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29 March 2024

Businesswomen manage Dh12.5bn investments in SMEs

UAE Businesswomen's Council represents over 11,000 members and covers 30 per cent of the SMEs with savings of Dh27 billion (SUPPLIED)

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By Wam

Women entrepreneurs in the UAE manage approximately Dh12.5 billion in investments in various fields of business, UAE Businesswomen's Council chairwoman said in Dubai on Wednesday.

Speaking at a seminar, Shaikha Hind Al Qassimi said: "Over the past 39 years, women in the UAE were able to take important steps in the field of investment and entrepreneurship. They form around 4.5 per cent of the total number of investors and are managing approximately Dh12.5 billion which has been invested in the trade, banking, real estate, tourism, industrial, contracting, construction and services sectors. They also invested Dh2.1 billion in the manufacturing sector."

The UAE Businesswomen's Council currently represents over 11,000 members and covers 30 per cent of the SMEs with savings of Dh27 billion.

The seminar highlighted how SMEs can take their products and services to international markets. The UAE, like most countries, has only a small proportion of SMEs that actually earn revenue from exporting activities. In Dubai, less than 10 per cent of SMEs carry out any form of export activity and consequently earn any form of overseas revenues. Most export sales by SMEs are modest in terms of scale, with 68 per cent of goods exporters generating less than Dh1 million worth of exports per annum per firm.

The seminar aimed to make SMEs, who account for 98.5 per cent of the businesses in the country, to consider exporting as a natural extension of their business.

Collectively, SMEs account for less than one per cent of total exports. Such a low level of export activity by SMEs leads to the natural question as to why they are not exporting. The importance of this question is underpinned by the fact that exports allow firms to enhance their competitiveness, provide opportunities for growth and innovation as well as technology transfer, diversify their revenue base, benefit from economies of scale and of course increase profits.

According to research carried out by Dubai Exports, there are two main reasons why SMEs do not tend to export - namely, internal and external barriers - though these barriers themselves are not sufficient to impede any overseas activity. Various studies have shown that the real export barriers are the psychological or behavioural attitudes of the owner or manager. "Psychological inertia towards exporting is something that these seminars are intended to break," commented Ketaki Banga, Senior Editor, SME Advisor Middle East.

Nilanjan Ray, Sr. Vice President, Head - SME Banking at ADCB reiterated the need for supporting SMEs and stated that; "The SME segment is an area of strategic growth for the bank in view of the huge potential that exists in the country. Already, the UAE is the third largest re-exporter in the world and a major exporter in the region. As a result of this we have launched several products focused on this segment of clients operating in the SME space and will continue to do so." Ray further pointed out that, "We hope that the development of products aimed at the SME market will help bring necessary attention to the potential of this segment and will assisting in addressing relevant issues as far as exports are concerned."