Abu Dhabi
Leading experts gathered in Abu Dhabi on Monday in a roundtable discussion dedicated to Abu Dhabi’s 2030 vision. A key topic during the discussion was the role of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in the UAE, and the tools needed to help continue with their success.
For entrepreneurs in the UAE, the news was good, with several SMEs already tasting success in the UAE, with the foundation also in place for others to succeed in the country.
One of the panellists, Professor Abdullah Abonamah, CEO of the Abu Dhabi School of Management of the UAE Academy, said that the key to success for SMEs was not just a good idea, but one had to turn that idea into a real successful model. “Basically you have a great idea which is a good starting point, but not every idea can be implemented, whether it is because of economic reasons or social constraints and so on. So the first thing you really need to do is test your idea. After you test the idea the next phase is to look at the financial, marketing and development side of it. And then finally you have to go into implementation of that idea,” he told Gulf News.
Another key advice Abonamah gave to aspiring entrepreneurs was to have adaptability to their business, as the market always throws up new and different challenges. “You have to have adaptability, so we came up with something called action-learning which is a very well known concept. The action-learning concept is how you adapt while you implement your idea, and the thing about entrepreneurs is that they are great at adapting. They can operate and adapt to ambiguity, because the marketplace is ambiguous, and not everything you have anticipated is going to happen.”
On the structure put in place in the UAE for the success of SMEs, Abonamah said that there was a strong foundation in place for the success of the SMEs with government initiatives, as well as the UAE’s history in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The UAE supports and values entrepreneurship, it’s embedded in the country’s DNA, if you go back in time you will find that the people who lived in this part of the world were always entrepreneurs. The government here is always supporting entrepreneurial activities. One such example is a federal law passed by the government designating 10 per cent from all financial institutions, I believe, to support SMEs,” he said.
“We need to have an infrastructure of support for entrepreneurs and training is another thing.”
The overall picture for the state of SME is bright according to Abonamah, who says he expects more SMEs to grow as the ideas and cash resources are there to allow them to succeed, and that several thousand SMEs have already been launched in the country.
On the role of Emiratis, Abonamah told the panellists and audience that Emiratis were playing an increased role in entrepreneurship and successful start-ups thanks to the programmes being launched, “Emiratis are increasingly participating in these new entrepreneurial aspects and are responding well. Through our entrepreneurship programmes, we support and foster Emiratis to successfully master all aspects of business development, from inception to implementation. We provide them with an entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, a specialised online toolkit and a signature learning experience centre which will give them hands-on experience and empower them to professionally launch in the business world.”
Successful SMEs were also in attendance, such as Nexus Business Services, launched by Souad M. Al Hosani, an Emirati female entrepreneur. She gave her own advice to entrepreneurs in attendance, telling the audience that networking was a crucial and important factor behind her success, and how entrepreneurs would need to have a hands-on approach to their business, rather than leaving it in the hands of others such as general managers.
The writer is a trainee at Gulf News.
