DED organizes four specialized workshops for UAE national entrepreneurs

The workshops aim at developing the skills of UAE national participants to start and grow their own small or medium business. The workshops come as part of the annual programme at the Business Sector Development Division at DED to promote and encourage the growth of the nationally owned and managed business sector and emphasize its role in building a sustainable economy in the UAE.

Khalid Al Kassim, Deputy Director General for Planning and Development, DED, said:

"Small and medium enterprises play an extremely important role in the economic development of the UAE as they account for almost 90 per cent of total businesses in Dubai. The significance of this sector underlines the need to drive its development in a systematic manner, in addition to creating and encouraging a culture of innovation and leadership in businesses. We aim to focus on the development of young UAE nationals through providing key elements of growth including adequate training, guidance and knowledge of the business environment in the country."

Farid Al Abdullah, Head of the Business Sector Development Division at DED, said: "These workshops seek to introduce UAE nationals to the importance of small and medium enterprises within the economy. The workshops will focus on the needs of private sector entrepreneurs and those who plan to open new businesses in order to encourage them in developing and growing their businesses."

Mr. Al Abdullah added: "These SME workshops have generated tremendous interest amongst nationals and the DED plans to organise more such events to cater to the huge demand for specialised services to support the efforts of young UAE national entrepreneurs."

Adel Al Zaabi, trainer, gave the first workshop titled 'How to transform your idea into a successful project' for new entrepreneurs interested in entering the business field with a focus on identifying their true capabilities and using it the most efficient way in the business sector. The second workshop given by Dr. Wajdi Hijazi was titled "Promoting SMEs" and emphasized the key elements to accomplishing best results for start-up SMEs.

Entitled 'Preparing Marketing plans for SMEs," the third workshop was conducted by Dr. Alaa Jamii, who introduced entrepreneurs to new and developed technologies and emphasized the importance of hiring a trained technical labour force and exploiting administrative and organizational expertise. The fourth workshop titled 'Evaluating a project idea and preparing feasibility study' was conducted by Dr. Nabil Al Tarifi who concentrated on providing participants with steps to prepare a feasibility study, technical studies for enterprises, and developing pricing policies.

The workshops followed the seminar organised last week by the DED entitled "How to double the sales of your small project', highlighting cases and issues related to SMEs. The four hour seminar attracted a large number of participants that reached around 630 male and female UAE nationals from all over the country.