Sima Ganwani Ved

Sima Ganwani Ved is an Indian businesswoman, she is the Founder and Chairwoman of the Apparel Group, an international retailer based in the Middle East headquartered in the UAE. She was named the 12th most powerful businesswomen in the Middle East by Forbes in 2024.

Early life and education
Sima was born in Africa and brought to Dubai by her father in the 1970s. She studied in King's College, London for her Bachelor's degree and subsequently an MBA in business management.

Career
Ved started her career when she was 20, as a department manager in her father's shopping mall in the 90s as the overseer of a department.

In 1996, she founded the Apparel Group, a UAE-based fashion and retail company. The company has over 85 brands and more than 2200 stores in 14 countries with over 22,000 employees. She is also the Vice Chair of the AppCorp, the holding company that has Apparel group, 6thStreet.com, Indus real estate, and Harley Medical Centre.

Ved is a member of world organizations like YPO and CEO. She is the first female member of YPO to set up a regional chapter (YPO MENA STAR) that began with a vision of gender equality for its membership base. The chapter has achieved 52% female members, the highest in YPO globally. In 2010, she launched her TV chat show, Hi tea with Sima Ved, on the Star Plus international.

Her compassion for underprivileged children led her to mentor her teenage daughter to launch her own Athleisure brand F5 Global in 2021, some of the proceeds will go towards educating underprivileged kids. She simultaneously mentored and founded a new social commerce beauty platform NESSA with her eldest daughter, Selina Ved. In 2024, Ved participated as a keynote speaker in the Retail Summit which was held in Dubai on 23–24 April.

Awards

 * Philanthropreneur of the year.
 * Retailer of the year.
 * Great Women's award.
 * Emirates Woman of the Year.
 * Ranked #12 of the 100 most powerful businesswomen of 2024 by Forbes Middle East.