Dubai Chamber showcases global entrepreneurship at its Business Gala International

Over 1,000 local and global business leaders and entrepreneurs attended the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted Business Gala International which was organised in association with the Bid Committee of the 2020 World Expo on Tuesday at the Dubai World Trade Centre. 

The business networking gala dinner was held on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit-Entrepreneurial Ventures of Arabia (GES-EVA) coming under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. 

The annual business gala had the presence of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and Chairman of the Higher Committee, Hosting the World Expo, H.E. Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State and Managing Director of Expo 2020 and Mr. Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, US Department of Commerce. 

It was also attended by H.E. Hisham Abdullah Al Shirawi, 2nd Vice Chairman, and H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber as well as Consul Generals and representatives of business groups and councils and delegates attending the GES-EVA Summit. 

In his welcome address, H.E. Hamad Buamim highlighted Dubai Chamber’s efforts in promoting Dubai globally and stimulating its economic growth. He pointed out that expanding the emirate’s network globally through its representative offices is a key step towards enhancing the competitiveness of Dubai businesses as he stressed on the lucrative investment opportunities these locations offered to local investors. 

This, he said is being done with the opening of 20 representative offices which started with the launch of the Chamber’s first overseas office in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will be followed by the ones in Iraq and Ethiopia. 

Other such offices will also be set up in countries with the biggest potential to increase trade with Dubai, including India, China, Brazil, and Egypt, which will go a long way in enhancing the competitiveness of Dubai businesses in the global markets, he added. 

The Director General of Dubai Chamber further stated that as the voice of the business community, the Chamber will be concentrating on bridging the gap between the public and private sectors. 

“We will be utilising our business groups and councils to find out the issues affecting companies today, so we better understand the problems they are facing. We will then take the case to the relevant public sector body and make recommendations on behalf of the private sector in order to address their issues and to enhance Dubai’s competitiveness in the long run,” added Buamim. 

Updating the gathering with Dubai’s economic status, Buamim said that Dubai is witnessing strong growth in various sectors particularly in trade, tourism, logistics and financial services and added that the Chamber members’ exports and re-exports are good indicators of the growth pattern. 

He said the members’ export and re-exports from January to November 2012 valued at AED 244.2 billion with a year-on-year increase of 8.3% while Dubai Chamber issued a total of 53 ATA Carnets during the first 10 months of the year and the Chamber’s membership has reached 140,000. 

Buamim also stated that the Global Entrepreneur Summit provided an ideal platform for Dubai businesses to discuss joint cooperation and investment opportunities and to build up a strong bilateral relationship with global business leaders participating in the event.

He further stated that the Business Gala International allowed the global participants to meet with the representatives of the 26 business groups and 41 business councils, operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber and playing a central role in supporting Dubai’s private-sector development. 

On his part, Mr. Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, US Department of Commerce, stressed on the importance of strong bilateral ties and entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa. He lauded the role of Dubai in global commerce as well as its remarkable achievements in the areas of economic and infrastructural development. 

Dubai has renamed its annual signature event, the Dubai Business Gala to “Business Gala International” which also focuses on expanding into new markets, while affirming the Chamber’s support to the UAE’s bid to host the 2020 World Expo in Dubai. The gala’s festive gathering reflected on Dubai’s cultural diversity.

Over the past three years, Dubai Business Gala has established itself as the largest networking event in Dubai, attracting more than 1,000 business leaders, including VIPs and heads of Dubai’s business groups and councils. 

Dubai Chamber made its presence felt through its stand at GSA-EVA Summit as the non-profit organisation showcased its world-class services offered to the cross-section of global businesses operating in the emirate and how the Chamber was supporting global businesses set up base in the emirate and reach out to the region and other markets in Africa and South East Asia. 

Dubai is competing against four other candidate cities bidding to host this six-month international celebration of new ideas and global partnerships, including Ayutthaya (Thailand); Ekaterinburg (Russia); Izmir (Turkey); and Sao Paulo (Brazil). 

GES is a geographically rotating event being held for the first time in the region in Dubai, positioning the UAE as the nerve centre for entrepreneurship across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. EVA serves as a unique platform that brings a regional perspective for fostering a culture of entrepreneurship in the Pan Arab world. EVA is held in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Summit.  

Held from December 11 to 12, GES-EVA offered key stakeholders a clear insight into the region’s new business climate. Dedicated to the sustainable enhancement of regional small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs, the event enables the establishment of new businesses, in turn stimulating job creation and economic growth across the Arab world.