Dubai Chamber members' exports surge to $74bn in 2022 amid robust economic momentum

Trade body added 56,000 new members last year, marking 20% annual increase

Dubai Chambers headquarters. Dubai’s economy expanded by 4.6 per cent on an annual basis in the first nine months of 2022. Photo: Dubai Chambers

Dubai Chambers recorded a 20 per growth last year in its number of members, as well as exports and re-exports by member companies to Dh272.7 billion ($74.25 billion), as the emirate’s economy continued to maintain robust economic momentum.

The three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers are set to grow further this year as they have aligned their strategies with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which intends to double the size of the emirate’s economy within 10 years, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Chambers, told a media briefing in Dubai on Tuesday.

Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai International Chamber and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the three sector-specific trade bodies, are all set to “promote Dubai as a hub for doing business here in the UAE and in our region”, he said.

“We want to make sure Dubai is the gateway … we want to make sure that any investment coming internationally into the Middle East, they choose Dubai,” Mr Al Ghurair added.

The growth in Dubai Chambers, whose membership expanded by more than 56,000 new companies to 347,600 including multinationals, small and medium enterprises and tech start-ups, is a reflection of Dubai’s economic resilience despite the global macroeconomic headwinds.

Dubai's economy, which bounced back strongly from the coronavirus-driven slowdown in 2021, continued growth momentum last year on the back of Expo 2020 Dubai and government measures to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on businesses.

Dubai’s economy expanded by 4.6 per cent on an annual basis in the first nine months of last year to about Dh307.5 billion, driven by efforts to solidify its position as a business, financial and tourism centre, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said in December.

Business activity in Dubai's non-oil private sector economy remained robust in January, expanding for the ninth month in a row as consumer demand improved along with employment in the emirate.

"Despite the global economic uncertainty that the world witnessed in 2022, Dubai’s economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and is expected to outperform global and regional growth estimates this year," Mr Al Ghurair said.

“We're quite excited by the challenges we have and we are quite excited about opportunities [as well]. I think the tough times [are] behind us and if you look at all indications for us, this year looks good."

To further boost the emirate’s growth, Dubai Chambers has now been mandated by the government to set up the Dubai Family Business Centre, which will address all issues concerning family businesses in the emirate, he added.

Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chiarman of Dubai Chambers. Christopher Pike / The National

The centre, set to be launched in a couple of months, will help prepare family businesses for a smooth transition from one generation to another, set up proper legal structure, boost corporate governance and leadership succession plans.

The new body will not only deal with large family offices, it will also address the needs of small and medium-sized family-run enterprises, he said.

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, which is promoting Dubai’s digital economic agenda, carried out an international outreach programme last year that helped in attracting 203 technology entrepreneurs and experts, as well as 54 start-ups, to the emirate.

The government, which enabled the development of the digital ecosystem in the emirate through its progressive policies, is now actively looking to help start-ups and boost the technology sector that will multiply the scale of the digital economy in Dubai, Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, and chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, told a panel discussion later on Tuesday.

“An interesting thing that people need to keep in mind, especially [regarding the] digital economy, is that we don’t need to make promises any more,” he said.

“In the past we were selling people dreams … today you don’t need to, today the dream is here,” he said of the rapid growth of the technology sector in the emirate and emergence of home-grown unicorns, or start-ups, with a valuation of $1 billion or more.