Yemen Times interview with Ahmed Bazara, Chairman of the Yemeni Businessmen Club

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What are the sources of income for the club?
We have membership fees which are USD 500 per year, as well as some commissions we get through conducting services for members and non members, such as obtaining visas for some countries.
Recently, we have also expanded our activities to provide training, based on the members' needs.

You mentioned the Made in Yemen conference in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce. What is the relation between the club and this chamber?
The Yemeni Businessmen Club is a business organization working inline and parallel with other chambers and the Federation of Chambers.  We maintain a good relation with all fellow organizations.  In fact, we at YBC are focusing on issues usually unattended to by other business organizations such as family business issues, corporate governance and senior management training.

What about the General Investment Authority?
It is a normal relationship, like any other private sector organization.  Recently, YBC has been represented on the newly proposed board of the GIA.

Do you see the club as a successful business organization?
I am glad to see the YBC growing from day to day, and playing an active role in the private sector live in Yemen. My priorities are well set forth in the strategic plan of the YBC, and we are working on the following:
A corporate governance guidelines document, increasing the awareness and motivating stakeholders to adopt it Family business technical assistance
Issuing and maintaining the economic annual report
Building a research and studies unit of the YBC
Exploring new projects
Reaching sustainability through the provision of outstanding and focused training programs for the members and their companies

How did the International Economic Crisis affect business profitability in Yemen?
It has its impact on the market demand which has resulted in deteriorating profitability for a number of companies. We are in the process of issuing our periodic report, which will include our evaluation of the outcomes.

Do you have activities for social responsibility and community services?
Many of our members have their own social activities. We are encouraging them to organize it and systemize it through institutions. But we aspire to do more. In our economic report, we have dedicated a chapter on current practices, and recommended actions. We will follow up by exploring and implementing those recommendations for social responsibility.

Do you play a role in solving business conflicts?
There have been no conflicts so far, but we are in the process of establishing the Arbitration and Resolving Conflict Unit within the club.

How do you deal with businessmen who smuggle goods into the country?
We do not accept them as members.

Yemen has identified a number of economic sectors as promising, which are those economic sectors you see as having the most potential for growth in the next few years?
Effective measures to encourage investment in all sectors would be the best promising options.

Are you involved in efforts to establish a dialogue mechanism to involve the private sector in the development of government economic policies? How do see this involvement materializing? 
We are doing our best to establish a dialogue mechanism between private sector and government. We always participate in activities involving the economic issues.  We have been, for the last decade, hearing about the social-economic council that government is talking about, but we have not seen any practical move.  This council, if materialized, will facilitate and help the partnership great deal.

The Yemeni government, through the ministries of trade and planning, is trying to implement a number of reforms aiming at improving the business environment. How do you evaluate the success of these efforts?
Thus far, most of the government initiatives to improve the business climate have not succeeded due to one simple reason, which is lack of partnership. Unfortunately, the government has been making unilateral decisions without realizing the need to involve the private sector in the economic affairs. We have been hearing and reading a lot about the government-private sector partnership, but we have seen few actions.

Yemeni Businessmen Club Executive Manager
Ali Al-Azaki is the executive manager of the Yemeni Businessmen Club. He is currently completing his PhD on the inputs of marketing technologies on brand equity, after graduating in 2002 from Liverpool University in UK from an MBA course through a Chevening Scholarship. Since his graduation he worked as the research and development manager of Al-Amal Microfinance Bank and since the beginning of 2009 he changed careers to work at the Businessmen Club which he termed as a project with great potentials.

The first priority for Al-Azaki regarding the club is to create a general strategy to achieve its mission. With the staff and supervised by the board of directors he laid down a five year vision for the club and broke it down to annual plans.

"The Businessmen club is not just a place for socializing and entertainment whether for the Yemeni businessmen or their families. It is a place for exchanging expertise and personal growth. We also plan to make it useful for its members through the provision of services such as working visas, filing applications on behalf of the members whether for local or international authorities and so on," he said.

Currently the Businessmen Club includes 104 Yemeni businessmen in its membership list. The target is to double this number by the end of year 2010. The club has strong relations with various business and commercial institutes and has conducted several events through joint ventures such as the Industry Conference with the Chamber of Commerce, Privet Sector Governance and others. The most recent event was a seminar in July on the global developments and its impact on international trade.

Al-Azaki promises to make the club an attractive and useful place for Yemeni businessmen. On his list of things to do is create new departments for research and business information database, entertainment activities for the families of the members, legislative advice for members and facilitation of bilateral business cooperation.

"The Yemeni Businessmen Club was established in 2003 as a not for profit NGO to bring together young, educated and successful businessmen to advocate for greater economic reform and freedom in Yemen. The YBC is the only alternative organization in Yemen to the traditional chambers of commerce and is consulted by the Yemeni Government regularly regarding private sector issues. Elections at YBC are held every 3 years," he added.

About the Yemeni Businessmen Club
The club seeks to strengthen links between members, and to develop their institutions and contribute to the overall development process through the implementation of programs and activities and lead by trust and a spirit of cooperation.

Objectives
The club is working to achieve the following objectives: 
Strengthen the linkages between members 
Improve the professionalism of the members and contribute to the development of the performance of their institutions
Exchange of professional expertise and mutual benefits among members 
Enhance communication and cooperation with internal and external organizations to achieve the objectives of the club 
Contribute to the development of the business environment 
Contribute to the development of society

Management of the club:
General Assembly
They are members of the club that meet once a year and they elect the Board of Drectors.

The Board of Directors
A body elected by the General Assembly every three years that consists of 11 members, and is responsible for the performance of the club before the General Assemby. They are:
Ahmed Abubakar Bazara, Chairman. 
Fathi Abdel-Wasea Saeed, Secretary-General. 
Adel Ali Al-Hadha,  Assistant Secretary General. 
Yousof  Abdu Koraimi. 
Ahmed Mohamed Jumaan. 
Shukri Abdullah Alforais. 
Dr. Nayel Rashid Mocerd. 
Mohammed Abdu Murshid. 
Ghamdan Ahmed Al-Anesi. 
Ali Mohamed Hebashi.
Mohamed Abdel-Salam Almekhlafi.

Audit Control Committee of Inspection and Control
A body elected by the General Assembly every three years that supervises the financial and administrative activities of the club, and they are: 
Abdullah Ahmad Al-Hadha.
Tariq Abdullah. 
Mohamed Ahmed Al-Basha.

The Advisory Board
Headed by Dr. Dawood Abdulmalik Al-Hidabi.

Executive Management
Headed by Ali Al-Azaki who is the Executive Director, who also coordinates the following units:?
Business Environment Development Unit
This unit is concerned environmental studies in Yemen. It highlights business and environment changes with appropriate programs, and a follows Yemeni legislation affecting the business environment and discusses it with the members and the relevant government authorities.

Unit Studies and Research
This unit is dedicated to producing reports and studies on the various aspects of the business environment.

Training Center
This unit was established to achieve the club objective of enhancing the performance of the members' companies and the overall business community in general. It provides training programs in areas related to accounting, and management according international quality standards in training.

Information and Relations
This unit is meant to enhance the club's internal as well as external relations with stakeholders. Furthermore, it is responsible for media campaigns and educating the public, as well as raising awareness on issues of importance to the club. It also updates the club Web site.

Family Business Unit
Because 90 percent of the companies in Yemen are family-based, the issue of family business came up, so the club established a unit dedicated to provide support services to those companies through family counseling as well as through studies addressing their problems. It provides programs that help to regulate and sustain this vital sector through various activities like conferences, workshops, seminars and coordination and cooperation with similar regional and international activities.

The Corporate Governance Unit
Due to the importance of disclosure and transparency on stability and growth of the Yemeni economy, the club has set up a separate unit for handling the corporate governance issue. It aims to raise the awareness of the public on the importance of governance through various activities.

Membership and New Branches Unit
This unit seeks to enhance the communication and relationships between the members, as well as support them with different services and help coordinate their activities. In addition, it helps establish new branches.

Businesswomen Unit
Despite the existence of some activities for businesswomen in Yemen, this sector is still weak and immature and needs intensive technical as well as moral support to be sustainable and to be able to contribute to the national economy. Due to that fact, the club established a unit dedicated to providing the necessary assistance to businesswomen.

The Businessmen Family Unit
This unit is responsible for social activities for businessmen's families in order to improve their knowledge, skills and relationships.

Membership criteria
The applicant should not be less than 25 years old.
The applicant should be a director, deputy director or a partner in a well known company.
Committed to pay the annual fees.
Must accept and abide by the club rules and regulations.

Our Activities
Conferences
The Family Business Conference will be held every two years. The first one was organized in February 2007. It was attended by more than 300 participants over two days, and was under the patronage of the former Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal.

The first Businesswomen Gathering was held in December 2007 and attended by more than 100 businesswomen under the patronage of the Minister of Industry and Trade Dr. Yahya Mutawakil.

The Corporate Governance Conference was held in the early 2008 in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprise CIPE of the American Chamber of Commerce.

The Industry and the Future of Yemen is held in the city of Mukalla and organized by the club in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hadramout, under the patronage of the President of the Republic. The guest of honor was Mr. Mahathir Mohammad.

Seminars, workshops and studies
The club organized in 2004 the first economic forum sponsored by the Ministry of Industry, entitled "Yemen and the Arab Free Trade Zone."

The first workshop for the Yemeni Corporate Board of Directors Members, which was held in April 2009, aimed to train participants on the principles and rules of governance.

The club organized a seminar in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which was held in the Sheraton hotel late October 2008 called, "Closed sharing companies, and the importance of the transition to the open for public companies."

The club organized an extensive training program in October 2007 for human resources officials of the members' companies.

The club is in the process of issuing the Yemeni Economic Report, which is scheduled to be issued in 2009 and then every two years.

In cooperation with the Yemeni Polling Center and CIPE, it is working on a study on the current state of corporate governance in Yemen.

In cooperation with CIPE, KPMG was hired to conduct a study on the Yemeni legislation of trade and investment.

The internal and external relations
The club has gained confidence and support from government, starting with the council of Minister and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Industry, General Authority for Investment and all other relevant government authorities.

Through participation in three successive years, the club was able to get International Business Forum in 2007 to represent Yemen.

The club was able to open a good and fruitful relationship with the Center for International Private Enterprise of the Chamber of Commerce, in Washington, D.C., beginning with a family businesses conference.

The club was able work with the Association of the Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists.

The club was able to establish a friendly relationship with the businessmen of Alexandria, and the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and the Organization of Turkish Tascon.

The club maintains good relations with a number of regional and international embassies operating in Yemen.

The club is linked to the General Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Businessmen Council and the Yemeni Industrialists Association.

The club maintains a broad and strong relationship with many of the Yemeni civil society organizations.
The club was able to open prospects for cooperation and friendship with many international organizations working in Yemen, such as IFC, the World Bank, and the GTZ .

The club has received several regional and international business delegations during their visits to Yemen.

© Yemen Times 2009