With each passing day, the UAE, and the world is being faced with new market realities and having to adapt to the ever-changing business and geo-political landscape. With the pandemic crippling the world economy and putting innumerable people out of business, we are witnessing a ‘survival of the fittest’ scenario in today’s market.
But what does that mean for the entrepreneurial landscape in the region today? Has the SME sector come to a standstill as they wait for the dust to settle on this tumultuous period? Well, not quite.
At Sharjah Media City (Shams), we have seen first-hand the resilience and ingenuity of the SMEs registered with us and their appetite to adapt and overcome the difficulties they have been facing. We have seen our community evolve into a new generation of entrepreneurs and rise to the challenge. There are a few trends that help us recognise this new wave of next-gen entrepreneurs and how they are gearing up for a post-Covid world.
First and foremost, we have seen a significant rise in demand for business activities such as e-commerce, digital advertising, web portals and app development. This is indicative of the fact that most businesses are growing their digital footprint and reducing their dependence on traditional modes of business. Secondly, we are seeing existing companies take on additional business activities to diversify their sources of income and offer services that are relevant in today’s market. Companies are changing the nature of the services they offer as well as working overtime to procure innovative products that are in demand.
As a catalyst for the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, we observed the emerging trends and have taken several steps to support the growth of SMEs within Shams. These steps include reducing the cost of entry into the market by slashing our license costs by 50 per cent, offering discounts and incentives for our existing clients to help their cash flow, waiving off certain fines for delayed payments, offering document pick-up and drop-off services for our clients and much more.
We are encouraged by the number of new and innovative businesses registering with us daily and optimistically look towards a new era of entrepreneurship, as the world heals in a gradual yet certain manner.
