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Dubai SME provides Dh170 million worth of incentives and services

Dubai - The total number of Emirati entrepreneurs supported to date by Dubai SME increased to 38,565 by the end of 2019.

Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy, mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise, SME, sector and entrepreneurship continued to expand and diversify its advisory and support programmes in 2019 with an added emphasis on enhancing SME competitiveness and strengthening Dubai as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The past year saw 3,871 Emirati entrepreneurs benefit from the start-up advisory services of Dubai SME, with nearly Dh170 million of exemptions and incentives to launch and grow businesses in diverse sectors.

Overall, local entrepreneurs received over Dh630 million worth of incentives and support from Dubai SME since its inception in 2002. The total number of Emirati entrepreneurs supported to date by Dubai SME also increased to 38,565 by the end of 2019.

Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, stated that 2019 was a challenging but remarkably successful year for Dubai SME in its efforts to align with the diverse SME capabilities and entrepreneurial talent available locally with the ambitious growth strategies in Dubai as well as the UAE, and the vision of the leadership to make the country an innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy.

Meanwhile, Dubai is seeing a steady increase in the registration of new business entities. Although there was a massive slowdown in the global economy on account of Covid-19, there has been a steady increase in new business entities registering in the UAE in the past few weeks, said Saeed Khalifa Mohammed Al Fuqaei, chairman, Shuraa Group.

Shuraa Management & Consultancy has been providing company formation services to aspiring businessmen and has successfully established more than 25,000 companies since it started its operations.

Al Fuqaei said: "For us 2020 was slated to be a year of strategic growth. We had expanded our range of operations and enhanced our services earlier this year without compromising on our core business objectives. This is in tandem with our long-term objectives and I am happy to state that our operations are steadily beginning to gain the pre-covid momentum."

Michelle Coelho, creative director and partner, INDI SALON, who recently set up her salon during the Covid phase, said: "It was right in the middle of Covid-19 outbreak when we started the interior design work of the salon. The Dubai Economic Department and Dubai Development Authority were very helpful and got us all the permits necessary to go ahead with all our work. We are excited to start the salon and are very positive that we and Dubai will pull through these challenging times." - sandhya@khaleejtimes.com