Gulf has 'tremendous' entrepreneurial growth potential, says HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed

Speaking ahead of The International Entrepreneurship Forum and Exhibition - the world's largest gathering of self-start and corporate business executives to be held in Dubai in May - HH Sheikh Hamdan said the region's youth have much to offer. The event is being held under the patronage of Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.

"The Gulf has many entrepreneurs that are well known the world over," said His Highness. "We have many success stories. Most of the large business houses here have been built by entrepreneurs and even now are being managed and controlled as family concerns by entrepreneurs.

"However, the potential for growth is tremendous. We are still a young part of the world in terms of modern business flows and, as we integrate more and more into the global economy, more and more opportunities will present themselves. We need to be ready to take advantage of them."

'Entrepreneurs in Dubai' is being organised by IIR Middle East and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment For Young Business Leaders in association with the Young Arab Leaders organisation. It has attracted a powerful speaker line up of global self-made tycoons and regional leaders, from real estate king Donald Trump to the UK's bio-tech leader, Sir Chris Evans. The aim is to fuel a heightened entrepreneurial spirit among the region's youth and its corporate sector.

The ground-breaking event will be held at the Dubai International Convention Centre from May 23-25. An audience of 1,500 would-be business executives and corporate leaders are expected to attend.

Sheikh Hamdan said specifically small-to-medium-sized (SME) enterprises would benefit from the 'Entrepreneurs in Dubai' exhibition, which will run alongside the Forum.

"SMEs are the lifeblood of any maturing or developed economy," said HH Sheikh Hamdan. "They are the pillars that support the growth and the development and it is our focussed objective to drive their formation forward through, and with, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.

"As the Establishment's name suggests, we are seeking to develop young leaders in business or entrepreneurs. The objective is to also provide rewarding opportunities for our young UAE nationals that graduate out of our schools, colleges and universities, who are looking to maximise their potential in business, but are not finding the opportunities to do so. We provide not only the start-up capital, but guide them through the process of how to develop a business plan, see that it has all the chances of succeeding and ensuring that young entrepreneurs stay on course through mentoring and monitoring their progress."

Identifying the main characteristics of a successful entrepreneur as "strong self belief and confidence," HH Sheikh Hamdan said great ideas would fuel the SME and corporate sector in the region.

"Judging by the opportunities for growth in the Middle East, it is an even better market to grow in. The potential is great. Just look at Dubai and where and how we have grown. At the same time, the government keeps liberalising further and continues to. Here, we need ideas and the will to work hard to succeed."

And Sheikh Hamdan said Dubai and the UAE could be motivational models for public-private sector co-operation.

"Governments elsewhere leave it up to a potential entrepreneur to find his or her way in an intensely competitive field. However, here we have developed a model government-private sector partnership. The UAE and Dubai governments continue to liberalise, opening up new opportunities. They create the ideal environment in terms of business operation, tax and legal and regulatory mechanisms.

"Going further, the government here brings out commercial ventures such as Dubailand; does the feasibility on various projects and sub-projects; ensures the creation of a workable model and then offers them to private sector entrepreneurs to maximise."

Young Arab entrepreneurs, said Sheikh Hamdan, should look to Dubai's Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, HH Sheikh General Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for inspiration and for a role model.

"I think His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed is perhaps the best example of a young Arab entrepreneur. The way His Highness has corporatised the government and made it not only a provider of best services and ideal environment, but the way his vision is driving forth the development of Dubai and its positive impact on the region is in no way less than any action of the world's best entrepreneurs in driving forward their companies."

And entrepreneurialism, according to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan, is not restricted to young Arab men.

"Not anymore," he said. "Our ladies have shown that they can stand shoulder to shoulder with men and be as successful in business as anyone. Women are proving everyday how good they are as entrepreneurs. In fact, at the Establishment a high percentage of new business ideas come from young UAE national women."

Nor, said His Highness, should foreign investors be excluded from allowing their entrepreneurial spirit free rein in the Gulf.

"The Gulf is part of the global village and we need to have all flavours of the international community to bring out the best in us. Dubai is a good example. It has grown from a regional trading hub into an international city of note due to the melting pot of its cultures that add value to it. All the free zones in our country are a great example of how foreign skills and money can be put to good use for the entrepreneurs as well as for the country and the region as a whole."

And His Highness said more entrepreneurialism is needed in the Gulf to create jobs as governments start to slim down. To encourage the entrepreneurial spirit among the young, education curricula need to be more business focussed.

"The public sector has been a great employer of Gulf nationals, but we find that governments are slimming down and becoming more corporatised, that is functioning as corporations with bottom line consideration. Our nationals are keen to start-up their own enterprises and be masters of their own destinies. Many of the Gulf's major family businesses were founded in this way. The Establishment is promoting the start-up of the next batch of major business houses owned by our nationals.

"Entrepreneurship is already part of the school curricula in many countries. What it does is that it shows the way to a prospective entrepreneur and hones his or her skills and teaches them how to bring their ideas to reality. I am a firm supporter of encouraging our youth to come forward and join in the national and regional development efforts. Creating business-oriented education is a good step as it will inculcate business skills in prospective entrepreneurs at an early stage."