Small and medium-sized enterprises: Vital keys to economic diversification

Small and medium-sized (SMEs) enterprises in the United Arab Emirates are thriving, thanks to the full support and assistance from the government and other sectors. The country offers its SMEs a vibrant and positive business environment by creating policies to ease up doing business, affordable financial loans, and wider integration in the business company.

This shows that providing support for SMEs is one of the UAE’s priorities for economic growth, job creation and economic and social cohesion. SMEs create many job opportunities, bring forth innovations and skills, expand the tax base, and increase and fuel competition in the market.

These are all contributors in the nation’s economic growth as it moves towards becoming a hub for enterprise ventures and becoming one of the best entrepreneurial ecosystems in the global landscape. In a data published by the UAE Ministry of Economy (MoE) in 2019, this sector represents more than 94 per cent of the country’s companies and employs over 86 per cent private employees. The government recognizes the contributions this sector makes in the local economy, hence, the establishments of various initiatives and programs to further support SMEs.

Free zones are vital in developing the SME sector by supporting their products and certifying their services. During the first quarter of this year, Ajman Free Zone secured 56 per cent of its purchases from small and medium-sized enterprises. AFZ underlines the importance of supporting and helping SMEs, a large portion of the country’s business community. AFZ continues to provide facilities and economic growth assistance to over 5,000 businesses within its zones, as part of their efforts to empower national businesses, including SMEs. These initiatives and contributions come within the framework of AFZ’s commitment to support national entrepreneurship and increase of momentum of SMEs, in line with the UAE government’s strategy.

The Ajman Free Zone is dedicated to promoting and improving the efficiency of diverse businesses within the local economy. Furthermore, the free zone is working to implement new laws, regulations and polices to help facilitate SMEs operations, complement their growth, and enhance their strategies.

These efforts also contribute to enhancing the movement of supply and demand, increasing the attractiveness and competitiveness of the local businesses, and boosting the confidence of foreign investors.

The free zone supports SMEs by empowering them with the right tools to move ahead of their journey. By creating business-friendly policies, easy financing options and other means of support, small and medium-sized enterprises can produce substantial profit, create more job opportunities, and rise in GDP contribution.

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