The UAE has launched new initiatives to drive economic prosperity and help nascent family-owned businesses, start-ups and small and medium enterprises grow.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the new programmes, under the Ministry of Economy, include an accelerator for family-owned businesses as well as an economic research institute and a global investment conference.
During my visit to the Ministry of Economy where we launched projects to help our national companies access new markets,an economic research institute in collaboration with world leading univeristies and an international conference to be held on March to explore new opportunities pic.twitter.com/Kg3aaIwBLQ
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) June 28, 2021
The investment conference, Investopedia Investment Summit, will be held in March 2022 and will bring together global investors to “discuss strategies to leverage the opportunities created by the new economy”, Sheikh Mohammed said.
The economic research institute, UAE Growth Lab, will collaborate with four universities: UAE University, Zayed University, American University of Sharjah, and New York University Abu Dhabi.
Among the new initiatives are the Skill-Up Academy for entrepreneurs, the Scale-Up platform for start-ups looking to grow, and the Grow in UAE web portal that will provide information about policies and investment in the UAE, the Dubai ruler said.
We launched Skill-Up Academy and Scale-Up Platform to support start-ups, and Grow in UAE, a platform that provides full information on investment policies and opportunities. We also launched a new national agenda to attract young and skilled talents to the UAE. pic.twitter.com/tGkohicS1U
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) June 28, 2021
“We are continuing our relentless efforts to add new value to the economy and enhance its growth momentum. We conducted a broad restructuring of the government last summer so that all ministries, internal and external entities and legislative entities can focus on a common objective – the economic growth of the UAE in the next 50 years,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
We will continue advancing our economy. Our government teams have been reshuffled last summer, bringing together ministeries and federal internal and external offices to work towards one clear goal: the economic growth of the UAE for the next 50 years. pic.twitter.com/0w34qyz4fZ
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) June 28, 2021
The UAE has launched a number of initiatives to support non-oil economic growth as it looks to diversify its economy away from oil and boost non-oil GDP. Part of this is ensuring the development of the private sector in the country where the ease of doing business is ranked 16th globally, according to the World Bank.
In April, the UAE approved an $8.2 billion financial support package for the country’s SMEs and start-ups as they rebuild in the wake of coronavirus. Access to finance remains a chief concern for the country’s small businesses, and the issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic-induced global economic downturn.
But in the UAE, SMEs are largely optimistic about the future, with 88 percent saying the future looks bright, compared to the regional average of 81 percent, research from Mastercard shows. The new government initiatives further bolster the UAE’s standing as a good place for young businesses to set up shop.
Follow us on
