Bait Al Wakeel, The First Tourist Project Financed by Al Tomooh Scheme
H.E. Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of Emirates Bank, and Chairman of Al Tomooh Supreme Committee, inaugurated two new projects; Bait Al Wakeel Restaurant and Koala Restaurant for fast seafood. The capital of the two projects amounting to AED One Million, was financed by Al Tomooh Scheme out of total investments of the Scheme amounting to approximately AED 35 million so far.
A number of officials from various government departments and Emirates Bank Group were present at the inauguration ceremony.
"With these two projects, the percentage of the projects in the service sector has reached 69% compared to 56% for the same category in 2004", said H.E. Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer upon inaugurating the two projects.
H.E. also said "Regarding the next stage, Al Tomooh Scheme aims to study the various economic sectors in the market, in an attempt to avail itself of the economic boom in the Emirate of Dubai in particular and in the whole of the United Arab Emirates in general. The Scheme shall carry out a comprehensive survey of the Emirates in which the Scheme operates such as Sharjah and Fujairah (in which the Scheme shall be introduced soon) to determine the market sectors in need of Emiratization, as one of the objectives of Al Tomooh Scheme is to finance national projects, assisting small national investors to enter the private sector and motivating them to participate in the economic development for the benefit of national youth and the whole of the United Arab Emirate.
H.E. Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer announced that we are working on a joint cooperation plan with Dubai Economic Development Department, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Fujairah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which fundamentally aims to train and to qualify national youth through seminars and workshops on management of small and medium businesses.
The guests praised the great heritage value of Bait Al Wakeel Restaurant with its strategic location on Dubai Creek which attracts tourists from different nationalities. It is worth mentioning that the owner of the Restaurant maintained the old restaurant's structure which was built in 1935. The restaurant was also decorated in harmony with the heritage nature of the building.
H.E. Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer expressed his extreme happiness that Bat Al Wakeel Restaurant was financed by Al Tomooh Scheme, which is considered as an excellent addition being the first tourist project financed by the Scheme. He also praised the quality of the projects that have been approved since the inception of the Scheme to date. He then added that the Scheme is striving to select the type of projects that would add an economic value to the Emirate of Dubai in particular and the United Arab Emirates in general.
H.E. congratulated Mr. Idrees Mohammed Raffee, the owner of the restaurant, and Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Raffee the CEO of the project. The latter stated that the project is a reflection of Dubai heritage in 1935 when the building was originally built as freight office until it was closed in 1970. Thus, we thought of utilizing this oldest building in the region and converting it to a tourist economic project financed within Al Tomooh Scheme.
Al Tayer also congratulated Mrs. Soad Al Massili on her project Koala Fast Food Franchise (Fish World) which was brought form the State of Florida to be the first restaurant in the area to offer fast seafood. Mrs. Souad informed that the idea to bring a franchise came as a result of the economic development in several shopping centers in the United Arab Emirates, which encouraged her to set up such business in view of the potential success due to the high demand on this type of service in the shopping centers. She also thanked the Scheme Management and officials for their support.
The audience also praised the achievements of Al Tomooh Scheme, which enhanced its presence and success, asserting the ability of the UAE national youth to enter and to succeed in the business world. The statistics also confirmed the participation of the active female element in the economic field with a percentage of 23% of the total projects financed by Al Tomooh Scheme. This is a good percentage in comparison with the percentage of the projects that were financed to women at the beginning of the Scheme which did not exceed 4% of the total projects financed at that time, which gives an indicator to the success of Al Tomooh Scheme is filling the gap amongst UAE national youth (men and women) and to the investment of the UAE woman's abilities in constructive projects which add a value to her status and develop her intellectual and educational capabilities.
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© Press Release 2006
