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DUBAI / WAM
Business owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the UAE remain optimistic about their growth prospects this year, according to a survey conducted
by Meed, a business intelligence service provider in the Middle East.
‘’Of the 138 SMEs that participated in the survey, 74 said they expected to grow their business in 2017 by 10 to 50 percent, when compared with last year. Of this number, 23 business owners said they expected their business to grow by at least 20 percent compared to last year, while 15 entrepreneurs saw a more robust 50 percent
increase in business against their performance in 2016,†Meed said.
The survey was conducted to determine the sentiment among business owners in the UAE, ahead of the Gulf Capital SME Awards, which Meed organises annually to celebrate innovation, success and growth in the SME sector in the Emirates.
“The optimism shown by entrepreneurs is a good sign of the dynamism and strong fundamentals of the UAE economy. SMEs largely drive the growth in the country as they account for over 90 percent of the registered businesses in the UAE. By creating jobs, growth and income, entrepreneurs are transforming lives and the communities they live in,†said Dr Karim El Solh,
co-founder and CEO of Gulf Capital, an alternative asset management firm in the
Middle East.
“SMEs are the backbone of a growing economy and their strong performance this year will no doubt have a positive impact on the economy,†he added.
The Gulf Capital SME Awards will recognise outstanding SMEs, business leaders and entrepreneurs in 13 different categories, including Business of the Year, Business Innovation of the Year, Online Business of the Year, RSA Customer Focus of the Year, Start-up Business of the Year, Sustainable Business of the Year, People and Culture of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Marketing Campaign of the Year, as well as two individual awards for Business Leader of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year.
Supporting the UAE’s push for entrepreneurship among its citizens, the programme also recognises locally-owned SMEs with the Emirati Business of the Year award.
A new category Disruption of the Year Award has been included in this year’s edition of the programme. It aims to recognise an SME that has created an innovative disruption, with demonstrable results, which has impacted a new or existing market.