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Region's First Co-Working, Co-Creating Space Dedicated to Family Businesses Opens in Alserkal Avenue
Dubai - UAE - Tharawat Family Business Forum, the MENA's largest network for family businesses, and Tharawat Magazine, a global publication for family businesses, officially opened doors to 'The Tharawat Space' at Alserkal Avenue, today.
The Tharawat Space is the first co-working, co-creating, and event space dedicated to family businesses and multi-generational entrepreneurs in the MENA.
Spanning across an area of 1700 square feet, the Tharawat Space offers benefits such as a co-working area for family businesses, workshop programs for multi-generational entrepreneurs, a knowledge hub for current and future business owners, and a space for open events.
Speaking about the idea behind the concept, Farida El Agamy, General Manager of Tharawat Family Business Forum said: "Statistics show that 70% of global GDP is generated by family enterprises, 65% of jobs worldwide are created by family businesses and 85% of all start-ups are founded with family money. When we talk specifically about the MENA region, 90% of MENA companies are family-owned and 80% of non-oil GDP in the region is created by family businesses. At the Tharawat Family Business Forum we have been working for and with hundreds of family businesses for over 10 years.
"Family businesses are the backbone of any country's economy. However, over the years, we realised that there was no space or centre dedicated to family businesses in the MENA region where members of family businesses can grow, innovate, and collaborate. As a result, we saw the opportunity to create a place as an "office away from the office", for owners of established companies to find inspiration alone or with their teams, to create, and to meet their peers."
The Tharawat Space will be open to the general public for events focusing on entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership; to family businesses for co-working and dedicated events; to members of the "Tharawat Family Business Forum" for all types of activities as well as to hold their team meetings. The Tharawat Space is also available to educational partners and clients looking to rent out space for their team sessions and trainings.
In order to gain access to the space during its 6 months start up phase, family businesses, upon application, will be able to purchase a "Tharawat Space Pass" available for multiple days or monthly.
Speaking about their future plans with regards to the space, Farida El Agamy added: "We are looking at a couple of things that we would like to do in the near future. We will be having a "family business library" here so that members can have access to a variety of resources, books, magazines and research around family business and leadership. Additionally, we will be setting up a Next Gen incubator to support future leaders in their business projects and establish this space as a center for mentorship across generations. Overall, we hope to become a key connection point to attract more family businesses from around the MENA interested in meeting their peers during events and roundtables, exchange ideas, or just to have a place to work from when they are in Dubai."
For more information on The Tharawat Space please visit www.tharawat.org/space .
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About Tharawat Family Business Forum:
The Tharawat Family Business Forum was established in 2006 by a number of leading Middle Eastern families and Dr. Hischam El Agamy as a membership-based network. Since then, Tharawat Family Business Forum has developed into one of the Arab World's leading private sector organisations dedicated to family business research, education and exchange. Today, we are an independent, non-for-profit membership association, focusing on education, research and thought leadership for owners and family members of family businesses.
A key part of Tharawat's activities are the following platforms:
"Leading the Family Business" - programs for executives and owners
"Arabian NextGen" - activities for the business leaders of tomorrow
"Women In Family Business (WIFB)" - a platform for female managers, owners, and family members, active in the family business.
The Tharawat Family Business Forum works in collaboration with its exclusive media partner, the Tharawat Magazine, which has become a leading global resource on all things family business and entrepreneurship. This content-focused collaboration has helped strengthen Tharawat Family Business Forum's position as the leading regional resource and knowledge hub for family businesses.
For media inquiries, please contact:
The Public Relations Company
Kay Braganza
kay.braganza@tprc.ae
M: +971 50 7681 684
Anita Aidasani
anita.aidasani@tprc.ae
M: +971 55 957 4860
© Press Release 2016
