Ministry of Economy apprises Emirati entrepreneurs of its National SME Program at GITEX 2022

Program provides innovative solutions and services that promote growth of entrepreneurship among citizens

Abu Dhabi, xx October 2022 - The Ministry of Economy (MoE) is showcasing an array of innovative digital services and initiatives at its booth at GITEX Global 2022, which is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center from October 10 to 14. During its participation in the event, the Ministry is also highlighting various incentives and services it offers to SMEs through its National Program for SMEs.

The Ministry called on citizen entrepreneurs to visit its stand at GITEX this year to learn more about the various services that are available to them under the National SMEs Program, made possible by the extensive network of partnerships that the program forged with more than 25 leading government and private sector entities in the country. The partnerships are aimed at developing initiatives and services to benefit the Emirati entrepreneurs who are members of the program at competitive prices. These services include accounting and internal auditing, digital services for Emirati entrepreneurs in cooperation with the e& group (formerly Etisalat), enterprise resource planning, and insurance, among others. These services can be accessed via the program platform on the link: https://www.uaesme.ae/ 

The National Program for SMEs was established under the Federal Law No. 2 of 2014, and aims to support citizen entrepreneurs and SME-owners in the country. The program focuses on six areas, business support, participation in exhibitions abroad, financing, marketing, provisioning information, training and development.

The Program members are eligible for benefits from the Government Procurement Program, as it provides SME-owners with access to government procurement tenders and contracts offered by federal government institutions in the UAE. It will help them benefit from these opportunities, thus stimulating national entrepreneurship activities and the growth of citizen-owned SMEs, raising their market share and supporting their revenues. These will further enhance their business success and opportunities for sustainable growth.

The last phase witnessed a comprehensive revamping of the Government Procurement Program in cooperation between the Ministry of Economy and its partners to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness, and promote its benefits to Emirati entrepreneurs. This resulted in the signing of 13 partnerships with leading institutions in the telecommunications sector, including the e& group, (formerly Etisalat), and the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du). It also included national universities such as UAE University, Zayed University, and Higher Colleges of Technology, as well as institutions in the transportation sector such as Etihad Airways, Emirates Post Group, Emirates Transport, and the Federal National Council. UAE entrepreneurs can access government procurement deals through:https://www.uaesme.ae/ar/services/government-procurement.

The National SME Program members can also benefit from the Hawafez program, which provides an innovative and flexible set of services and solutions to citizen entrepreneurs. Hawafez is designed to reduce the burden of labor recruitment on National SME Program member companies, in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, in addition to providing a number of other advantages.

Hawafez also provides financing solutions to citizen entrepreneurs, apart from various financing tools including an application for business banking services, through an integrated partnership between the SME program and the Emirates Development Bank. The application is an innovative technological solution that enables entrepreneurs to open their bank accounts in a few minutes and activate them within 48 hours, in addition to financing solutions including crowdfunding, loan guarantee, direct lending, and a set of non-financial services, including specialized advisory services and solutions.

Visitors to the Ministry of Economy stand at GITEX 2022 can benefit from the various services offered by the program through the digital platform https://www.uaesme.ae/en/services/hawafez-program.