SME

Automation in SMEs

Rise in automation is changing the ways of doing business. Similar to the digital and technological revolution, big business houses have been the first to adopt automation across their activities in the form of driverless cars, robot assistants, and delivery drones etc. For example, the Dubai Metro is already driverless, and the UAE is pioneering the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy aiming to make 25 per cent of all trips autonomous by 2030. With progress in automation, the costs of sensors...

Could Private debt be the new theme for SMEs to access capital?

The global financial crisis has been the turnaround for the private debt market as it is now widely accepted as an asset class of its own. The increase in both supply and demand is having a significant impact on how alternative lending funds are being used. In recent years, there has been an influx of new entrants and greater diversity of investment strategies. The banking industry is forced to re-evaluate less-profitable and high-risk sectors, which has resulted in private debt...

Emerging startups in the Arab region – Can they make it big?

Arab Region's Top Start-ups Top 10 from GCC Source: Forbes, Marmore research UAE – Start-up hub of the GCC UAE has been the prime destination for budding start-ups in the Arab region offering a plethora of opportunities for prospective business owners. It is one of the most diversified economies in the GCC and home to some of the most highly valued start-ups in the region like Careem and Fetchr. Prime reasons to it are the measures taken by the government...

SME Startup Stories in GCC – What can we learn?

These success stories highlight the value SMEs deliver to GCC economic imperatives. Even a cursory glance at the case studies reveal that these companies have shown remarkable prowess in identifying ideas that speak to customer pain points and have turned them into practical companies through actionable business models. Another notable characteristic is that, in keeping with trends in the rest of the world, these companies have harnessed digital business platforms to drive their revenues, growth and scalability. Coinciding with the...

Funding 2.0 for GCC SMEs

Traditionally in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), SMEs have found it difficult to access funding from banks. In the GCC countries, the share of SME loans in total bank loans has tended to be around 2%, as the following graphic illustrates. Figure: Share of SME Loans in Total Loans (%) Source: Union of Arab Banks Survey, 2011 Entrepreneurs in the GCC, with respect to receiving bank loans, are known to face time-consuming documentation, daunting penalties on early repayments,...

Crowdfunding in the GCC

KEY QUESTION 1: What is Crowd funding? How is it gaining at the global level? Officially, Crowdfunding stands for “Capital Raising Online While Deterring Fraud and Unethical Non-Disclosure”. Here, a venture is funded by a large number of people, via the Internet, and this concept has gained massive popularity world-over. According to a report by The Crowd Data Center, in 2014, each metric in crowdfunding is doubling every two months thanks to disruptive shifts in capital formation. This trend has...