The former UK trade and industry secretary Peter Mandelson delivers one of the keynote speeches at the opening session of the Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Forum. Lee Hoagland / The National
The former UK trade and industry secretary Peter Mandelson delivers one of the keynote speeches at the opening session of the Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Forum. Lee Hoagland / The National

UAE entrepreneurs urged to think global in their products



Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak has called on local entrepreneurs to think of the bigger picture.

Their products should include a global dimension that supports expansion of their businesses into international markets, he said.

The statement from the Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development came as policymakers and entrepreneurs yesterday discussed the need to push forward initiatives that support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a bid to boost and diversify the UAE economy.

“We need to encourage ventures to respond to the requirement of our times and globalisation,” Sheikh Nahyan said at the Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Forum yesterday.

“This includes the necessity to follow those markets, variations and everything that’s happening in these markets.”

Policymakers are banking on smaller businesses to play an important role in the development of the Emirates, which explains the push to help to develop local entrepreneurs.

A new law to support the sector was currently being “finalised”, said the Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, yesterday. It has been recently approved by the Federal National Council and is expected to receive final clearance soon.

The law is expected to provide increased government support to SMEs, and encourage Emiratis to start and run their own businesses. One provision of the law requires government institutions to etch out 10 per cent of their procurements to SMEs.

“The state is fully committed in providing a general environment that encourages entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity in order to realise the growth and determination of the people of the UAE,” Sheikh Nahyan said.

“We have to start differentiating between different types of ventures and focus on those that serve the objective of economic growth faster and more efficiently and those that absorb a lot of jobs and workers,” he added.

SMEs currently account for 92 per cent of total companies operating in the UAE and 86 per cent of the workforce in the private sector, according to the Ministry of Economy. Nearly 300,000 companies in the country can be classified as part of the SME sector, ministry data showed. The UAE is considered a hub for entrepreneurship in the region by creating a world- class infrastructure and attracting companies and innovative ideas in different sectors.

The government-backed Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has financed 582 projects, investing Dh900 million so far since its inception, said Hussain Jassim Al Nowais, the chairman of the fund, at the opening of the Abu Dhabi Entrepreneurship Forum on Monday. Of the total finances, women received 28 per cent.

The agency has also organised more than 350 training programmes, reaching 5,000 nationals across the UAE. About 58 per cent of them are women.

“If we look at global economy, we will see how different countries have developed policies and incentives to support SMEs,” said Mr Al Nowais. “In the UAE, we have not been as successful [from a policy standpoint].”

The average age of the Khalifa Fund-backed entrepreneurs was 25 to 30 years.

“They are full of excitement and vision and they need that extra helping hand and that’s what Khalifa Fund is trying to give,” Mr Al Nowais said.

But to succeed, young Emirati entrepreneurs needed to be hands-on, said Mr Al Nowais.

“You can’t sit back and tell other people to work,” he said. “You need to know your suppliers and buyers. Once you grow, then you can delegate.”

halsayegh@thenational.ae

ssahoo@thenational.ae

Wydad 2 Urawa 3

Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'

Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

Rankings

ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)

WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee