Forum Discusses Corporate Financing and Access to Finance in Abu Dhabi

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1 ADCED is a government advisory agency that provides a platform for government and private sectors to work together to achieve economic divers ification and sustainable growth ADCED Newsletter WINTER ISSUE WHAT S INSIDE Dirhami Stand Attracts 3700 Visitors in Ten Days ADCED Signs Partnership Agreement with ADCCI ADCED Organizes Fun Day for Employees & Their Families Singapore Joint Forum Discusses Investment and Development Abu Dhabi and Tokyo Economic Councils shed light on developing sustainable economy ADCED Employees Celebrate UAE s 42nd National Day ADCED Participates In The Annual Abu Dhabi Business Groups Forum ADCED Participates in The Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference ADCED Receive A Student Delegation From Iowa State University The Fifth Phase Of Akoun Initiative To Be Launched Soon Student Delegation from Singapore Visits ADCED Organizational Excellence: Tips for an inspiring team and an inspiring vision ADCED s Economic Studies: Engaging local residents in the Industrial Development of the Western Region Forum Discusses Corporate Financing and Access to Finance in Abu Dhabi Challenges and impediments facing the private sector and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Abu Dhabi to access corporate financing were discussed in a forum organized by ADCED on October 1. This session of the quarterly Economic Dialogue forum was organized under the theme Corporate Financing and Access to Finance in collaboration with the World Bank. In addition to addressing obstacles facing the private sector and the SMEs, the forum discussed ways and means of creating an enabling environment for the SMEs to contribute effectively to the growth and sustainability of the local economy. The forum that took place at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Abu Dhabi was attended by ADCED s director general and high-ranking officials from government and private entities in Abu Dhabi in addition to delegates from The World Bank. At the forum, a recent study conducted by ADCED was discussed. It highlights the financing gap that the SMEs face. The study found that 67% of entrepreneurs and start-ups who took part in the survey said they faced difficulties in having access to finance from banks. Only 33% of those surveyed mentioned they received their finance requirements in full. The study also indicates that entrepreneurs spend more than a year to receive approvals on their loan application from banks, leaving the SME share of bank lending in the UAE to 4%, a percentage that is significantly below the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region s average. Look out for your newsletter each quarter, as we provide you with news, information and share best practices. As valued empoyees we want you to be aware of our joint achievements, and keep you up to date on the latest developments.

2 ADCED Signs Partnership Agreement with ADCCI On 27th October, ADCED signed a partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) in which the Chamber pledges to provide support and assistance for ADCED s initiatives, Dirhami and Akoun. Dirhami Stand Attracts 3700 Visitors in Ten Days The Dirhami program s exhibition stand at Marina Mall Abu Dhabi, which was launched on 23rd October, attracted 3,700 visitors in ten days. It was launched in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) and in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC). The agreement was signed by the H.E. Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, ADCED s Director General, and H.E. Mohammed Hilal Al Muhairi, ADCCI s Director General. Under the agreement, ADCCI becomes a strategic partner in supporting ADCED s initiatives, Dirhami and Akoun. The signing of this agreement comes in line with the two entities efforts toward supporting the local initiatives that encourage young Emiratis to establish their own enterprises to contribute in developing a comprehensive and sustainable economy for Abu Dhabi. The exhibition stand, which was designed as an interactive maze, posed questions to visitors modeled on hypothetical financial scenarios. The visitors were challenged to enter a series of passages to reach the end of the maze successfully, or end up in a simulated jail trap. The creative maze attracted 2,970 visitors, who interacted with Dr. Dirhami s mascot to obtain knowledge on personal financial management, aimed at enabling them to make sound financial decisions, and promoting rationalized spending and budget planning. To their surprise and delight, visitors have had the chance to meet with Hamdan al Kamaly, UAE National Team and Al Wahda FC player. In addition, visitors also participated in signing pledges for the pledge palm tree to make better financial decisions, such as saving more each month or reducing outgoing expenses for instance. About 730 visitors made pledges during the ten-day exhibition period. More importantly, the creative stand attracted younger visitors, who participated in the coloring corner s activities, and received gift bags containing Dirhami-branded moneyboxes to encourage them towards saving. ADCED Organizes Fun Day for Employees & Their Families On 23rd November, ADCED organized an exciting Family Fun Day for employees at the Watersports & Chill Out Island area in Al Forsan International Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi. The Fun Day was packed with interesting activities such as water sports including knee boarding and wakeboarding. Other activities included karting, paintball, archery, face painting and pony riding for children, pistol shooting, laser shooting and clay shooting. In the evening, employees and their families enjoyed a BBQ dinner at the Wave area at the resort. The activities continued until five PM.

3 Singapore Joint Forum Discusses Investment and Development ADCED, represented by the Director General, has participated in the 7th cycle of the Abu Dhabi and Singapore Joint Forum (ADSJF), which took place at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel Singapore on 26th November. ADSJF was launched to identify priority areas of business, energy and investment cooperation between various entities of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Republic of Singapore s. At the forum, H.E. Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, delivered a presentation about the investment and development in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general. He explained the continued economic roadmap and exchanged market information with the aim of exploring mutual prospects to develop trade, business and investment in both countries. Abu Dhabi and Tokyo Economic Councils shed light on developing sustainable economy ADCED, represented by the Director General, participated in the joint meeting between the Abu Dhabi and Tokyo s Economic Councils, which took place at the Capitol Hotel in Tokyo on 27th November. Discussions shed light on developing a sustainable economy, and empowering the role of the aerospace, oil and gas industries in building a diversified, high value-added economy for the emirate of Abu Dhabi and Tokyo. The UAE delegation, which was led by H.E. Nasser Ahmed Al Sowaidi, ADCED s Chairman, also discussed various topics of mutual interest including the development of a sustainable economy, education, and human resources, the progression of the medical, tourism and aerospace sectors as well as the current economic projects. In this regard, H.E. Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani delivered a presentation about the status of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, highlighting the importance of enlarging the enterprise base, reducing the GDP volatility through diversification, and enhancing competitiveness in order to build a sustainable economy. ADCED Employees Celebrate UAE s 42nd National Day On 28th November, ADCED employees and their families celebrated the 42nd anniversary of UAE s National Day in a special festivity that was organized by the Corporate Affairs Division team. The festivity consisted of a variety of activities that shed light on the heritage, culture and history of the Emirati nation. In line with Arabian hospitality, meals inspired by popular Emirati cuisine were served during the festivity. Quiz Which city has been the former capital of England before London, and was the former seat of King Alfred the Great? a. York city b. Winchester city c. Canterbury city ADCED Participates In The Annual Abu Dhabi Business Groups Forum ADCED participated in the annual Abu Dhabi Business Groups Forum, which was organized on 11th December, in collaboration between the Jordanian businessmen association, the Irish Business Council in Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council. The forum discussed mutual business interests including the role of female entrepreneurs in building a diversified economy and the prospects for Abu Dhabi business environment s growth. ADCED s Director General participated as a panelist shedding light on the fundamental aspects that would enable the development of Abu Dhabi s industries using world-class infrastructure.

4 ADCED Participates in The Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference ADCED, represented by the Director General, participated in the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which took place in Bali, Indonesia, from 3rd to 6th December. ADCED was part of a high-profile delegation that attended the conference representing the UAE. The delegation was headed by H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. The conference which was attended by trade ministers and delegations from 159 member states focused on a priority task: salvaging long-stalled efforts to liberalize trade and reach an agreement on key trade issues to keep alive the stumbling 12-yearold drive to slash international trade barriers. ADCED Receive A Student Delegation From Iowa State University On 29th December, ADCED received a student delegation from IOWA State University (ISU). Officials from ADCED welcomed the 21-member delegation, which consisted of 5 Emirati students, and delivered a presentation about the Economic Vision 2030 Abu Dhabi. The presentation highlighted the growth and development of a number of sectors of Abu Dhabi s economy such as energy (oil &gas), aerospace and defense, media, tourism, education, financial services, and healthcare. Following the presentation, a Q&A session was held where students asked questions about various aspects of the economic development in Abu Dhabi, and the nature of work at ADCED. Many students expressed their admiration of the development which they have witnessed in the emirate. The Fifth Phase Of Akoun Initiative To Be Launched Soon ADCED committee that oversees work on Akoun initiative has set a comprehensive plan to launch the fifth phase of the initiative soon. The Committee has addressed universities and colleges across the seven emirates, in a step that aims to reach out to a wider number of students. ADCED will launch the fifth phase of Akoun initiative at the beginning of next year. Workshops will be organized at various universities and colleges across the country, and students will be invited to enter the Best Business Idea competition. A number of Emirati entrepreneurs will meet students and share their success stories with them. Student Delegation from Singapore Visits ADCED On December 16th, ADCED received a student delegation from the Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who was touring the GCC States as part of their Business Study Mission Middle East (BSM). The mission s aim is to strengthen relationships between the GCC States and Singapore through the study of the business and cultural environment in these countries. ADCED s officials welcomed the 66 member delegation from SMU and NTU, which was headed by Professor Caroline Yeoh. A presentation about the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 was delivered. The presentation highlighted the growth and development of a number of sectors of Abu Dhabi s economy such as energy (oil &gas), aerospace and defense, media, tourism, education, financial services, and healthcare. Following the presentation, a Q&A session was held where students asked questions about various aspects of the economic development in Abu Dhabi, and the nature of work at ADCED. Many students expressed their admiration of the development which they have witnessed in the emirate. The visit came in line with ADCED s programme of educational and professional development, where opportunities are made available for students and interns to join ADCED and benefit from on-site training and internship.

5 Organizational Excellence: Tips for an inspiring team and an inspiring vision 7 Tips For Motivating Your Team (Even When The Going Gets Tough) You can spend months defining your team s core values, articulating your Mission and Vision, and fashioning a flexible, up-to-the-minute strategy but your whole tower will crumble if your team members don t feel motivated enough to execute rapidly and consistently. If your team s collective attitude boils down to Who cares? then you ve lost the game before you ve even begun. So, what can you do to inspire your team? It starts by showing them that you believe in them; that you are going to hold them to a higher standard, because you have confidence they can achieve it. Try these tips, especially when the going gets tough: 1. Make sure everyone understands the big picture: If your team isn t already familiar with the organization s main goals, then lay them out in plain language. Show them where they fit within the organizational structure, and why their work moves everyone toward those goals. Make them feel valued, so they ll have reason to engage with and own their jobs. 2. Give them what they need: If team members lack the right tools or training, they may not feel capable of or confident about doing the tasks you ve assigned them. Whether they need training, a new computer, a smartphone, or a better printer, make it happen, so they can move forward with confidence. If they express a need for something to help them be more productive, and you fail to provide or approve it, they soon will stop coming to you with improvement ideas. 3. Plan carefully: Because long-term strategies rarely survive their first brushes with reality, you ll need to collaborate with your team on how to best achieve them, because they probably know best. Review the plans and get everyone involved in how to proceed. Give them active, important roles in building those plans, as well as controlling deadlines, scheduling and project management. 4. Establish performance goals: Provide reasonable objectives to shoot for, both as individuals and as a team, but make everyone stretch a little to reach them. The goals can take the form of quotas, profit margins, commissions, projects completed early and under budget, or whatever else matters to your company or team. 5. Provide tracking metrics: Along the way, show them how they re doing. If the team realizes they re the front-runners in a company-wide sales race, for example, they may work extra hard to stay there; or if they re in second place, they may redouble their efforts to take first. Consider it a report card for the team, one that may inspire them to kick it into high gear. 6. Be there for them: Lead from the front, ready to smooth the path and provide anything they need in order to execute. During a crunch time or crisis, roll up your sleeves, and work side-by-side with them until everything s back to normal. 7. Celebrate success: When something goes right, even something small, make sure your team knows you appreciate their effort. Public pats on the back are cheap, and in some cases, just as effective as cash. You can also provide treats for the break room, or take everyone to lunch when things go well. That ll give them something to reach for, providing a light at the end of the tunnel they know isn t a train. Source: TLNT, the business of HR blog. ADCED s Economic Studies: Engaging local residents in the Industrial Development of the Western Region ADCED is currently working on a study to engage local residents in the Industrial Development of the Western Region, evaluate the major challenges facing local investors; especially the challenges caused by government procedures, laws and policies; and finally to highlight the major difficulties resulting from these challenges and obstacles. The study includes proposed solutions aimed at activating the role of private sector and local investors in industry in the process of developing the western region. The study is based primarily on the results of several workshops and meetings with selected local investors and with all the government entities entitled to develop the industrial sector in the western region. It highlights the obstacles facing local investors and points out their views on the actual status of the industrial development of the western region. It also highlights the most important challenges facing local investors in the Western Region; including urgent emergency cases.