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29 March 2024

B2B networking event for region’s small and medium business owners

Published
By Staff

Dubai’s demand for business networking events and the small-and-medium business (SMB) market segment are both fast growing. In response to this trend and bridging the gap between the numerous small-scale ‘business meetups’ and an elaborate trade show, Stride Plus Conferences and Seminars Organizing LLC (‘Stride Plus’), will be curating the Dubai Startup and SMB Summit 2018, this September.

The Dubai Startup and SMB Summit 2018 will be a one-day summit, catered toward small and medium business owners, investors and decision makers in the region. A footfall of over 250+ companies is expected in their first edition of the event, scheduled for the 12th of September 2018 at Dusit Thani Hotel, SZR.

“As per statistics shared by Dubai SME and Dubai Statistics Center earlier in the year, small and medium sized businesses contribute to over 47% of Dubai’s GDP and employs more than half of its workforce. 52.4% to be precise,” says Stride Plus’ Co-Founder, Shaumik Saha, when asked why he is so interested in the SMB segment in Dubai, “When you put those number into perspective you come to find that this segment of the market- small and medium businesses- have a larger structural and monetary impact on the regional economy than most people think. Our event, the Dubai Startup and SMB Summit 2018, is being curated to empower and provide a platform for this segment to network, voice opinions and innovate.”

The event is intended to cover a diverse range of topics ranging from technologies such Cloud Technology, IoT, blockchain and cryptography to social trends such as smart cities, Emiratization of local workforces and the empowerment of women in business.

“We didn’t want to restrict ourselves to a very niche-specific theme or topic. The idea is to bring together SMB owners- that being the only common thread, in terms of our attendee profile- and break ice on the most current of trends. This is sure to leave them with fruitful and innovative ideas to take back to their drawing boards and come up with innovative and sustainable products for the region,” says Shaumik. His vision of the event theme is perfectly in tune with the Government’s many initiatives to awaken the spirit of innovation in regional entrepreneurs to solve today’s problems in the most sustainable ways.

“We are humbled by the financial and strategic support we have received from our several partners. A special word of thanks to Microsoft, IBM, Noor Bank, Mashreq Bank, Virtuzone UAE, The Box Self Storage, Royex Technologies, LOUD Digital, WassupDubai.Ae, The Corporate Group and Q Tickets,” said Co-Founder and Director, Biswajit Saha, acknowledging some of their prominent supporting partners for the event.

Venkatesh Subramaniam, Product Manager at FERO Mobile (of MiDCOM Group), who is scheduled to be one of the speakers on the day, says he is enthusiastic about addressing the audience that is expected and believes that Stride Plus’ vision of the event fulfills a unique and much needed spot in Dubai’s business event calendar. Noticeable speaker appearances will include Liaqat Ali- one of the founding members of Emirates Airlines, Emirates Bank Group and Network International (now ENBD) and Noor Bank; and Gustavo Montero- Ex Executive Director at Standard Chartered Bank and Director of GAM Consulting Group.

Besides the primary agenda of keynote sessions and panel discussions, a mini-expo will allow B2B service providers to showcase products and services to the attendees, primarily business-owners and decision makers or Dubai-based SMB companies.

When asked what their vision of the event is in the mid-term, Founders, Shaumik and Biswajit agree that they expect to position the Dubai Startup and SMB Summit 2018 as the largest B2B networking event for small and medium business owners in Dubai, in 2 years’ time. “We are investing majority of our time and monetary resources into building valuable partnerships and optimizing our marketing strategies to ensure that we are able to live up to our vision of being able to be the single largest B2B networking event for small and medium business owners in Dubai,” Shaumik says.