ACCI and Khalifa Fund Collaborate to support SMEs
According to the Khalifa fund website, ‘Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) realizes the importance of enabling the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to build work relationships with public and private sectors’ institutions and translate these relationships to more business opportunities.
Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development sent a delegation to the ACCI-Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Jameela Kajour, Director of Franchise Development at Ajman Chamber and staff members Omar Al Nuaimi, Rafia Al Ghaflu, Ahmed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, were the highlighted figures of the conference.
The meeting was led by Kajour, who started off the meeting by emphasizing Ajman Chamber’s aim to empower SMEs. She spoke about the various programs where they organized motivational talks and exhibitions to encourage the young generation to start their own businesses. She also discussed the Chamber’s focus on training young mindsets to manage small businesses and encouraged other organizations that have made similar efforts.
The delegation shed light on the fact that SMEs are essential to the UAE’s economic growth, local GDP and its social development. This is why the young generation should be targeted to polish their entrepreneurial skills and also enforce an idea of diversification of projects to allow the flourishment in all possible fields of the economy. They talked about their Zarie program which focuses on the development of the agricultural sector of the country.
“Today’s forum demonstrates the KFED’s steadfast commitment to promote a culture of entrepreneurship, encouraging local Emiratis to invest in SMEs and contribute to the competitiveness of the national economy and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This event will help enable local Emirati youth to implement their innovative projects and take advantage of the incubating environment that Ajman is building by the continuous efforts to support entrepreneurs and instill a culture of self-employment in them,” said Al Nasri.
The delegation then covered KFED’s other efforts to promote entrepreneurship i.e the hosting of the ‘Entrepreneurs Forum’. Nasri said, “This is the first time that we are holding an event of this kind in Ajman. The Entrepreneurs Forum has been designed and developed to provide a key link between Emirati entrepreneurs, SMEs and various government and semi-government entities, as well as representatives from the private sector, which in turn, can help enhance communication, coordination and a smooth exchange of experiences and knowledge.”
The forum was attended by several notable entities that included government officials and other partners including Director Mohammed Al Yousefi. Ajman itself presented the Chamber’s investment opportunities and their schemes to plant the elements of innovation and development throughout the country.