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Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents to the MENA region’s Entrepreneurship Survey would like to start their own business or own their own business, if given the option.
A recent survey by the Middle East’s top job site Bayt.com and market research agency YouGov found that even among those employed, 64% are currently considering starting their own business. 20% of respondents have tried starting their own business in the past, while 7% have never thought about starting a new company.
Freedom to choose work-life balance (44%), personal fulfillment (41%), the ability to give back to the community (40%) and high monetary gain (39%) were the main reasons for preferring to be self-employed.
independent
Those who have already started a business seem to have similar reasons. When asked why MENA professionals start their own businesses, the top answers were “I want to be more independent” (32%) and “I want more income” (32%).
On the other hand, 30% of Emirati professionals said they would prefer to seek employment in a company. The main reasons are regular income (40%), learning new skills (39%) and stable employment/job security (34%).
Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com, said: “Entrepreneurs are part of this rapidly changing environment and many businesses are adopting entirely new ways of working that won’t necessarily return to their pre-crisis state. Our annual survey aims to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and challenges to help entrepreneurs maximize their impact and drive economic growth and innovation.”
most popular industry
The industries most attractive to entrepreneurship were identified as business/trade/retail (12%), real estate/property development (12%), IT/Internet/e-commerce (9%) and consumer goods/FMCG (7%).
UAE Startup Ecosystem
Entrepreneurship remains a growing trend in the UAE. Despite the challenges of starting a business, Bayt.com research shows that entrepreneurship is more popular than ever, with many entrepreneurs looking to grow their own startups and build businesses. In fact, more than six in 10 respondents plan to hire for their business within the next year.
Among self-employed individuals in the MENA region, 60% have taken their first entrepreneurial steps in the past 5 years. When it comes to their current stage of business, 35% of self-employed individuals are in the entrepreneurial stage, and 27% claim their business is already established and performing well. On the other hand, 21% said their business is established but currently underperforming.
A third of respondents (33%) have personal ambitions to further develop their business in their country of residence, followed by 24% aiming to become a significant international player and 24% aiming to become a major international group.
The top concerns of UAE respondents when starting their own business are start-up capital (56%), establishing the right contacts (40%) and uncertainty about profits/revenues (36%).
Guidance and Support
Surveys show that entrepreneurship has greater social and economic benefits. The image of entrepreneurs in the region is very positive – UAE respondents believe that entrepreneurs are opportunity-driven (82%) and that they contribute to the creation of new jobs (85%).
The top piece of advice MENA respondents gave to budding entrepreneurs was to not be afraid to fail (44%) and have a great business plan (12%). More than a quarter of respondents (30%) believe innovation is the key to entrepreneurial success, followed by hiring the right people (24%) and access to capital (22%).
Zafar Shah, Director of Research at YouGov, said: “Entrepreneurs are a major source of new jobs, increased innovation and ultimately a stronger economy. Our latest survey takes a deeper look at the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship in the UAE, using this data to generate new, deeper insights.”
The 2022 MENA Entrepreneurship Data was collected online from 22 June to 19 July 2022. Results are based on a sample of 2,727 respondents from the following countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Sudan, among others. arab trade news agency
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