UAE has most number of companies from the GCC region in AllWorld’s Fast Growth Arabia500 ranking
The United Arab Emirates leads the GCC region in the number of small and medium businesses that feature in AllWorld Network’s 2012 Arabia Fast Growth 500 Awards, a ranking of the region’s fastest growing non-listed entrepreneurial ventures. Thirty SMEs from the UAE figure in the ranking with an additional seven companies identified in the start-up and companies to watch list. The Dubai SME100s are also a part of the Arabia500, taking the total number of SMEs from the country in the ranking to 137.
AllWorld Network’s Arabia500 Awards Event & Celebration was hosted as a pre-event of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit – Entrepreneurial Ventures of Arabia (GES-EVA), being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at Dubai World Trade Centre through December 12, 2012.
The UAE companies in Arabia500 cover all key sectors including trading, recruitment & training, services, retail, consumer services, tourism, import/export, manufacturing & packaging, computer software/engineering, IT (hardware and software), business services, professional services & consultancy, education and construction & engineering.
Some 26 companies from Saudi Arabia also feature in the Arabia500 ranking, including five start-ups and companies to watch, in addition to 12 companies from Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The Arabia500 companies also had the opportunity to take part in AllWorld’s new XChangeTM initiative, a technology platform to match growth companies all around the world.
His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the organizing committee for GES-EVA, said: “The top raking positions achieved by the UAE SMEs in Arabia500 reflects the government’s sustained efforts to promote entrepreneurship by facilitating a convenient, legislative and investment environment for them.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship are central to the UAE Vision 2021 to promote a sustainable knowledge-based economy, which is reflected in the ranking. The entrepreneurs can further benefit from their participation at GES-EVA by networking with global policy makers and business leaders, sharing best practices and potentially expanding their business through industry linkages. We are proud of the UAE companies listed in Arabia500 as they set new benchmarks for their peers in entrepreneurship and SME management.”
Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO of Dubai World Trade Centre, said: “The impressive presence of UAE companies in the Arabia Fast Growth 500 Awards is a strong reiteration of the country’s focused initiatives to promote a culture of entrepreneurship and to promote small and medium businesses. The SME sector contributes significantly to the non-oil GDP of the UAE, and the varied sectors that are represented by the Arabia500 UAE companies demonstrates the successful strides the country has achieved in promoting economic diversification.
The Arabia500 are the largest collaboration of growth entrepreneurs in the world and their combined GDP is greater than that of 80 countries. They are growing at an average of 50 percent between 2009-2011, ten times faster than the region’s private sector, and collectively employ over 100,000 people. According to AllWorld Network, the Arabia500 companies are growing 50 percent a year in both old and new industries, and their existence highlight that the region has greater capacity for growth and investment.
“For the past four years AllWorld and its 70 partners launched an unprecedented effort to scour the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey, finding thousands of growing and innovative companies largely unknown to the world. The Arabia500 are some of the most sophisticated entrepreneurs, many with operations spanning more than 100 countries. They are creating thousands of new jobs each year, and with worldwide visibility, they can expand and modernize the economic base of the region,” said AllWorld co-CEOs Deirdre Coyle and Anne Habiby.
“AllWorld has put together a marvelous global enterprise which I think is on its way to changing the world in very important ways,” added Michael Porter, Harvard Business School Professor and AllWorld Chairman. “The Arabia500 companies, led by dynamic men and women, represent the leading edge of a new approach to the region’s competitiveness.”
Leading the UAE list is Dubai-based Ecobility, which addresses key environmental issues. Founded in 2007, the private-sector Clean-Tech company champions sustainable development, ecological footprint reduction and heightened environmental awareness in the MENA region. Its mission is to translate the theory of sustainability into economic results for its clients.
AllWorld Entrepreneurs are some of the region’s fastest growing enterprises, and they are teaming up to achieve scale and push forward innovations in areas from renewal energy, to mobile, to education. They are also among the most innovative employers, offering valuable on-the-job training a wide range of employee benefits and profit sharing, and as a group the Arabia500 have encourage more than 300 employees to spin off as successful entrepreneurs.
GES-EVA puts the spotlight on the golden opportunity for growth presented by the SME sector, with its focus on encouraging youth entrepreneurship, fueling diversified employment opportunities and providing access for start-ups to markets and capitals across the region.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Dec 11, 2012
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