Starting up a business, go overseas for a good living, new opportunities for the locals and much more, the Middle East in particular the GCC states is the ideal location for one’s future and growth. A tax free zone the Middle East is the destination of choice if one would want to start up a business. Statisticians say that nearly 70% of a country’s economy grooms due to the SME sector. In the Middle East the opportunity is vast and governments have setup dedicated SME development centers that promotes entrepreneurship and provide technical and fiscal support. Even today if you drive from Dubai to Abu Dhabi on the very famous Sheikh Zayed Road you will witness advertisement billboards of banks promoting SME financial products and services instead of the typical consumer credit card.

With government backed funding and support towards the promotion of entrepreneurship / SMEs, there are still certain challenges and opportunities for each entity related to SMEs. Each government looks into the promotion of SME support to the local population whereas the expatriate population across many GCC states have played a significant role in the grooming of the region’s economy.

Fleming Gulf presents the inaugural Middle East SME Forum 2011 that will host entrepreneurs, commercial banks, government support institutions, private equity firms and management consultants together to highlight the awareness and significance of entrepreneurship towards boosting economic growth in the region.

• H.E. Mohammed Omar Abdullah, Undersecretary, Department of Economic Development
• H.E. Dr. Ahmed Al Mutawa, CEO, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development
• Mr. Haitham AlRefaie, Head of Business Banking Group, National Bank of Abu Dhabi
• Mr. Howard Gaunt, Executive Vice President & Head of Business Banking Group, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
• Mr. Colin Fraser, Executive Vice President & Head of Wholesale Banking Group, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
• Mr. Nilanjan Ray, Senior Vice President & Head of SME Banking, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
• Dr. Adeeb Alafifi, Director of Foreign Trade and Export, Department of Economic Development
• Mr. Farhad Irani, Head of Retail Banking, Mashreq
• Mr. Hameed Noor Mohamed, Head of SME, Mashreq
• Mr. Abdullah Al Jufaili, General Manager, SHARAKAH/Fund for Development of Youth Projects SAOC
• H.E. Eng. Yarub Qudah, CEO, JEDCO - Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation, Jordan
• Dr. Linda Low, Undersecretary’s Office, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, UAE
• Dr. Manoj Nakra, Executive Director, Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development, UAE
• Mohammed A. Hammoudah, Director: SME Loan Guarantee Program, Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Saudi Arabia
• Farouk Soussa, Chief Economist – Middle East, Citibank NA, UAE
• Osama AbdulAziz Al-Zamil, General Manager, Zamil Group, Saudi Arabia
• Faisal Al-Kadi, Group Vice President and General Manager, Al-Kadi Commerce and Industry, Saudi Arabia
• Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer | President – Entrepreneurs Organization: UAE Chapter, Jacky’s Group of Companies, UAE
• Ashraf Shokry, Chief Operating Officer, Ajman Bank, UAE
• Mufaddal Idris Khumri, Head - Islamic Banking, RAKBANK, UAE
• Mian Muhammad Nazir, Senior Vice President and Head of Legal, Dar Al Sharia, UAE
• Dr. AbdelGadir Warsama Ghalib, Senior Legal Advisor | Professor of Law: American University – Bahrain Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, Bahrain