The realities of business on show

Dubai: Move over, The Apprentice. The Investor an Arabic version of the hit US reality show is hitting TV screens next week.

Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC) said the show, which starts on January 21, will be highly educational and hugely entertaining.

The contestants will be put through their paces each week, testing various skills vital in the business world such as negotiating, management and marketing. A panel of judges will then decide the ultimate winners.

MBC executives say there will be no acid tounged comments from judges such as those seen in the American version.

The panel will review the challenges and problems faced by the contestants and work with them.

However, one team will be eliminated each week, leaving the remaining teams to battle it out.

The teams come from across the Arab world including Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. The final teams were chosen out of 30,000 applicants who submitted business plans in hopes of being picked for the show.

"We are focusing on the family business because no matter how many multinational companies come to the region, the backbone of our culture is the smaller family owned company, which can later grow into a large group," said Salma Soueid, executive producer at MBC.

A prime example of a family owned business growing large is Saudi business giant Shaikh Walid Al Jaffali The Investor who's company has sole distribution rights for both Mercedes and Sony Ericsson in the Kingdom, as well as projects in many other sectors. He has been in business for almost 30 years and has encouraged three of his four children to become entrepre-neurs, offering them only his business advice.

He said the reason he got involved in the show was to improve the exposure of small and medium enterprises in the region, adding that some of the best business ideas come from the Middle East.

"The participants had some great ideas and some really bad ideas but all of that is part of the process and sometimes it can translate into something brilliant," said Al Juffali.

"What either made or broke a case for me was the presentation. It didn't have to be out of this world. I had to be able to find the essence of the idea and to see how dedicated they candidate was to the project at hand."

There are future plans to air the show on the BBC and other English channels with subtitles, according to Al Juffali.