Dubai: It's the time of year when crowds of people of all nationalities gather under the flashing lights and marquees of the Global Village.
The bags they carry, brimming with goodies bought at bargain prices of course, bring happiness not only to themselves but to the thousands of small businesses at the fair.
Featuring 40 country pavilions, cuisine from 25 countries, a 10,000-strong workforce and around Dh1 billion worth of transactions, the Global Village is not just a platform that brings together cultures.
Look closer and you will see a thriving network of entrepreneurs bustling about selling their wares, or testing their products in the marketplace.
The influx of tourists and residents flocking around the venue's stalls during the Dubai Shopping Festival allow these businesses to give their wares excellent exposure to the local market and the international one as well. In this regard, Funtakino has been attracting a lot of attention. Flip-flops in the shapes of guitars, fruit and animals line the walls of the kiosk. A picture of the owners — Saud Al Ali and Nawaf Al Ali — with Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, is prominent at the entrance.
This the first time the brand Funtakino — a combination of the English word "fun" and the Arabic word "funtak", which means unique or strange — has made a public appearance and the two young Emirati students have been enjoying all the attention.
Business idea
The business idea came about four years ago when they decided to make a pair of flip-flops to mimic an advertisement they saw in a shop window. After designing and creating their first pair, they tested it on a weekend beach-going population. Their first run was a success. This encouraged them to go back to the drawing board and in two years the number of designs they created went up from 20 to 120.
As students, their sponsorship under the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for SMEs provided the much-needed financial boost to establish a business. Instead of paying the usual fee of Dh45,000 for the kiosk, their rate was slashed to Dh25,000.
"Before we were just designing and selling them to friends and family," said Saud. "At the Global Village we've received a lot of interest from customers who love the unique designs."
Kiosks sponsored by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid's Establishment for SMEs dot the Global Village, offering a variety of products and services, from perfumes to uniquely designed abayas to quirky mugs and stationery.
Under the Establishment's sponsorship, these stalls are given the push they need into a well exposed market. Along with the discounts on rents, these young entrepreneurs are given courses, training and any advisory support they may need during the 111 days the Global Village is open.
"The Global Village is a good first step and platform for a start-up; the period of three months allows businesses to see if they will succeed or not in the business world," said Saeed Ali Bin Reda, CEO of the Global Village.
According to the Dubai Statistical Centre, 98.5 per cent of registered enterprises in Dubai meet the description of small or medium-sized businesses, and employ about 61 per cent of the workforce. In recent years, the UAE has witnessed rapid growth in the number of SMEs. According to a study by the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Report, the country recorded the highest number of start-ups, mostly launched by UAE nationals.
Salama Mohammad's kiosk at the Global Village cannot be missed. Looking like a crooked house from the sets of Alice in Wonderland it is filled with funky trinkets, stationery and T-shirts. Her business, Off Topic, has been running for almost a year now.
A recent graduate, she started off selling customised notebooks and stationery to friends. Salama forged connections with an artist in the US and Off Topic was born. Now the products are available online in the US and the UAE. Her set-up at the Global Village has allowed her to reach out to a wide base of potential buyers.
"So far sales have been going well, however, what I love most is that I have a lot of customers coming up and wanting to get to know the brand," she said.
"It's been more publicity and raising awareness than sales and it's important to market my business before I concentrate on selling."
Salama has had customers making orders from as far as Abu Dhabi and Khor Fakkan.
"I also noticed men were interested in my products which for me is great as they hardly ever go shopping," she said.
As a member of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment, Salama said along with financial help, she has been able to benefit from the extra support. "The Establishment is like a community of locals who are starting their businesses and working together to help each other. It's a great support system."
Sales and a growing customer base are not the only benefits of setting up shop at the Global Village. According to Bin Reda, there are a lot of big companies participating in the event who are on constant lookout for new businesses in which they can invest.
Checking out
"A lot of corporates come to the Global Village to see the smaller businesses," Bin Reda said. "It's become sort of like an exhibition.
"If they like the products, they may go intro partnership with them. We have a couple of brands which participated in the Turkey pavilion and because of the exposure now have a showroom in Dubai Mall," said Bin Reda.
The Global Village is not just for full-time entrepreneurs. Students, housewives and residents have set up stalls to take advantage of the DSF shopping fever and make some extra cash.
Mai Al Rahoul and Maith Al Gaiwani are two Emirati women with day jobs in accountancy and marketing respectively. Their stall in the Global Village is covered with their T-shirts bearing unique prints and logos designed by them. "For us it's just a hobby, and because the rates for the stall are good we wanted to see if we could sell our art," said Mai.
A survey conducted by Global Village last year showed 85 per cent of exhibitors were very happy with their sales. Bin Reda hopes this year will be the same. Aside from 40 kiosks sponsored by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid's Establishment there is also entrepreneurial goodwill taking place. While the average price of a kiosk is Dh50,000, Bin Reda says the pricing can differ depending on the needs of the exhibitor. For pavilions such as Palestine, they offer a lower rate.
Bin Reda said they had also put aside space for government organisations and charities. "There is a big presence by government entities like DEWA and Dubai Police," he said. "For example, spaces have been allocated to the Ministry of Social Affairs to give divorced women a chance to make some money by selling merchandise. We help by giving free electricity, cleaning, etc."
The General Department of Punitive Establishment of Dubai Police has a stall of artefacts made by inmates who are given arts and crafts courses to help them learn skills.
