Khalifa Fund organizes 4th Tawasul Forum to promote entrepreneurship in the UAE

The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development organised its fourth ‘Tawasul’ Forum at the Al Ain Convention Center.

Tawasul is an ongoing initiative launched by the Khalifa Fund aimed at promoting the culture of entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation among citizens and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE.

The forum gave the attendees a chance to showcase their ideas and experiences relevant to business projects, products and services. The forum allowed the KFED-supported entrepreneurs in Al Ain city to present their projects before local partners from the government and private sectors and enter in a dialogue with them in an effort to develop strong strategic relations.

According to KFED’s Acting CEO, Mouza Al Nasri, the Tawasul forum is part of the greater strategy of KFED to build a supporting and innovative environment of entrepreneurship for the citizens of UAE. In the words of Al Nasri, “Since the beginning, KFED has been striving to promote entrepreneurship in the UAE and provide various forms of support to Emirati-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in line with the directives of our wise leadership. We believe in the importance of providing projects critical to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) with the right support and opportunity”.

The activities during the first day of the 4th Tawasul Forum included a speech from a representative of the UAE Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), a presentation by the Head of Customer Relations at ADGM, Shaikha Al Marzouqi and the Strategic Development manager at ADGM, Amel Bader on the services provided to the private sector by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). There were also case presentations of four successful KFED-supported Emirati projects. Sultan Al Mheiri, Manager of Procurement and Supply Management of the Etihad Aviation Group also presented several opportunities for SMEs offered by his company.

The second day of the forum saw a speech from Adel Al Naqbi from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic development. In his speech, Al Naqbi shared the services that his department offered to entrepreneurs. Other members from various companies such as Eng. Ahmad Bulteour from Strata, Shoaib Al Hammadi from Union Coop and Shamma Salem Al Darmaki from Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry shared the services their companies offered to Abu Dhabi’s SME Sectors. There were also several presentations of successful entrepreneurs supported by KFED.

In conjunction to the Tawasul forum, the Emirates SMEs Exhibition supported and organised by the UAE FFCI and Abu Dhabi Chamber also took place at the same time in the Al Ain Convention Center. A KFED information desk was present at the exhibition to answer any questions from visitors.

Several top figures from various companies and groups attended the Emirates SMEs Exhibition. Topics included best practices, sustainable development and financing opportunities for the SME owners in UAE. Several meetings, workshops and training programs were carried out during the exhibition with the primary objective of financially assisting and promoting SMEs in the UAE.

MAGNiTT