SME Success Series

WHAT IS THE 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.

What is this?
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)

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) is a full-service commercial bank, owned 64.8% by the Abu Dhabi Government through Abu Dhabi Investment Council. Its shares are traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market in Abu Dhabi. It has won the Silver class category of The Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) for the finance sector and was recently named “Best Retail Bank in the UAE & GCC 2009” by The Asian Banker magazine. 
 
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 Meethaq – a Shari'ah compliant banking solution.
 
ADCB recently won the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2010 for its BusinessEdge suite of products. 

More information can be found at www.adcb.com/businessbanking/smebanking/overview.asp

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

Strategic Partner
The Capital Club

The Capital Club is located at the heart of the DIFC, occupying a prestigious site on the top four floors of Building 3 in the Gate Village, DIFC. The Club was officially opened in April, 2008 in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Club.

The Club offers its members and their guests three dining rooms ("The Signature" – serving an Arabic & Asian menu with an Indian section, "Al Hamra Grill" – serving an array of grilled meats and seafood, and "Level 5" – serving a wide selection of sushi and other Japanese cuisine), elegant lounges, private dining rooms, including a Wine Cellar & Cheese Room, private meeting rooms that can accommodate anywhere from 5 to 36 people around a conference table, outdoor terraces, including a dedicated shisha terrace , a Member's Bar with a walk-in cigar humidor, a games room/library, a Wellness Centre with full-time personal trainers, dedicated Club cars and accompanying drivers, and four Club bedrooms.

Overall, the Capital Club provides the highest level of comfort and cuisine, an exceptional events program that facilitates networking and the exchange of ideas, new business and social interactions, camaraderie, and unmatched personal service.

The Club is open Sunday to Thursday from 7:00 a.m. until late and open Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until late.

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

Strategic Partner
Trench & Associates

Trench & Associates, established since 1996 by the firm's principal, Cynthia Trench, is a full service law firm based in Dubai, UAE. With this establishment, Cynthia was Dubai's first female expatriate, licensed, Legal Consultant.

The firm specialises in corporate, property and construction business sectors, incorporating areas such as employment, private client, commercial, dispute resolution and intellectual property law.

Other sectors which they provide service include leisure, entertainment and media law.

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

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.

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

Event Partner
Real HR
RealHR was established in 2007 in the UAE to provide expert HR services for the changing market and evolving employment law. Market changes and client demand have led to significant developments within the UAE, most noticeably the importance of good people management practices. RealHR understand the importance of structuring, retaining and sourcing high calibre staff, which has been proven globally, especially in times of recession, to be the key to business success and growth.

RealHR can add value to your organisation through its understanding of the different requirements each business might have, whether it is help with the basics and correct HR structure to be established, or providing a seasoned outsource service, enabling businesses to concentrate on the core elements, without any distractions, whilst at the same time potentially reducing expenses. RealHR have developed a number of products tailored to meet these needs but also a service that is practical and can be implemented with ease into your working environment.

For more information please visit www.realhrconsult.com

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

Venue

Dress Code
Members are expected to dress in a manner befitting the surroundings and atmosphere provided in the Club, and should inform their guests accordingly. Business attire, national dress or smart casual is considered appropriate attire. Smart 'dress jeans' are only allowed on the fifth floor of the Club in the Members' Bar.

Athletic wear is only permitted on the second floor, where the Wellness Centre is located. While most casual and workout attire is acceptable in the Wellness Centre, bare feet, bare chests or similar are not permitted in any areas except the locker room. Members must wear shirts with collars and sleeves in all other areas of the Club.

Clothing such as leisure wear, t-shirts, sneakers, flip-flops, etc is not permitted in the Club at any time.

Location map and Gate Village valet parking (For Capital Club members)
By Car
Valet parking for the Capital Club is located at the main entrance of DIFC Gate Village just off Road 312, which is the road that runs from the Dubai Mall to the World Trade Centre. Self parking is also available on the first right after the valet parking stand.

Please be advised that all cars self parked by members and guests at the Gate Village will not be charged for the first two hours (provided their tickets are validated by Capital Club), however, please be advised that from the third hour onwards regular charges will be applied as per secure parking.

From the valet drop off, take the escalator up to the podium level of Gate Village, then turn slightly right and follow the signs to the main entrance of Building No. 3 (GV-03), which is next door to the Opera Gallery. From here enter GV- 03 and take the Club elevator up to the 4^th floor of the Club.

If you park at the rear of the car park, take the elevator from the B1 elevator lobby of GV-03 and take the Club elevator up to the 4^th floor of the Club.

Upon departure from the Club please have your valet parking ticket stamped at an outlet within the Club in order to avail of complimentary valet parking.

Non-members of Capital Club
Valet parking for non-members of Capital Club will be required to pay a AED 15 charge, which can be paid to the valet parking attendants upon departure.

By Taxi
Taxi/driver drop off at the main entrance of DIFC Gate Village.

Click to view large map