The Ruwad Forum encourages networking opportunities among 100 entrepreneurs in Sharjah

Sharjah: His Excellency Sultan Bin Hadda Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Foundation ‘Ruwad,’ during his opening speech at the Ruwad Forum, said that the Emirate of Sharjah is expanding to provide more opportunities for UAE national entrepreneurs. At the forum held in Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre, he said the organization was putting in more efforts to strengthen their entrepreneurial projects and business whilst also increasing interaction with government agencies supporting them. This will provide them with the best facilities and privileges to diversify and be noticed on international platforms.

The ceremony was attended by the Board Members of Ruwad, the Director of the Foundation and 100 owners of entrepreneurial projects supported by Ruwad. Also in attendance were representatives of Ruwad’s government partners led by the National Program for Small and Medium Size Enterprises, SME, at the Ministry of Economy, Sharjah Financial Department, and Dubai Expo 2020, as well as the foundation employees and those interested in entrepreneurship.

 Al Suwaidi acknowledged the role played by the foundation’s strategic partners of the government and private sector, financial and community institutions, and highlighted their efforts in achieving the objectives of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Foundation ‘Ruwad’. He expressed his satisfaction in being able to support the UAE national SMEs in Sharjah, by providing financial and technical support and creating an appropriate environment for establishing and developing these projects. This move has motivated entrepreneurs to lead and innovate while promoting development of the Emirate.

He also urged passionate UAE national entrepreneurs, to look for opportunities to benefit from the outputs of these successful partnerships and the services provided to entrepreneurial projects. This will also help them build and consolidate their existing partnerships with government entities that provide various advantages and facilities for the success of entrepreneurial projects in Sharjah.

 His Excellency Hamad Al Mahmoud, Director of Ruwad, expressed his gratitude and welcomed the attendance of a selected group of entrepreneurs and owners of projects of the forum. He believed that the forum provided an ideal platform to exchange experiences, expertise and services that could also benefit members of the Foundation.

He highlighted the importance of effectively communicating entrepreneurial projects to their owners and surrounding communities, customer base and the network of similar enterprises. This will help these enterprises maximize their financial results and raise their sales, and provide entrepreneurs with a fertile space to translate and market their ideas fruitfully.

He said the presence of these entrepreneurial establishments and companies will help expand the development of entrepreneurs and outline market opportunities for them. It will also create new investment channels and help set special standards for the key players in the entrepreneurial sector, improve quality of ideas and keep abreast with the services and products provided to the recent developments of the marketplace across various sectors.

"Networking - Tashbeek" Initiative

During the Forum, Fatima Al Ali, Director of Projects Support and Finance Department launched an initiative entitled "Networking - Tashbeek", to facilitate interaction, networking and integration among enterprises. It also provides the opportunity for each enterprise to benefit from the services of the other, and helps in the exchange of services and products at competitive prices.

Mohammed Al Yousefi, Expert at National Program for Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), highlighted the role of the Program and the Council of SMEs in the UAE in supporting and developing projects and in reviewing the effectiveness of the criteria for classification of projects. He provided some statistics demonstrating the importance of SMEs in supporting the national economy, stressed on the benefits of membership offered by the program to projects in the fields of marketing, training, development and finance, exemptions and government procurement, business support, and participation in exhibitions abroad.

Ahmed Al Kindi from the Sharjah Finance Department explained suppliers about registration services provided by the Department for projects. He pointed out that an option has been added for suppliers wishing to register on the Department's website within the "Takamul" system. This option states that the ‘Supplier is accredited by Ruwad foundation.’ He also reviewed some of the transactions with suppliers from Ruwad-supported member projects, done in 2018 and 2019.

Fatima Al Tahiri, Director of SMEs Relations and Aliah Al Shihhi, Coordinator in Expo 2020 Dubai, concluded presentations by the government agencies, by highlighting the keen interest of Expo, this great global event, that involves all effective institutions and individuals contributing to this national project.

Al Tahiri mentioned that Expo 2020 is committed to allocating 20% ​​of its total budget to SMEs, through the interactive electronic market for the event, which supports corporate communication and growth. It represents a single platform that brings buyers and suppliers and enables them to contact their counterparts and access many sales and marketing opportunities and spread to a wider space. It allows them to expand their network of contacts, and provides them with a range of support tools that enable companies to achieve their business objectives. He stated that several conditions have been amended to enable SMEs to compete in procurement.

First Commercial Cooperation among entrepreneurial projects supported by "Ruwad "

As part of this initiative, the Forum witnessed the first cooperation agreement among the entrepreneurial projects supported by "Ruwad " through the signing of an agreement between the ‘Creative Hands company for Blacksmith and Welding’, represented by entrepreneur Engineer Abdul Jalil Al Awadhi and ‘Rashouf Cafe,’ represented by entrepreneur Omran Al Ali. The Creative Hands company specializes in the manufacturing and design of food transport trailers for restaurants, as well as trailers for the transport of horses and bicycles. while Rushof Café is listed as a starter up project. It was agreed that the first company will supply the logistic needs of the second.

"My enterprise in 30 seconds"

The forum’s schedule included a briefing session among enterprises, entitled "My enterprise in half a minute.” The session included the definition of each enterprise, its objectives, services and products.

The Forum also witnessed the launch of the first Directory for Entrepreneurial Projects supported by Ruwad. The projects, selected based on their effectiveness, were classified into three sectors; commercial, industrial and services. The Directory, distributed to the attendees, comprised of the basic data and information regarding each enterprise.

"Projects Management" e-Program

During the Forum, the Foundation also announced the design of a program entitled "Projects Management", a special e-program managing activities and operations of the enterprise. The program enables the enterprises to own a comprehensive tool of technical solutions, and electronic applications that enable the entrepreneur to e-manage the project. Through the new e-program, the entrepreneur can follow-up about work, communicate with employees, and share documents reports, and assign tasks. Thus, the program increases productivity and saves time and procedures.

During the Forum, the foundation distributed to the participating members a sticker of the membership logo of Ruwad foundation, to be fixed in a prominent place in the companies and projects as a proof of their membership in the foundation. They were also presented with an instruction guide for the use of the logo clarifying its purpose and scope. An initiative entitled "Your opinion will be conveyed" was also presented, for registering and recording ideas and proposals of members in order for the Foundation team to convey to the relevant government agencies for evaluation and action. Members were invited to send their marketing advertisements and promotions to be published on the social media accounts of the Foundation.

The event was concluded with a presentation about the instruction guide for the use of the membership identity of the foundation’s projects. An initiative entitled, "Your opinion will be conveyed" was also presented, for registering and recording ideas and proposals of members in order for the Foundation team to convey to the relevant government agencies for evaluation and action. Members were invited to send their marketing advertisements and promotions to be published on the social media accounts of the Foundation.

At the forum participating government institutions, and the best three member enterprises that achieved a high level of cooperation with the relevant government bodies were honored. Also present were representatives of the events, activities and training programs organized by the Foundation. Some of the projects honored included, Ibrahim Al Housani Office for Law, Legal Services and Training; Buyout Company for Engineering Consultancy; Shiraa Al Safinah Restaurant; Lorenzo Café; August Snow; Noukhitha for bus transportations; Al Najm for Television Production and Tikka Restaurant.

Platform for entrepreneurs, entities and companies

The Forum also included a presentation of 9 supported projects presented on the exhibition stands at the entrance of the hall. These were selected based on several specific criteria, including the quality of the project, the excellence of the services or products it provides, which serve most of the projects and can be utilized. Among them were also the platforms of government agencies, namely the National Program for SMEs, Expo 2020, Sharjah Finance Department, Al Tunaiji Real Estate Company, INV District, specialized in technical projects for project management and PROACTIVE Company specialized in technical consultancy, to showcase their services and special offers for the UAE national entrepreneurs.

© Press Release 2019