Dubai

Business owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the UAE remain optimistic about their growth prospects this year, according to a survey conducted by MEED, a UAE-based media company.

Of the 138 SMEs that participated in the survey, 74 said they expect to grow their business in 2017 by 10-50 per cent compared with last year. Of this number, 23 business owners said they forecast their business to grow by at least 20 per cent compared to last year; while 15 entrepreneurs see a more robust 50 per cent increase in business against their performance in 2016.

The survey was conducted to determine sentiment among business owners in the UAE, ahead of the Gulf Capital SME Awards, which MEED organises annually to celebrate innovation, success and growth in the SME sector in the emirates.