Dubai: Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of Emirates NBD and Chairman of the Al Tomooh Supreme Committee, Sunday inaugurated two projects financed by Al Tomooh.
The Al Tomooh Finance Scheme is an initiative that funds start-up Emirati SMEs and has made available Dh40 million.
More than 85 per cent of the UAE's businesses are SMEs, but they do not have proper incubation and funding schemes. Al Tomooh was launched to fulfil that need.
The scheme currently has a presence in Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman.
"The Al Tomooh Finance Scheme is a successful realisation of the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to highlight the values of entrepreneurship and the importance of Emiratisation of the economic sectors where the gap had been wide," Al Tayer said.
"Young UAE nationals are increasingly aware of their important roles as self-employed entrepreneurs. The Al Tomooh scheme has focused on involving young nationals in the private sector and has encouraged them to play a bigger role in economic growth," Al Tayer said at the inauguration.
"I am pleased to see an increase in the number of UAE nationals venturing into the private business sector and starting up their own businesses. The UAE is an open and diverse economy and many opportunities are arising," Al Tayer said.
The two projects opened were Experts International, a management training centre owned by Amany Al Shamsi, and Deira Montessori Nursery, owned by Wafa Shamlan.
"These projects are a valuable addition to the portfolio of ventures financed by Al Tomooh. We urge entrepreneurs to make thorough feasibility studies of their projects to secure their success," said Sulaiman Al Mazroui, executive member of the Supreme Committee at Al Tomooh, on the sidelines of the event.
Along with Al Tomooh, other initiatives such as the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development in Dubai and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development in Abu Dhabi also offer financial help and training for SMEs.
Seed capital initiative
Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the Middle East in terms of assets, yesterday announced the introduction of a seed capital initiative which will facilitate UAE nationals to start their own business. The initiative will enable Emirati entrepreneurs to fund the initial capital requirement to start their own enterprises.
The move by Emirates NBD comes at a time when self-employed nationals are increasingly recognised for their contributiona to the UAE economy and the government plans to introduce a law to help streamline the process of setting up businesses.
"Small businesses account for 46 per cent of the country's GDP and new business start-ups make a significant contribution to this," Jamal Bin Galaita, Group Deputy CEO of Emirates NBD, said in a statement. "Our aim is to inspire more UAE nationals to develop their entrepreneurial ideas into full-fledged business enterprises, which are of vital importance to the growth and prosperity of our economy.
"Nationals make up the majority of new business start-ups in the UAE and with this new initiative from Emirates NBD, we hope to encourage more to follow suit," he added. "We recognise the importance of supporting and encouraging young UAE nationals and self-employment provides an attractive opportunity for them to realise their dreams and aspirations.
"As a leading financial provider, Emirates NBD understands the obstacles faced in starting up a new business... We are pleased to provide a tailor-made financing option for UAE nationals aged 25 and over, as seed finance to get their businesses off to a promising start."
— Staff report
