Cost of Starting an Emirati SME Falls Significantly

Abdulrahman Al Ansari discusses claims that the cost of starting a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has fallen significantly since 2012.

The 2015 World SME Summit was recently held in the Emirati city of Dubai. Speaking at the conference Hans Henrik Christensen, the director of the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Centre (DTEC), suggested that the cost of starting a company in the Emirates has dropped considerably in the last four years.

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Dubai to Construct The World's Largest Wholesale Hub

Dr Abdulrahman Al Ansari discusses the news that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Dubai is planning to construct the largest wholesale hub in the world.

The majority of emirates in the UAE depend on oil for economic growth. However, Dubai is an exception to this rule. The emirate has established itself as the Middle East’s largest non-oil trading centre. Consequently, Dubai was named one of the top five growing economies in the world by American think tank The Brookings Institute at the start of last year.

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Emirati Chocolate Market to Record Significant Growth

Abdulrahman Al Ansari examines new figures which suggest that the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) chocolate market will record significant growth in the next five years.

Indian market research firm TechSci Research has previously suggested that the UAE’s chocolate sector would record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.09% between 2014 and 2019. However in its latest report, the company has released an even more positive forecast.

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UAE Non-Oil Foreign Trade Expands Significantly in 2015

Abdulrahman Al Ansari examines new figures which suggest that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw its non-oil foreign trade expand significantly in 2015.

Gulf News reports that the UAE is moving towards a non-oil economy. Figures from the nation’s Ministry of Economy indicate that Emirati real Gross Domestic Product (GDP – the broadest measure of economic growth), expanded by 4.6% in 2014. It’s also expected to grow by 3% – 3.5% in 2015.

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Google Transforms Public Education in Abu Dhabi

Abdulrahman Al Ansari discusses a new Google initiative which is transforming public education in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) capital city.

Regional news site The National reports that Google has started offering a free computer science programme to schools. Called ‘Computer Science First,’ it’s designed to teach students the basics of computer programming via online clubs that use a programme called Scratch.

Scratch has a drag-and-drop interface which gives pupils the ability to construct interactive games and even create animated stories. The curriculum materials, video tutorials, online software and school staff training necessary for the Computer Science First Programme are all provided by Google.

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