DUBAI: The 104 shortlisted finalists in the UAE’s entrepreneurship awards for 2017 have a combined turnover of Dh2.1 billion (SR2.1 billion), the chief executive and co-founder of Gulf Capital said.
This was equivalent to an average annual growth of just above 150 percent, said Karim El-Solh.
“What these figures show us is the continued resilience of the SME sector in the UAE, and offers confidence that this inspiring performance of small businesses will have a ripple effect on the economy of the Emirates as a whole,” he said.
Now on its sixth year, the Gulf Capital SME Awards recognize “startups, innovative SMEs with exemplary products and services, SMEs which invest in their employees’ environment and customer strategy and also the visionary entrepreneurs leading them.”
This year’s list of finalists, more than twice that last year’s 47, will go through a final round of judging before winners are announced October 11.
SMEs comprise 90 percent of registered companies in the country and the government had been banking on small businesses to boost economic growth, as global oil prices remain weak.
Abu Dhabi solar power provider Enviromena Power Systems was named the UAE’s business of the year during last year’s edition, while digital businesses won four of the 12 distinctions given by the Gulf Capital SME Awards.
Compareit4me.com, an online comparison site, won the Business Innovation of the Year Award; Mini Exchange, an online marketplace for mums and kids, was recognized as the Online Business of the Year; Marhababy, an e-commerce venture for new and soon-to-be mothers, topped the Start-up Business of the Year category while Samuel Lehain, chief executive of digital consultancy Pure Logic, received the Business Leader of the Year trophy.
UAE’s entrepreneurship awards finalists had remarkable growth in 2016
UAE’s entrepreneurship awards finalists had remarkable growth in 2016
