Tecom Investments and Dubai SME sign MoU to support SMEs and entrepreneurs among UAE nationals

Formerly known as Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development (MBRE), Dubai SME was launched in 2002 to cultivate the spirit of entrepreneurialism among UAE nationals and provide key resources to facilitate the development of their businesses.

The collaboration between TECOM Investments and Dubai SME will encourage UAE nationals who are members of Dubai SME to register and set up offices within TECOM free zones. The companies will receive opportunities to gain insight and increase industry knowledge as part of the TECOM ecosystem that offers a combination of high-end infrastructure, peer-networking with major global players and an enabling business environment to ensure future growth.

Dr Amina Al Rustamani, CEO, TECOM Business Parks, said: "The MoU will further our strategic efforts to position Dubai as a centre for entrepreneurship and enterprise development. This will encourage the sharing of knowledge and expertise, and eventually impact the long-term growth of the industry and the country. Such platforms will also help grow the abundant talent for innovation and enterprise in UAE. The collaboration between Dubai SME and TECOM Investments will prove particularly crucial in providing aspiring business persons with conducive benefits required for achieving success in diverse sectors."

Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO, Dubai SME, said: "His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, established Dubai SME in 2002 to support various projects for youth development, and now more than 11,000 young business leaders have received assistance from Dubai SME in establishing their own businesses. Dubai SME has also created opportunities for competition and successful marketing through providing governmental contracts worth more than one billion dirhams to its members under the Government Procurement Plan."

TECOM Business Parks (Dubai Internet City, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, International Media Production Zone, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Knowledge Village, DuBiotech, Dubai Industrial City and ENPARK) offer a favourable ecosystem for SMEs through shaping and enabling a business environment that guarantees the sector's long term growth. This gains relevance against research findings that nearly 58% of the SME businesses in the UAE aim to operate internationally by 2013, according to a 2010 survey released by HSBC.

Dubai SME offers a suite of services for SMEs providing them with the necessary guidance to launch a project and directs them to the relevant departments. These services include financing new and existing projects up to a limit of Dhs3m, exemption from the business license fees for the first three years of the project, obtaining a fully equipped office at the Dubai SME incubator, conducting training courses and development, and enabling business owners to become suppliers to government bodies.