Dubai, UAE: The CEO of New Perspective Media Group (NPM), a leading UAE-based media company and integrated marketing communications agency, has lauded the UAE’s unwavering commitment to helping women tip the scales of entrepreneurship to unlock their full potentials as business owners.
In her keynote address on the second day of the entrepreneur workshop, which forms part of the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative in partnership with Dubai Exports and UPS, Dr. Karen Remo stressed the role of entrepreneurship as a “great equaliser” amongst men and women in society.
ITC’s SheTrades initiative aims to connect 3 million women entrepreneurs to market by 2021. Held under the theme “Preparing for Export”, the event took place at the Grand Hyatt Dubai.
Dr. Remo emphasised the UAE’s significant and positive steps in levelling the playing field of doing business in the country.
“A connected world has given entrepreneurs here amazing opportunities to dream that dream of choice and make it a reality,” Dr. Remo said, underlining the importance of looking past the obstacles and becoming optimistic on new opportunities.
To fully maximise the now multifaceted opportunities, Dr. Remo encourages women to explore the idea of venturing into their own business.
“The UAE has, through its programmes made setting-up businesses here simpler, more cost effective and more streamlined,” she said. “This in turn, has resulted in opening new opportunities for women to start their own businesses without having to spend a lot of time or money on the minutia of regulatory compliance. We can now therefore spend more time in developing new products and services for the market,” she added.
Figures from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority show that SME sector’s contribution to the UAE's GDP is at 53 per cent in 2019 and is expected to increase to 60 per cent by 2021. SMEs encompass around 95 per cent of the firms in the country and employ 86 per cent of the total workforce in the non-oil private sector.
“The UAE has also done well to establish itself as the gateway between the East and the West. The UAE is at the leading edge of world-class infrastructure in air, sea and land transportation and logistics. And our friends from Dubai Exports, ITC and UPS here are very much a part of this effort,” Dr Remo added.
Changing gender role expectations is opening up opportunities for everyone. She cited a research conducted by NPM Group amongst 44 entrepreneurs in the UAE in which the respondents were equally represented by men and women.
In this study, it was found that the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs are identical, if not entirely similar.
The top challenges of entrepreneurs are:
• Limited capital or access to funding
• Delayed of payments and non-payments
• Managing cash-flow
• Balancing business and family life
• Hiring and retaining good talent
“What is widely thought as mainly women issues were also issues of male entrepreneurs, in varying degrees. Men also named gender inequality, social struggle to be respected or taken seriously, and challenging social expectations, as key challenges just as women did,” Dr. Remo explained.
In addition, changes in technology are allowing people to become entrepreneurs much more easily than before. “And tomorrow, there will be even more opportunities that we can’t even see today,” she said.
-Ends-
About New Perspective Media Group:
Since its establishment in 2011, NPM has served more than 1,000 brands and companies, including 20 major government agencies in the UAE (federal and local), over 30 banking and financial institutions in the Middle East, 10 of the top real estate developers in Asia, on top of a long list of companies in the aviation, healthcare, technology, tourism & hospitality, F&B and FMCG sectors across 36 countries.
NPM Group publishes 999 Magazine, the official English publication of the UAE Ministry of Interior on behalf of the Ministry. The company is also the publisher of The Filipino Times, the biggest newspaper in the UAE with 250,000 weekly readership and the largest digital & social media platform for the Filipinos in the Middle East. TFT is read in 236 countries as per Google Analytics and receives an average of 18 million impressions per month.
NPM Group is the organizer of Philippine Property & Investment Exhibition, now on its 8th edition, is the biggest, longest and most trusted international Filipino property investment expo. NPM also organizes The Filipino Times Awards (now on its 5th year), the most prestigious awards of its kind in the region and an exclusive glitterati red-carpet celebration that honors global excellence of professionals and brands.
For media queries, contact:
Sonal Salvi
PR Manager
sonal@newperspectivemedia.com / +971 58 206 9825
Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.
The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.
