5.46 PM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

Fewer jobs: Why not start your own business?

Published
By Staff

While entrepreneurs have tended to first enter the job market to gain experience and then apply it to their own businesses,aspiring entrepreneurs in Abu Dhabi are saving years or even decades of their lives by gaining expertise in entrepreneurial programmes and diving straight into the business world.

Interest in entrepreneurship is at an all-time high due to the job market’s diminished appetite for fresh graduates and the rise of Abu Dhabi as a lucrative hotspot for investors.

Arguably the most popular of these programmes is Abu Dhabi University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre ‘ADU Enterprise’ - as evidenced by the fact that some participants have even opted to fly in from outside the country for weekly lectures.

Dr Nabil Ibrahim, Chancellor of Abu Dhabi University explained: “Our programme is reversing the trend by the vast majority of start-up businesses that fail within a five- year time-frame by incubating “out of the box” thinkers who are the architects of tomorrow’s business empires.

“We help entrepreneurs to flourish in any business climate by giving them a supportive ecosystem connecting them to the business community, investors and the wider economy of the UAE and beyond.”

An emerging pattern is that entrepreneurial skills are evolving from a luxury into a necessity for those currently in non-business career paths like engineering, as it fast tracks their promotion to senior executive positions.

However, knowledge is only one side of the equation, as many would-be entrepreneurs fear it will take astronomical amounts to finance their dream.

Dispelling this myth, the Enterprise programme is showing participants how to make maximum impact with minimal funds.

Fahimeh Mohammad Rastegar (25), who has just started her own interior design company, commented: “The common misconception is that interior design is only for a wealthy clientele, but I have learned to distinguish my brand by targeting middle-income yet style-savvy trendsetters.

“The programme taught me that it’s not about big budgets but big ideas.”

According to Lama Sawaf (47), an electrical engineering graduate, even those who are already entrepreneurs should consider upgrading their expertise: “I learned unconventional ideas about building an enterprise that had never crossed my mind before, and also got constructive feedback on the business plans I already had.”

With SME’s contributing the overwhelming majority of private sector jobs, it is anticipated that the spiraling interest in entrepreneurship will boost the job market and the wider economy.