Women leaders gather in Dubai to weigh innovation investment

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed convened a majlis of 29 women leaders from 22 countries in Dubai this week, with discussions centred squarely on innovation, investment and opportunity creation for the next generation. The gathering carried a clear economic undertone for a city positioning itself as a venue for international leadership dialogue.

The Women Leading the Future majlis, held on Wednesday, formed part of the first Annual Meeting of Global Future Leaders, delivered through a partnership between the UAE Government, the World Economic Forum and the Dubai Future Foundation. That three-way structure placed government, a global multistakeholder platform and a Dubai-based foundation behind a single forum. The signal to market-watchers: the emirate intends to anchor itself in the international conversation on how emerging industries will be shaped and funded.

The scale was substantial. More than 700 leaders and experts from 100 countries took part, including ministers, officials, 300 Young Global Leaders and 150 UAE government leaders. The meeting gave participants from government, entrepreneurship, science, technology, finance and culture a setting in which to compare approaches to future challenges.

For Sheikha Latifa, chairwoman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the message to attendees was one of investment in human capital. She emphasised the UAE’s commitment to investing in women’s capabilities and equipping them with the knowledge, skills and experience needed to drive sustainable change. Framed for a business audience, the argument is straightforward: talent development is treated as a prerequisite for the industries the country wants to attract and grow.

She highlighted the growing importance of diverse perspectives as artificial intelligence and emerging technology reshape industries, working practices and everyday life. Women, she noted, play critical roles across sectors in fostering integration, harnessing technology to create opportunities and strengthening social cohesion. Discussions at the majlis considered the choices, responsibilities and collaboration required to create opportunities for the next generation, with a particular focus on women’s contributions to public leadership, innovation, investment and social change.

Shaping humanity’s future, she said, was a shared responsibility requiring broader participation and practical, sustainable solutions to tomorrow’s challenges. In economic terms, the remark underscored the premise underlying the entire meeting: no single government, company or institution can underwrite the costs of technological transition alone, and wider participation in decision-making is presented as a route to more durable returns.

Reference coverage of the event, published at https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/10/15/sheikha-latifa-hosts-women-leaders-majlis-in-dubai-to-discuss-innovation-and-opportunities/, places the majlis within Dubai’s broader effort to convene global leadership gatherings that combine cultural programming with forward-looking economic agendas.

For investors and operators watching the region, the event’s composition was as telling as its rhetoric. The mix of ministers, Young Global Leaders and senior UAE government figures, alongside entrepreneurs and finance professionals, reflected an attempt to align public policy with private-sector priorities around technology adoption and workforce readiness. Whether such forums translate into concrete investment flows remains to be seen. But the convening power on display, backed by the UAE Government, the World Economic Forum and the Dubai Future Foundation, is itself a form of capital in the competition to host the conversations that shape future markets.