Al Mansouri Calls Upon Government Entities to Support Young Emirati Entrepreneurs

H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy called upon national institutions, federal and local government departments and entities to support all young Emiratis’ projects considering this as a patriotic duty while supporting the national economy.

Al Mansouri emphasised that there are plans underway to expand the current allocation of 10% of all annual purchases of federal departments and local bodies to small and medium enterprises adding that it is everyone’s responsibility to support young citizens’ growth and to enhance their competitiveness in the local market.

The UAE Minister of Economy’s words came during a meeting held recently at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s headquarters with the representatives of the Tejar Dubai Youth Council that operates under the umbrella of the Chamber. H.E. Al Mansouri also saw the future plans of the Council while listening to the challenges they face in their efforts to promote entrepreneurship among young citizens in the country.

He urged the Council members to join hands with national initiatives such as the National Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and other similar organisations, which he said will benefit young Emiratis to coordinate their efforts and work towards their own growth and prosperity.

Highlighting the role of budding Emirati female entrepreneurs, H.E. Al Mansouri said that they contribute a lot and play an active role in the country’s economy as well as the Cabinet alongside the men folk.

On his part, H.E. Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber stressed on the need to encourage young citizens through confidence-building measures and to recognise their skills and experience while offering them private sector-specific benefits, adding that the direct communication with the Ministry can open up a gateway of opportunities for the growth and development of young citizens.

H.E. Hisham Al Shirawi, 2nd Vice-Chairman, Dubai Chamber, and Head of Tejar Dubai Selection Committee Panel, called for the creation of a unified list of local suppliers for the use of government entities who will have a ready reference of Emirati entrepreneurs qualified to provide services and products to these government bodies which will also help the young citizens to offer quality services while enhancing their competitiveness in the local market.

H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber, informed that the founding of the Tejar Dubai Youth Council unified the voices of young citizens and entrepreneurs while helping them to develop and grow under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber. This is the fruit of the efforts of Tejar Dubai entrepreneurship development programme which is committed to support young Emiratis enter the world of enterprise while providing them all the facilities to succeed in the business world, he said.

The President and CEO of Dubai Chamber added that the Youth Council plays an important role in promoting the young Emiratis’ contribution to the process of economic growth of the country as it gets the opportunity to better interact with the private sector as Dubai Chamber helps redress their challenges by communicating the same to the concerned authorities while enhancing their competitiveness in the domestic and global markets.

Saif Al Shafar, Chairman, Tejar Dubai Youth Council, lauded the role of Dubai Chamber in establishing the Council while providing the opportunity to meet the Minister of Economy and to present its future plans which are in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021 and to listen to his recommendations on how to help young citizens succeed in the business world while enhancing the UAE’s reputation as a distinctive destination for entrepreneurship.

The representatives of the Youth Council agreed with Tejar Dubai and the UAE Ministry of Economy to hold a coordination meeting later this year to discuss ways of cooperation to support young Emirati entrepreneurs.

The meeting was attended by Essa Al Zaabi, Senior Vice-President, Institutional Support Sector, and General Coordinator of Tejar Dubai and members of the Youth Council including Sheikh Suhail Al Maktoum, Humaid Ahmed Al Tayer, Ahmed Saeed BelYoha, Fahad Abdulaziz Albanai, Yaqoob Bin Essa Al Serkal, Ali Majed Al Shamsi, Abdullah Fareed Al Gurg, Alharith Salem Al Moosa, Mohammed Abdelmajeed Seddiqi, Mansoor Al Bastaki, Hadi Ibrahim Al Abbas, Mansoor Hassan Al Abaar, Alia Abdulla Al Mazroui, Rafia Abdullah Al Mulla, Randa Omar Al Hemeiri, Mohamed Essa Al Ghurair, Senan Abdulla Al Naboodah and Saeed Saif Al Ghurair.