High-ranking officials of Business Councils from around the globe have joined together in a panel discussion on the “Entrepreneurial Insights on the UAE Business Ecosystem: Perspective from Business” during the 9th edition of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition (PPIE).
The session was headed by Mr. Edwin Duria, Chairman of the Philippine Business Council – Dubai, Mr. Massimo Falcioni, Vice President and Secretary General of the Italian Business Council, Prof. Gau Raganit, President of the Philippine Business Council – Abu Dhabi, and Mr. Mustafa Sultan Khwaja, Board of Director of Pakistan Business Council Dubai.
These industry professionals shared their experiences and insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by start-ups and SMEs operating in the UAE.
Opening the discussion, Falcioni shared his view of the UAE. He said that while the country is young and has faced a lot of challenges in the past, it was resilient and it understood that it had to invest in the future.
“Coming here, what I noticed is the speed of the things happening in the UAE. It was very different from what we are accustomed to in the old Europe. There were things that take one or two years to complete because of the bureaucracy and legislation, while here in the UAE, it can happen in weeks,” Falcioni said.
Diving in deeper with the discussion, moderator Prof. Raganit asked what are the emerging industries in the UAE today.
For Khwaja, the UAE acts as a hub for all trade, investment, and tech-based companies.
“When I was young, the UAE was a different country. It wasn’t the same place we know today. Now, we can see that UAE has become a hub for trade. Recently, we expanded our company to West Africa. When I went there, I was shocked that such amount of trade comes just from the UAE. Because when you think about it, the UAE does not have natural resources. But one thing we did have is very talented people inside the country,” Khwaja explained.
“The UAE is leading the tech industry in this region. We see the support from the government in this regard. I can see that the government is placing extra emphasis on trade-based and tech-based organizations. I really see technology as the future for a company based in the UAE,” he added.
When asked about the role that accelerators or incubators play in UAE startup ecosystem, Duria highlighted the support that the UAE government provides for businesses.
“The government provides a lot of support in a way that they offer 100% foreign ownership. The government also assists foreign investors in a way that they lower the prices of licenses such as the e-trader license — where aspiring entrepreneurs can get their licenses only for 1,300 dirhams. That gives a huge impact for a lot for SMEs in the country,” Duria shared.
Before ending the discussion, these business council leaders tackled how they aid in the success of every aspiring entrepreneur in the country. They revealed that each organization, though comprised of members of different nationalities, share these common goals: to provide information, education, and networking.
These non-profit organizations focus on guiding entrepreneurs from starting their businesses from scratch, to helping them acquire the required licenses and documents, to supporting them financially through sponsors, to mentoring younger entrepreneurs enhance their skills, and to expanding their network of business opportunities.
For his part, Khwaja closed the session by giving an advice to the people who want to take a leap of faith and setup their own business.
“My advice to people starting is it’s never easy in the first few years. If I want to learn how to paint or make doors, the first painting I’ll make will be horrible. The first door I make will not look like a door — it will look like a piece of wood. So, you need to persevere and you cannot give up. If you truly believe your idea is good, you will know that you can execute it as long as you keep trying. Eventually, no hard work ever comes to waste,” Khwaja concluded.
The recently concluded PPIE 2023 was held from May 12 to 13 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Deira Creek, Dubai. It is the largest and longest-running property and investment exhibition in the Middle East and has gathered thousands of attendees from different emirates with a notable presence of high-level delegates from the Philippines and the UAE.
Watch their panel discussion here:
