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Young Arabs keen to start own business

Dubai - Most believe members of this generation are more likely to start a business than those in the previous one

Young Arabs are increasingly positive about entrepreneurship, with more than half believing members of this generation are more likely to start a business than the previous one.

The key finding from the eighth annual Asda'a Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey was unveiled by Sunil John, the founder and CEO of Asda'a Burson-Marsteller and a member of the panel on 'Addressing Youth Unemployment' at the Ta'atheer Mena Social Impact and CSR Forum.

On being asked "Do you feel people in this generation are more likely to start a business than in previous generations," 54 per cent agreed, with youth in the GCC most enthusiastic at 62 per cent, compared to 54 per cent of North African youth and 44 per cent of youth in the Levant.

The survey found that 36 per cent of young Arabs intend to start their own business in the next five years - 37 per cent of youth in the GCC, 39 per cent in North Africa and 31 per cent in the Levant.

Real estate, technology and retail were the top three sectors in which Arab youth would like to start a new business venture. Real estate is the preferred choice for a start-up in the Gulf, where 24 per cent of youth said they would opt to launch a property-related company, whereas technology was the top choice for would-be entrepreneurs in the Levant (15 per cent) and North Africa (18 per cent).

Retail is the second most popular choice in Levant and North Africa for 15 per cent and 16 per cent of respondents respectively; however in the Gulf, only nine per cent would opt to start a retail operation.

Across the Middle East, 34 per cent said they did not intend to launch their own business, while 30 per cent didn't know. Lack of financial resources to start a business was cited as the main reason overall by 20 per cent of young people. However, in the GCC, only eight per cent believed they lacked the means to go it alone, while in North Africa, 37 per cent saw this as the biggest hurdle.

Young Arabs believe governments can do more to support young entrepreneurs, with 39 per cent saying that encouraging affordable lending should be made a priority; 25 per cent calling for education and training to be improved and made more available; and 19 per cent asking for government regulations and red tape to be cut.

"These findings suggest governments in the Middle East have an excellent opportunity to help kick-start an entrepreneurial culture in the region," said John. "With the Arab world needing to provide 80 to 100 million jobs by 2020, according to the World Bank, this represents a rich resource of largely untapped talent who can help drive the Arab world's transformation to knowledge-based economies, and provide the opportunities of the future."

- business@khaleejtimes.com