Ronaldo Mouchawar the CEO of Souq.com, looks at the effects of Value Added Tax on SME's in UAE
By Lubna Hamdan / Arabian Business
On the 26th of March at Dubai Technology Entrepeneur Centre (DTEC), the upcoming Arabian Business StartUp Academy, will be interviewing the co-founder of regional e-commerce giant Souq.com, Ronaldo Mouchawar, focusing on the effect of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE.
The workshop event, hosted at DTEC's Dubai Silicon Oasis' headquarters, will see Mouchawar share the importance of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports and empowers start-ups in the region.
Souq.com, which was acquired by Jeff Bezos’ Amazon last year, is an important platform for start-ups in the GCC, acting as a marketplace that allows smaller companies to grow.
Mouchawar told Arabian Business in December that Souq needs start-ups as much as start-ups need Souq.
“As we grow, they grow. When we double in White Friday, they double in White Friday; it is their sale as much as it is our sale. We have seen our companies scale from 5 to 10 people, so the type of ecosystem around the thousands of merchants is what is also exciting,” he said.
The Startup Academy will also focus on the effect of Value Added Tax (VAT) on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE. Neil Petch, chairman and founder of business management consultancy Virtuzone, will discuss what it means for the overall professionalisation of the entrepreneurial scene and the country’s working environment.
Source: arabianbusiness.com