016, Sima was presented with The Global Gift Philanthropreneur Award by Eva Longoria for exemplifying the foundation’s philanthropic mission. This recognition serves as a big motivation for her to soldier on and contribute towards making the world a better place, one community at a time.
Inspiration
As other budding entrepreneurs constantly look up to Sima for inspiration, she too has a few that she tries to emulate.
Looking at role models like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Malala Yousafzai, Sima endeavors to spend her time focusing on becoming a relevant example of inspirational female power.
Eva Longoria’s speech at The Global Gift Philanthropreneur Awards recapitulates the spirit of Sima’s strength of character when she said; “When you think about female empowerment; you have a vague figure of someone in your head, but then you meet Sima Ganwani Ved and you go like, oh wait a minute; that’s female empowerment, that’s what it looks like! With her sense of energy, passion and persistence, we couldn’t have picked a better person than Sima Ganwani Ved to be the recipient of The Global Gift Philanthropreneur Award this year”.
Through such inspiration, Sima Ganwani Ved hopes to motivate other young, upcoming female entrepreneurs and inspiring them to succeed.