Sima Ganwani Ved is a businesswoman and philanthropist.[3] She is the Founder and Chairwoman of Apparel Group, a global retail and fashion conglomerate headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[4][5] Apparel Group represents more than 85 international brands, operating over 2,300 stores in 14 countries, and employing a workforce of 24,000+ people.[6]
She was named the 12th most powerful businesswomen in the Middle East by Forbes in 2024.[7][8][9]
Early life and education
Sima was born in Africa and brought to Dubai by her father in the 1970s.[10] She was raised in an entrepreneurial family and developed an interest in the retail sector at an early age. At the age of 20, she began managing a department store in her father’s shopping mall.[11][12][13][14][15] She received her BA degree from King's CollegeLondon, followed by an MBA in Business Management.[3]
Business career
In 1996, she founded the Apparel Group, a UAE-based fashion and retail company. As of 2025, Apparel Group represents over 85 brands and more than 2300[6] stores in 14 countries with over 24,000 employees.[16][17][13][18][19] 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.[20][21][12]
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.[22][23] The chapter has achieved 52% female members, the highest in YPO globally.[24][25] In 2010, she launched her TV chat show, Hi tea with Sima Ved, on the Star Plus international.[26][27][28][29][30]
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.[31] She simultaneously mentored and founded a new social commerce beauty platform NESSA with her eldest daughter, Selina Ved.[13][32] In 2024, Ved participated as a keynote speaker in the Retail Summit which was held in Dubai on 23–24 April.[33] In November 2024, Sima Ved participated as one of the "sharks" on Shark Tank Dubai Season 2.[34]
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