SME Success Series

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have it tough, balancing between limited resources and making investments to grow their business. Add to that the recent economic crisis, which certainly didn't help!

In some ways the negative sentiment does nothing to help business recover. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy, based on fear and doubt. Which is why we decided to launch a series of road shows and intimate events over the coming year that will focus on what CAN be done, and the best way forward.

These road shows and networking events will be held across the emirates over the coming year. Not only will the events be educational and informative, but will also provide platforms to voice concern, make new contacts through networking and share experiences and advice.

Who will be there?
These focused events will be attended by a select audience of business owners and senior executives, by invitation only. Our aim is to keep the interaction intimate enough to provide real value and forge long-term business associates amongst audience members. At the end of the day, we want everyone to know everyone, and to collectively walk away with inspiration, solutions and new connections.

Speakers and mentors will include prominent regional representatives from the business community and government, as well as successful SMEs.

Sponsors

Presented by
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB)

ADCB was formed in 1985 and as at 30 June 2011 employed over 3,813 people from 49 nationalities, serving over 480,000 retail customers and over 33,000 wholesale clients in 45 branches, 4 pay offices and 1 kiosk in the UAE and two branches in India. It is the third largest bank in the UAE and second largest in Abu Dhabi by assets, at AED 179 bn as at 30 June 2011.

ADCB is a full-service commercial bank which offers a wide range of products and services such as retail banking, wealth management, private banking, corporate banking, commercial banking, cash management, investment banking, corporate finance, foreign exchange, interest rate, currency, derivative and Islamic products, project finance and property management services.

ADCB is owned 58.08% by the Abu Dhabi Government through the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Its shares are traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market. As at 30 June 2011, ADCB's market capitalisation was AED 17 bn.

The SME Banking division offers a wide-array of financial products under the brand of "BusinessEdge". The products cover the entire spectrum of solutions across transaction accounts, trade finance and financing products. It also offers a range of lending products. All the SME products are also available under ADCB Islamic Banking - a Shari'ah compliant banking solution.

ADCB recently won the "Best SME Account" award by Banker Middle East Product Awards 2011 for its BusinessEdge suite of products.

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Exclusive Telecom Partner
du

du offer fixed and mobile telephone, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to individuals, homes and businesses, and carrier services for businesses. As a rapidly-growing enterprise, they have close to 2,000 staff, hailing from over 60 countries, working to enhance and expand their bouquet of service offerings, while being able to serve their customers in a variety of languages. Over 50% of their senior management team and customer-facing staff are also UAE nationals.

du contribute to the transformation of the UAE by providing customers with choice and making a difference in quality, innovation, and pricing. The 2.9 million people who signed up as active users of their services by mid 2009 prove that they have established themselves as one of the main operators of choice for the new subscribers in the UAE market.

More information can be found at www.du.ae

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Strategic Partner
TECOM Investments
TECOM Investments, a member of Dubai Holding, operates in sectors such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Media, Education, Sciences, Leisure and Entertainment, as well as Manufacturing and Logistics. TECOM Investments currently oversees various entities including Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai International Academic City, eHosting DataFort, International Media Production Zone, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park, Energy and Environment Park, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai Industrial City and Global Village.

TECOM Investments offers attractive incentives for small, medium, large organisations to serve their operations nationally, regionally and internationally within its business parks. TECOM business parks offer operational synergies and top of class infrastructure for companies operating in its trade zones. Businesses additionally have a wide array of options, from long-term leases of land to set up major facilities to shorter-duration leases suitable for start-up operations.

Various departments under TECOM Investments also support businesses with one-stop-shop services such as licensing, registration, immigration and fit-out permits. In addition, companies based within TECOM Business Parks get free zone benefits including complete ownership, absence of corporate and personal income taxes as well as lack of restrictions on repatriation of capital and dividends in any currency.

Apart from spurring cluster development by creating purpose-built facilities and working with the Dubai and Federal Governments to develop business-friendly policies, TECOM Investments also focuses on ‘pure play’ businesses. Emirates International Telecommunications Ltd, a subsidiary of TECOM, invests internationally across the communications sector. TECOM Investments owns share capital in Empower, a district cooling service provider, Nexgen Advisory Group, a MENA-based specialized advisory and consulting services organisation, and Energy Management Services (EMS), a leading energy savings company in the Middle East.

SmartCity, an international venture that aims to develop knowledge industry townships worldwide, has already laid the foundation for a global network of knowledge-driven business parks. Currently, it is developing SmartCity Malta in partnership with the Malta Government and SmartCity Kochi in association with the Government of Kerala, India.

For more information visit www.tecom.ae

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Strategic Partner
Dubai Media City

Since its official opening in January 2001, Dubai Media City has grown to become a thriving business community hosting both global and regional media companies. The business park offers an environment that allows companies and individuals to operate with collective synergy and freedom whilst enjoying free zone benefits which include 100% business ownership and exemption from taxes as well as value added services such as networking opportunities, venue management services, industry building programmes and government services.

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Supported by
Dubai Internet City (DIC)

Dubai Internet City (DIC), is a member of TECOM Investments is the Middle East and North Africa's largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) cluster.

As a knowledge-oriented business model, DIC was the pioneer behind the creation of the cluster concept in the region.The ICT cluster hosts a dynamic international community of IT companies as a number of growing enterprises, entrepreneurships and ventures: Microsoft, Dell, Intel, IBM, Canon, General Electric and Cisco just to name a few.

Built inside a free trade zone, DIC is a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in the neighboring regions. DIC's market extends from the Middle East to the Indian Subcontinent and from Africa to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), covering nearly three billion people with a GDP of over US$10 trillion.

The ICT cluster in DIC is comprised of companies from the following sectors: software, Internet & multimedia, telecommunication & networks and IT services.

DIC offers companies 100% tax-free ownership, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, no currency restrictions, easy registration and licensing, and solid intellectual property protection.

DIC also provides an environment that attracts all elements of the value chain. DIC's rich networking opportunities and core location allows companies to tap into resources, partnerships and ideas; a business environment that helps ICT businesses develop, innovate and grow.

For read more about Dubai Internet City please visit www.dubaiinternetcity.com

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Knowledge Partner
INSEAD

As one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas from around the world to change lives and to transform organisations. A global perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of our research and teaching.

With campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and Abu Dhabi, INSEAD's business education and research spans three continents. Their 141 renowned faculty members from 35 countries inspire more than 1,000 degree participants annually in their MBA, Executive MBA and PhD programmes. In addition, more than 6,000 executives participate in INSEAD's executive education programmes each year.

In addition to INSEAD's programmes on their three campuses, INSEAD participates in academic partnerships with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia & San Francisco); the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago and Johns Hopkins University/SAIS in Washington DC. In Asia, INSEAD partners with Tsinghua University in Beijing and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. INSEAD also partners with Sorbonne University Panthéon-Assas law school, and with Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil.

In 2009, INSEAD celebrated 50 years as a pioneer of international business education based in Europe. Last year, INSEAD celebrated the tenth anniversary of their Asia campus in Singapore. In 2012, they will celebrate five years of activity in Abu Dhabi.

Around the world and over the decades, INSEAD continues to conduct research and to innovate across all our programmes to provide business leaders with the knowledge and sensitivity to operate anywhere More information about INSEAD can be found at www.insead.edu

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Knowledge Partner
Dubai Knowledge Village

Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) is the world's only Free Zone area dedicated to Human Resource Management and learning excellence. Established in 2003 as part of TECOM Investments, DKV aims to develop the region's talent pool and establish the UAE as a knowledge-based economy.

DKV is a unique hub that offers the best selection of human resource management, consultancy, training and personal development programmes on a picturesque 1km long campus in the heart of Dubai, and has over 450 business partners. It offers a state-of-the-art campus with fully-equipped conference halls and meeting rooms. A variety of facilities including a food court, coffee shops, restaurants, supermarkets and other retail services are also available on site.  

DKV is host to a variety of business partners covering many specialised business segments including:

• Human Resource Development
• Executive Search
• Linguistics
• Assessment & Testing
• Research & Development
• Human Resource Consultancy
• Content Development
• Academic Service Providers
• Freelancers
• Non-Profit Organisations
• Retailers

DKV business partners enjoy special privileges such as 100% foreign ownership, 100% tax-free operations, 100% repatriation of profits and effortless visa and licensing issuance procedures. DKV partners also benefit from partnerships with Government and regulatory authorities.

For more information visit www.kv.ae

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Event Partner
Virtuzone

Established in 2009, Virtuzone is the very latest UAE free zone, with one key benefit – you don't have to rent an office or desk to get the trade license.

They are tailor made for entrepreneurs and start-ups. So if you need a legal UAE company structure to legitimise your business, but don't need a full time office, then Virtuzone is perfect for you.

Starting from 17,500 AED Virtuzone will provide a UAE company license. This company will be entitled to have up to five UAE employment/residence visas and have the use of Virtuzone's business centre facilities in Dubai and Fujairah, UAE.

The Virtuzone Company Package allows you to start up your own business easily and cost-effectively.
The package includes:

• A company license as an FZ LLC company
• Registered in a company name of your choosing
• A bank account in that company name
• Facility to have multiple shareholders
• Up to five residency visas
• Free- in house PRO (public relations officer) facilities

What you don't have to pay for or worry about:

• No office rental or fit out
• No security deposit
• No business plan
• No paid up capital

For more information visit www.vz.ae

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Business Group Partner
Arab Business Club

The Arab Business Club is where the Arab World's elite comes to meet. Hamdan Mohamed is the Founder, President and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Business Club. Founded in 2008, his vision was to provide a platform for the top management of global enterprises and the Arab business community to forge business relationships; its aim is to contribute to the improvement of cross-cultural understanding, integration and communication in the business world.

Breaking through barriers of nationality and encouraging cross-cultural exchange, the Club is growing strong in numbers, now with thousands of members worldwide. Arab Business Club members are decision makers, top management professionals and key-players who are highly educated and possess a wealth of experience in their respective industries. The Club's carefully selected network of members come from many sectors which include finance, real estate, aviation, media, oil and gas, construction, design, manufacturing, trade and export, and agriculture among many others.

Arab Business Club members enjoy exclusive benefits in the form of bespoke events such as regular monthly meetings, international networking events, conferences, exhibitions, seminars and trade shows where they can meet other business leaders and gain access to the elite business circles in the Arab world.

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Business Community Partner
Zawya

Zawya is an online business intelligence provider focusing on the Middle East & North Africa, enabling nearly one million professionals worldwide to find and connect to the right business and investment opportunities in the region. With content and tools including detailed company profiles, timely aggregated news though Zawya-Dow Jones, industry and asset class research, an online network, and direct access to a team of 40+ experts covering most sectors, Zawya provides its users with the intelligence they need to conduct business in MENA. Headquartered in the UAE, Zawya has physical presence in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the USA. For more information, please visit www.zawya.com

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