For reaching this ambitious growth rate, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid highlighted that the programmes and initiatives of the Year of Giving will target the private sectors in particular, given the fact that it is an important and major partner in the developmental progress of the country. According to statements of the UAE’s minister of economy Sultan bin Saed Al-Mansouri last year, the UAE plans to reduce its dependence on oil economy from 30% to 20 % of GDP by 2021, moving to SMEs which represent 94 % of the private companies in UAE, about 350,000 SMEs till January 2017; 73% in wholesale and retail trade sector, 16% in the service sector, and 11% in the manufacturing sector.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has launched, last January 24, the new system of ‘The classification of SMEs in UAE’, saying: “SMEs form an important pillar for building a solid foundation for the post-oil economy stage,” describing the new system as a good support to increase the contribution of SMEs in UAE’s GDP. The new system provides set of privileges for SMEs, including capacity development programme, financing programme, and Start-ups Support Fund, and International expansion programme, which includes information on export markets, and advisory services to support export. Executive Council of the Government of Dubai, within its participation at launching the new system, announced: “The new system aims to increase the contribution of the SMEs from 60 % up to 70% of GDP by 2021.”
Globally, a new report by FedEx Business Insights published this month in the form of an online video finds that SMEs are quite optimistic about their futures as they look to grow via cross-border trade. “Exports are a major revenue driver among SMEs,” the report, entitled “Global Trade in the Digital Economy: Opportunities for Small Businesses,” concluded, noting exports make up nearly two-thirds of SMEs’ revenue globally. Formal SMEs contribute up to 45 percent of total employment and up to 33 percent of national income (GDP) in emerging economies, said Simon Bell, a Global Lead for SME Finance in the Finance and Markets Global Practice. In May, the executive manager of the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) Mona El-Baradei said that the number of SMEs in Egypt constitutes approximately 2.5 million projects, adding that SME productions account for about 80% of the GDP and contribute to 75% of exports. Last Monday, January 23, the general committee of Egypt’s House of Representatives referred the draft law of the SMEs to the competent committees including the legislative committee and the economic committee to discuss it. According to the parliamentarian Hala El-Said, a deputy of the SMEs committee, said that the new draft law will merge the SMEs to the official economy and facilitate their foundations including the startups. It is an optimistic step to increase EGY’s GDP more than 4% in 2016/2017 as anticipated by the IMF’s report last January. As UAE innovated 2017 ‘ The ‘Year of Giving”, Egyptian would facilitate the legal and innovative environments to the SMEs by doubling the number of business technological incubators across the country, moving to the economy of ‘Innovation’
