26 April 2009

The first three-day global forum on Small and Medium Enterprises held from April 21 to 23rd in Dubai, concluded with a commitment to enhance the sector in key areas. Issues hindering the development of the SME sector were underlined and greater focus was called on the areas technology, training and innovation as well as intellectual property protection to ensure long term sustainability in the region.

The forum on SMEs was hosted by Dubai Institute of Technology (DIT), a TechnoPark initiative under Economic Zones World, in association with the International Network for Small and Medium Enterprises (INSME).

The Forum, which attracted over 270 industry leaders from over 40 countries, stimulated urgent, proactive action on SME development through a commitment to key collaborations that will form the blueprint for SME success within the region in the coming months.

Firstly, DIT will collaborate with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), an organization of which we are a key member, to establish a centre in Dubai to attract direct investment in technology, with a direct goal of creating SME funding, said Salma Hareb, Chief Executive Officer of Economic Zones World.

In the second key pillar that supports the blueprint, DIT will work with the Switzerland based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and UNIDO to establish the region’s first design innovation centre, to be based in Dubai.”

Hareb stressed the need for better and faster capital access which can provide the much needed growth momentum for SMEs.

The roundtable sessions and the open panel discussions of the Forum saw quality interaction between industry leaders, research experts and academia, coming up with ideas and strategies to make maximum use of SMEs remarkable economic potential.

The DIT SMEs Forum, under the theme “Building a Knowledge-based Eco-system for SMEs: Finance, Innovation, Technology and Networking” focused mainly on SME Financing, Cross Border Networking, Transnational Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship & SME Innovation and Intellectual Capital Structure.

The Forum also hosted the 5th INSME Annual Meeting 2009, the first INSME annual meet to be held in the Middle East region.