The backbone of the economy

Sharjah The emirate's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the government entity that works closely with the private sector, has been launching several initiatives and providing substantial support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially in the past year.

Making up 90 per cent of the Chamber's members, SMEs are considered the backbone of the emirate's economy. Hussain Al Mahmoudi, director-general of SCCI says that Sharjah has an edge for SMEs because of its cost structure. He said that while gross domestic product is in fair shape, Sharjah has both challenges and opportunities ahead.

In an exclusive interview, Al Mahmoudi speaks to Gulf News about 2009 that was and what the Chamber's agenda for 2010 will be.

GULF NEWS: How would you sum up what the Chamber accomplished during 2009, and what were some of the main initiatives launched?

Hussain AL Mahmoudi: 2009 had a solid strategy. It was based on the fundamental activities of SCCI. This included promoting and developing relationships between the private sector and ties with our partners. Strengthening relationships with stakeholders was a key activity. It was a year of re-focusing on the fundamentals of the Chamber's work and also rolling out new initiatives.

Sharjah's private sector was affected like everyone else [by the crisis]. To deal with this, we had to come up with initiatives to help them through the challenges of 2009 and also those that will continue to exist in 2010.

For us, we moved into our new headquarters building. We also activated new projects such as the Egyptian Trade Centre, China Trade Centre, and this meant bigger operations. We got the Sharjah Institute of Science and Technology onboard and diversified our operations.

What has been the result of the several meetings that took place between the private sector and international entities/government representatives? How do you measure these results?

This is part of a long-term strategy with short-term results. The private sector does not have time to wait for results. We had some strategic tie-ups in key growth areas for Sharjah and its businesses. These areas included COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), Iraq, Iran, North Africa. These countries present strategic opportunities for the private sector. We are already involved in partnerships in the important growth markets of China, India and the Middle East.

Most wait for over a year to see results. We are putting together a plan that will hopefully utilise and open up these opportunities within the next few months.

What will be the main focus of the Chamber's activities for 2010?

We have four themes of activities for this year.

Due to the financial challenges in general that the private sector witnessed, we've developed a very balanced investment plan to create new opportunities and partnerships for the private sector, using our umbrella as a government entity and our relationship with the private sector. The idea is to leverage our position as a Chamber and to leverage the investment committee in Sharjah to create opportunities for the private sector. This region is not short of cash. We will act more actively as a facilitator between various business partners to unlock opportunities.

The second is to foster our relationship with the private sector. We started the Business Working Group, our project that was launched in 2009 and will see further rollout in 2010. Developed for sudden needs, this will act as a backbone for the Chamber's work. This is also the core of the industries of Sharjah; the banking, retail, tourism, construction and real estate sectors. We will activate our relationship with stakeholders and business and government departments. The engagements will allow us to take the issues of the private sector to the right stakeholders. These are immediate goals that need to be addressed quickly.

The third theme is promoting industries of Sharjah. Sharjah was always known as the industrial capital of the UAE. We will be promoting this theme and we will be launching a ‘Made in Sharjah' initiative. This initiative will not be without substance. We are not going to create these industries. They are already there and people can see for themselves. The plan is to take this exhibition outside the emirate as well, to North Africa, COMSEA and other countries as well. This will eventually promote our companies in Sharjah and our products in key growth markets.

The fourth theme is to work on operational excellence, which is to do what we do in a better way. This includes the Sharjah Festival that we hope to revamp. We will also activate various initiatives that were launched under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility such as the Green initiative, corporate governance, development of human capital.

There was a media report about how SCCI has a massive investment budget for the private sector. Exactly how big is this budget?

That was an incorrect report. The Sharjah government has resources and the Chamber is utilizing these to support the private sector. We help the companies in Sharjah by putting them in touch with other business partners so they can take advantage of the opportunities in the local and international markets. We connect companies with investors rather than investing in them ourself.

Other than helping the private sector overcome the challenges of the economic downturn, what other plans does the Chamber have for the private sector?

One major plan is to revive stagnant industries. The emirate used to be the hub for auto spare parts and used cars. Now you see them exactly where they were about 10 years ago. No one has helped them to get to the next level. There are industry experts here and they have a lot of potential. We plan to promote them and engage them in developing further.

58,000

SMEs in Sharjah

10,000

SMEs in Sharjah's Free Zone