The Ministry of Economy and Cisco have announced a digitisation initiative aimed at accelerating the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE, under the scope of the ambitious programme, Entrepreneurial Nation 2.0.
As part of the Scale-Up track, SMEs from across the UAE will have the opportunity to participate in the Cisco Product Innovation Lab and develop their capabilities by benefitting from Cisco’s digital and smart solutions. The second initiative, titled Cisco Expert Insights, falls under the Skill-Up track and aims to leverage Cisco’s expertise in the areas of digital innovation, business development, sales, leadership and marketing.
HE. Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, highlighted: “The UAE, thanks to the vision and directives of the wise leadership, has placed great importance on the development of businesses, as they are a key driver in supporting the country’s efforts to transition towards a new economic model based on knowledge, innovation and sustainability. In line with the country’s outlook for the next 50 years, SMEs are well placed for further growth and expansion.”
He added: “We recognise the importance of partnerships between the private and public sectors as they are crucial in providing more opportunities and supporting SMEs in executing their business operations. Our collaboration with Cisco signifies our on-going commitment in this direction, as we seek to build the digital capabilities of growing businesses and in turn, consolidate the UAE’s position as a global destination for entrepreneurship.”
Abdelilah Nejjari, Managing Director for the Gulf Region at Cisco, commented: “The UAE, under the directives of its wise leadership, has for a long time placed great importance on the country’s goal to become one of the most prosperous nations and a global hub for entrepreneurship. We are honoured to launch the digital initiative to support the growth of SMEs in co-operation with the Ministry of Economy, which directly aligns with the government efforts. We seek to motivate businesses of all sizes to innovate and develop solutions using digital technologies to support their growth on a local and global scale.”
The Ministry of Economy has outlined the criteria for enrolling in the Product Innovation Lab programme. The requirements include being registered in the UAE, employing between 10 and 250 employees, operating within the IT or programming industries and having a specialised software team. Through this programme, the ministry will select 15 companies, which will receive a set of training courses in joint workspaces and mentoring workshops, led by a group of experts specialised in entrepreneurship, in addition to benefitting from the services of Cisco’s digital laboratory and its advanced platforms.
The requirements for participating in the Cisco Expert Insights programme include being registered in the UAE and employing a minimum of five employees. Participants will have access to the recently renewed Cisco Digital Transformation Centre (DTC) in Dubai. SMEs will also benefit from Cisco’s expertise as one of the leading global companies in the field of technology, providing new opportunities through reimagining applications, securing data and transforming infrastructure and empowering teams for a global and inclusive future.