Transparency has been recognised as key for entrepreneurial success in the Middle East, especially during times of economic uncertainty. This and other topics related to small and medium business growth were discussed recently at the inaugural Middle East Entrepreneurship Conference, hosted by London Business School in Dubai.
The event, which took place at Conference Centre of the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel, welcomed members and founders of well-known regional ventures such as Souqalmal.com, Ochre Brand and Fetchr to share their insights as well as the challenges and opportunities for business development.
According to Ambareen Musa, founder and CEO of Souqalmal.com, being transparent and recognising genuine investor interest in your market play a key role in fundraising for new business ideas – especially at times when securing capital can be more challenging.
“As a founder, there is always going to be enough on your plate, so it’s always good to filter who is and who isn’t interested in your business. The key is to be really transparent, and the last six months have been really tough due to oil prices going down and companies slashing their budgets. We’ve been very lucky but it hasn’t been easy, and that’s exactly what I tell my investors – and they still want to invest,” says Ambareen Musa.
“The trick is to always fundraise when you don’t necessarily need money, it’s a good idea to be networking with investors, whether you’re looking for money of not. There are a lot of investors out there who are just interested in the market.”
More than 109 students and alumni from London Business School met with experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and experts from across the region during the event.
During the discussions, attendees identified the Middle East to be a thriving market where the quality of entrepreneurs and business is continually expanding. This is due to the region’s previous untapped potential and geographical location making it an ideal hub for trading and commerce. But for real entrepreneurial success, being a self-starter and having the right support make all the difference.
“For a start-up, absolutely nothing happens, unless you make it happen,” said Karim Khattar, head of product at Fetchr. “This then highlights how important it is to have the right people around you, if a project must happen, someone must take ownership to make it happen.
“In a corporation, you are just running around and around in a hamster wheel. In a start-up it’s completely different – you are pushing a stone uphill. So it’s really about continuing to push all the time and it requires so much energy. When you have weekly targets as opposed to quarterly targets, it’s completely different as you have to grow week-on-week by double digits. The moment you reach it you then have a much higher target to work towards the following week. This is really a different dynamic to having quarterly targets.”
Adam Nash, Creative Director – Experience at Ochre Brand, spoke about the importance of standing out in the market as a start-up, which can be achieved by balancing out talent skills and ensuring that entrepreneurs are bringing something unique to the market. He said: “No one is in charge of the branding through to the experience and then building it as well – and this is what we do – so we’re actually in control of every brand touchpoint along the way – and that’s our USP. We started this business because there was a gap in the market.”