#52 - September 2016

I have run the business for 14 years and I am very glad we have survived fluctuations in the market and continue to do so. –Fathia Ahmed, Chairman, Heritage for Henna

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I hope you enjoy this issue!

Jessica Combes Read my blog at: http://www.cpifinancial.net/blog/author/112/jessicacombes Follow us on Twitter: @FinanceMidEast and on Instagram: @finance_middle_east

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he biggest news at the moment is that the UAE bankruptcy law’s final draft has been approved by the cabinet, with Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, announcing that it could come into effect in early 2017. The impact of the law is still under speculation, but we will watch the developments closely. There are potential ramifications for the SME sector, particularly given defaulted payments amounting to approximately AED 5 billion at the end of 2015, and the Government’s debt restructuring initiative that was put in place towards the beginning of this year.

This month’s cover features Fathia Ahmed, the Chairman of Heritage for Henna, a home grown company and recent winner of our Business Vision Awards Most Improved Company category. She talks about having to start her business out of the necessity of looking after her family by herself, with no experience or knowledge, as well as her future plans which include opening up the business for franchising (Pg 18).

E-commerce is covered quite a bit in this issue. Omar Soudodi, Managing Director, Payfort; Kunal Kapoor, Founder theluxurycloset.com, and Khalid Elgibali, Division President of Middle East and North Africa, MasterCard have contributed valuable input to our feature on setting up an e-commerce platform. They discuss whether an SME should use a payment gateway or a merchant account, and what they need in order to set it up; while Ross Laing, Senior Marketing Manager, Biz Group looks at how carrying the cost of COD have a negative impact on a smaller business’s cash flow (Pg 26). We also look at SellAnyCar.com, and how CEO Saygin Yalcin saw a gap in the car market and took it, making his carselling platform one of the biggest in the Middle East (Pg 34).

Following the online theme, commercial lawyer Michael PatchettJoyce proposed an online justice system to assist SME owners to resolve the issues of late or no payments, while avoiding the expensive and often daunting, litigation process (Pg 14).

We chatted to Abdulla Al Nuaimi for our Chalk Talk section, which he said was his first personal interview given in his career. From representing the UAE in nine-ball pool to delivering newsletters at university, to his current position as Chief Officer–Shared Services at Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC), he has had an interesting career (Pg 16).

Our Behind the scenes section features Amazing Mums Sensory Supplies, a start-up by two mothers who source toys specifically designed for different therapy requirements at affordable prices for families and therapy centres (Pg46). We also have video interviews, pictures, and a more in-depth article that can be found on our website and across our social media pages.

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NEWS ANALYSIS Protecting intellectual property FAST FACTS Final draft of bankruptcy law adopted 5 TOP TIPS Make your website mobile friendly

Chairman SALEH F. AL AKRABI

26

FEATURE Everything e-commerce

30

FEATURE Time to get things right

34

CASE STUDY Driving sales

38

FACETIME Filling the skills gap

Editors JESSICA COMBES jessica@cpifinancial.net Tel: +971 4 364 2024

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FRANCHISE Big, fat, Greek restaurant

OPINION Compensation in challenging times

42

START-UP Keep it Creo

LEGAL FOCUS E-justice: the next step in dispute resolution?

44

TECH FOCUS Get online

46

BEHIND THE SCENES Andrea Allen and Donna van Vuuren

CHALK TALK Abdulla Al Nuaimi

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CEO CHAT Preserving henna’s heritage

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OPINION Pokémon GO–more than just a game

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With the GCC hiking the cost of fees of copyright protection, SMEs have to be discerning about what they protect and budget carefully to do so

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he UAE Ministry of Economy announced a substantial increase in intellectual property (IP) registration fees, making the them some of the most expensive in the world, alongside Kuwait (up by 6,244 per cent from $25 to $1,586), Bahrain (up 728 per cent from $160 to $1,325), and Saudi Arabia (up 1,000 per cent from $80 to $800).

Speculation around the fee hike includes the need for GCC countries to diversify their economies following the oil slump; but while these costs can be easily absorbed by larger companies, the issue is greater for smaller businesses with smaller budgets.

All businesses have overheads and these are all subject to inflationary pressures, said Steve Armitage, Managing Partner at consulting firm, UAE Business Solutions, adding that while the recent increases in IP legal fees seem steep, they still represent one of the smaller overheads a UAE business will incur when compared with office rents and annual licencing costs.

“We would hope that the recent press coverage in relation to IP would encourage owners to review their risk frameworks and actually look to put IP protection in place. All entities with IP should be seeking to protect their rights and therefore their revenue streams and company value. IP legal costs should therefore become an integral overhead to be budgeted for on an annual basis,” he said.

However, Jayshree Gupta, Partner at the Dubai office of global law firm Baker & McKenzie said that this increase in fees undermines economic growth as far as the UAE is concerned because it is going to become more difficult and expensive for start-ups and SMEs to protect themselves.

She added that the government will also have to do a lot more on the enforcement front because at the moment there is a considerable amount of ambiguity on how particular issues are enforced. Furthermore she said owing to the expense involved, people are going to think very carefully about what they register and what they’re developing.

Previously clients were happy to register all of the relevant combinations of the mark; now businesses are going to have to be more circumspect.

Small business owners cannot risk not protecting their IP for a number of reasons, as the ramifications include being left open to another party assuming a similar name which could limit or destroy the brand, said Armitage, adding that there are further risks associated with copyright infringement, patent infringement, and the loss of trade secrets, and ultimately the IP of a business underpins the revenues and therefore the profitability of the entity.

Another reason SMEs cannot ignore IP protection is that investor groups who look at SMEs will, as a matter of course, scrutinise the strength of the investee’s IP portfolio, said Raza Rizvi, Head of

IP and Technology at international law firm, Simmons & Simmons in Dubai.

“Even outside the third party investment scenario, IP-savvy businesses are already aware that the region does not offer the level of protection for goodwill as has been the case for many years in common law jurisdictions. Accordingly, they realise that filing for trademarks is more of a necessity in the region rather than a ‘nice to have’. By not securing interests in valuable IP, SMEs risk prejudicing their capital raising potential, losing their competitive edge and can face various setbacks including rebranding costs and infringement claims from third parties,” he added.

This rise in fees is unlikely to impact business creation, however, as serious players are still going to go ahead with their business ideas, said Gupta.

“But this does not align itself with us being the country where all of this innovation and all this development from a creative standpoint should take place. It may not impact the economic policies of some of the other GCC countries which do not have that much aggressive a play on diversification and expansion in areas, but I suspect all the countries are looking at that now because of the way the oil price is going and not recovering. Nevertheless it seems like a move that hasn’t been deeply considered or discussed in light of all the other things that are going on,” she said.

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NEWS ANALYSIS

Protecting intellectual property

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FAST FACTS

FINAL DRAFT OF BANKRUPTCY LAW ADOPTED

MURIYA SETS STAGE FOR 25 SMES TO SUCCEED

OVER AED 5 BILLION TO BE ALLOCATED TO SMES FOR EXPO 2020

The UAE Cabinet has adopted the final draft of the federal law on bankruptcy in UAE, based on the directives of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

By putting in place a separate and modern law to avoid bankruptcy cases, the law contributes in strengthening the financial, economic and legislative system in the UAE including financial restructuring, composition procedures, restructuring debts and liquidation funds. Companies and individuals are now able to restructure their debt while avoiding bankruptcy liquidation.

The bankruptcy law will assist in attracting foreign investments owing to the increase trust in the economic environment and the flexible legislative infrastructure that protect investors’ assets.

The new law was drafted based on modern legal and economic principles, distinguishing it from other laws in Arab countries and other developed countries, and proving the law comes as a result of the Ministry of Finance’s continuous efforts in the field of financial regulation and bankruptcy over the past few years.

Omani tourism development company, Muriya has partnered with the Public Authority for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (Riyada) to organise the workshop Partnership Opportunities in the Tourism Sector, showcasing new business prospects for local suppliers at Salalah Beach.

The workshop was attended by entrepreneurs representing 25 local SMEs who were introduced to the supply chain opportunities available at Salalah Beach in a number of sectors, and also provided insight into effective tendering, methods of matching the competition and ways to boost efficiencies to achieve sustainable growth.

Khalifa bin Said Al Abri, CEO of Riyada said that SMEs are playing an increasingly significant role in the growth of the economy and job creation.

“The main objective of our assembly is to provide the entrepreneurial community with a window of opportunity into Oman’s hospitality industry and potentially serve as the starting point for successful and sustainable businesses,” he said.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), both local and international will be allocated 20 per cent of the Expo’s direct and indirect spend, equating to approximately AED 5 billion in contracts, Expo 2020 Dubai has announced.

The announcement is the latest in a series of SME-focused initiatives that have emerged as the result of Expo 2020 Dubai’s belief in the role that SMEs have to play in contributing towards the delivery of the World Expo for participants and visitors, as well as the UAE’s wider diversification efforts.

The law also stipulates that companies in which the Federal Government owns a 25 per cent stake must contract local SMEs for at least five per cent of their total purchasing, servicing and consulting needs.

SMEs represent almost 94 per cent of the total number of companies operating in the UAE, with 400,000 SMEs contributing 60 per cent to the nation’s GDP, a figure that is expected to increase to 70 per cent by 2021. The UAE’s SME Council also continues to identify the right mechanisms for SMEs to draw upon the financial facilities and business opportunities available within the UAE.

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DUBAI SME SEES RISE IN DEMAND FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES The Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy, the educational arm of Dubai SME, mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has seen a 57 per cent increase in the enrolment of trainees in its various programmes during the first half of 2016, compared the same period in 2015, with a total of 1,100 trainees enrolled in the various programmes offered by the Academy.

Ibtihal Al Naji, Director of Enterprises Development Department in Dubai SME, said the Academy worked together with various partners from the public and private sectors to design and develop its programmes.

He added that the academy worked with the Community Development Authority to provide training on the basics of successful business start-up and also with the Dubai Foundation for Women & Children on how to launch a small business.

WING.ae, an on-demand delivery and courier marketplace, has closed a seed funding round backed by Souq.com, one of the Middle East’s largest online retail and marketplace platforms.

WING.ae, offers comparative pricing across major carriers in the UAE, assists courier companies, SMEs and customers choose the most convenient delivery gateway.

Currently, over 50 per cent of the delivery vehicles deliver around the UAE with less than half their capacity utilised, while more than 30 per cent of the vehicles travel with empty cargos, according to Wing.ae.; and the Wing.ae platform is designed to use smart technology to enable businesses to make use of this spare capacity, cutting down on CO2 emissions and increasing the profitability of logistics companies.

Muzaffar Karabev, CEO and Co-Founder of WING.ae said that the company aims to enable small businesses as well as individuals access the UAE's goods and services in their suburb, by offering consumers what they want in the quickest time via simple Android/iOS Apps.

FAST FACTS

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

TECH START-UP ‘WING.AE’ RAISES CAPITAL TO STIMULATE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY IN THE UAE

JECTED SALAR PROREASES FOR 2 Y 017 INC

4.4% IN UAE 4.5% IN QATAR

4.6% IN OMAN 4.7% IN BAHRAIN

4.8% IN KUWAIT

Source: GCC Salary Increase Survey by Aon Hewitt

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TOP TIPS

If your page speed is sufficient it will guarantee a more enjoyable mobile user experience. Evaluate your page speed using Page Speed Insights from Google. Factors that can make a website load faster including server location, technical optimisation and file size reduction.

The website’s code can be optimised so that the content becomes less in file size or that the user has to download lesser files all together. The design can be optimised for mobile devices to change the appearance of content or remove content or images. Images need to be optimised and there are ways to send the perfect sized image to the end user; so a user with a smaller phone screen will receive an image that renders perfectly on his device.

DO NOT BLOCK CSS, JAVASCRIPT OR IMAGES

The Googlebots like to categorise all content on a site these elements no longer need to be blocked.

It is important for search engines to understand the full web page including the way it will render.

When blocking these resources, search engines may not understand that the site is mobileoptimised and this may result in a penalty.

In the past search engines would only be concerned about the text, but now they are looking at the actual page appearance and rendering too.

DO NOT USE FLASH OR POP-UPS

Chances are the Flash plugin will not be available on all phones and this will impact the user experience. Popups are also discouraged because users find them frustrating.

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

CHECK YOUR PAGE SPEED

DESIGN FOR THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE

Users do not use mobile the same way as desktop. Heat mapping tools such as Crazy Egg can analyse the ways users interact with your mobile site. Also, consider the size of user’s fingers when designing your responsive website–users do not enjoy scrolling in on a website on their phone and Google will penalise you with errors if they think your elements are too close together on the page.

Make your website mobile friendly Alexander Rauser, CEO, Prototype, provides tips on what a business owner has to consider to ensure a user’s experience on a smart device is as seamless as on desktop and tablet

OPTIMISE FOR LOCAL SEARCH

Make sure you standardise your name, address, phone number and so on in your meta data to optimise your practice for local search results. The schema.org markup allows the content to be tagged with the appropriate instructions for search engines. This means that a phone number, company name, person can be identified and linked using schema.org markup.

Standardising your name, address, and phone number means using exactly the same naming in all instances so search engines can also identify and map your business accordingly. Also ensure your business is claimed on all local listings with accurate information across all platforms, including social. Moz has a handy tool called Moz Local to help standardise this information.

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SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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9/8/16 3:34 PM

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/NICESCENE

OPINION

P

okémon GO, the augmented reality game from Nintendo, was downloaded on the Google Play market 100 million times by 8 August 2016, according to information services website, businessofapps.com.

Those downloads equate to approximately $268 million in revenue, with 20 million users playing the game daily, at an average of 43 minutes a day.

Although not officially released in the UAE, users have found a way to download and use the app. For fans wanting to get ahead in the game, users with high-level accounts have put them up for sale on classifieds websites, including UAE e-commerce platform, dubizzle. The site had its first listing on 23 July and since then has had 52 listings, according to Razan Al Masri, Mobile Product Marketing Manager, dubizzle.

He added that the site has seen a level 40 account for sale for AED 50,000, though cannot confirm if it has been sold.

When the question of if players would want to purchase these accounts was posed to a Facebook group, the response leaned towards the negative.

“I would definitely not look to buy an account at a higher level, nor would I want to sell my high-level account either, and I am on a pretty decent level. I am a gamer and I have been playing the Pokémon series since the beginning and wouldn’t even consider it. Those buying high level accounts are probably

Pokémon GO– more than just a game

With the number of global players who ‘gotta catch ‘em all’ and users selling their high-level accounts for hefty sums, has this app opened the door for more entrepreneurial initiatives? just trying to get in on all the hype without working for it.

Those selling the accounts have clearly found a market for doing so. I believe this goes against the terms and conditions set out by Niantic (the software company that developed the game); I may be mistaken,” said Lyle Abrahams, a South African based in Dubai.

Users should be aware that buying and selling accounts does violate the terms and conditions set down by Niantic, and the company “may cancel, suspend, or terminate your account and your access to your trading Items, virtual money, virtual goods, the content, or the services, in our sole discretion and without prior notice.” In mid-August, auction site eBay blocked a transaction when a student sold their account for $15,000, as the site amended its policies to avoid violating another company’s terms and conditions.

Al Masri said dubizzle is a platform that facilitates and encourages fair trade, giving users a platform to sell something that they no longer use, allowing users to list their Pokémon GO accounts.

“All trade-ins between buyers and sellers are independent–the team does not monitor the status of items being sold on the platform. We provide users with a space to meet and negotiate at their own discretion,” he said.

One user, who asked only to be referred to as Oscar, said that the point of the game is to catch all the Pokémon, strengthen them, and battle them. To buy an account from someone who has already done all that takes away the fun and defeats the purpose of the game, adding that playing with an account that was paid for is tantamount to cheating.

He added, on the subject of cheating, that if a player really put all the required effort into building a strong account, from scratch, it would be unlikely that the person would want to sell it. But there are ways for users to build strong accounts with little effort, adding that there is a bot that allows users to go anywhere in the world to different PokeStops and spawn points to catch Pokémon, get eggs and level up, which is probably what these players are doing, turning a fun game into the business of making a quick buck.

“Sadly, accounts will get sold because there is a market; there are people out there that live to be in the limelight and to be seen to be on top. At the end of it all, selling accounts seems like a good thing at face value, but this will slowly eat away at the simple, peaceful, fun game that is Pokémon GO,” said Oscar.

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9/18/16 11:44 AM

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9/8/16 3:37 PM

OPINION

I

t seems like 2016 has proven to be a rocky road for many organisations.

While economies in many countries and financial performances still appear solid, numerous firms have prepared for a tough year ahead.

In this environment, the role of management alters dramatically as the realisation is that they must now play a more strategic role in ensuring the survival of the organisation.

Resilience is needed if organisations are to weather the storm, particularly SMEs and start-ups, who often do not have the resources and financial muscle required to deal with the impact of a slowing economy.

There are numerous issues for management to consider, however, as human capital is often the largest expense, it’s usually the first thing firms look at when they need to control costs.

So, how can organisations manage compensation more effectively when cost

Compensation in challenging times Ray Everett, CEO MENA at Aon Hewitt, discusses what organisations across the Middle East need to consider long-term sustainability in light of the slowing economy caused by lower oil prices control becomes an issue?

Whilst it is impossible to ‘recession proof’ a business, the below guidelines are designed to help businesses both survive, and maximise growth opportunities.

Knowing where a firm is positioned in the market is a critical first step. For example, if a firm’s total compensation

is benchmarked at the high end of the market against competitors, management will have more room to manoeuvre.

Understanding and revaluating their mix of pay, such as salary, allowances and incentives is also useful. During uncertain times staff can often be happier with a larger salary and smaller incentive.

Other items to benchmark include assessing the business’s pay grade pyramid and front to back office ratios. Does the organisation have more senior staff as a percentage of total staff or does it have a greater percentage of support staff than your competitors?

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9/18/16 11:45 AM

Refusing to pay bonuses, despite staff achieving financial KPIs, will not only result in firms losing their top talent, but also damage their reputation in the long term.”

– Ray Everett, CEO MENA, Aon Hewitt

Answering these questions will help you make rational, versus emotional, decisions.

A salary freeze will bring about an adverse impact on your staff’s motivation. Instead, be selective about salary increases—for instance, only giving them to junior staff and high performers in middle management.

Costs can, however, be cut down on allowances.

For instance, housing allowances can be indexed to rents in the local market and medical, disability, and life insurance expenses can be reduced. In recent years, firms have also moved to one consolidated allowance, which is typically not based on family size.

In the case of startups and SMEs they should focus on reviewing existing debt commitments, settle or consolidate smaller

payments in order to gain better financial control and fully comprehend the effects to either increase or cuts back on labour related costs.

Refusing to pay bonuses, despite staff achieving financial KPIs, will not only result in firms losing their top talent, but also damage their reputation in the long term. Again, a more selective approach is advisable, however, management will have to be prepared to make very tough decisions and zero out poor and mediocre performers.

Alternatively, there are more creative ways to incentivise staff. For example, long-term incentives can have real value as employees believe they can contribute to turning the company around. Management should also take this chance to look at talent across the organisation to identify

opportunities that should be given to individuals to match their interests and abilities with the survival and needs of the company. Ultimately a business will benefit from matching the individuals talents to the wider business goals whilst making them feel they are developing their skills and adding true value– it is a win-win recipe.

MANAGEMENT’S MIND-SET Why worry about managing our compensation when there are no jobs out there? If management and HR think this way about compensation they probably exhibit the same mind-set around giving feedback to staff, training and development, and performance management.

Communication with management and staff from the top down is

equally important at times like these. Communication should therefore be clear, honest and frequent, so that people understand why changes are happening and if there are possibly more changes to come. Failure to communicate formally and regularly will result in gossip and speculation, leaving employees feeling insecure, undervalued and disengaged.

A firm’s most valuable resource is its human capital and in times of difficulty, it is this very commodity that needs to be protected the most. We have highlighted areas of consideration for boards, management, and human resources to review and think holistically about to manage compensation spend and ensure this resource is protected in the best possible way in challenging times.

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LEGAL FOCUS

E-justice:

the next step in dispute resolution?

Commercial lawyer, Michael Patchett-Joyce, discusses the merits of an online court as a platform to assist SMEs to address disagreements before requiring litigation

N

apoleon is reputed to have spoken about England as a nation of shop-keepers.

It was meant dismissively, probably offensively. In fact, he was not only right, but was paying an unintended compliment.

Shop-keeping in the early 19th century exemplified small business entrepreneurship. At the same time, English commercial law developed apace to meet the demands of an emergent and proud petit bourgeoisie.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain the backbone of many diversified economies. The UAE and other Gulf States are no exception. Over 90 per cent of businesses in the Emirates are SMEs. They make a substantial contribution to the country’s GDP. With the search for avenues of economic growth intensifying, SMEs will assume even greater importance. Governments will increasingly look to SMEs for business innovation and development.

CONDITIONS MUST ALLOW SMES TO FLOURISH The continued development of a vibrant SME sector will involve a

coordinated approach to education, vocational training, and business incubators and accelerators. But those are longer-term measures, whose reward will be reaped in successive business generations.

Immediate practical help for SMEs should centre on two imperatives: the need to obtain funding, and the need to obtain payment. The former involves government encouragement of banks to extend credit, and banks actually doing so. The latter has two limbs–slow payment and no payment.

In England and Wales, the Late Payments of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and accompanying 2013 regulations have helped with regards to slow payment by providing rules for payment periods for business debts, and dates from which statutory interest (at a rate well above the present base rate) accrues. Here is not the place to explain in detail, but such legislation might provide a model adaptable in other jurisdictions, like the UAE. It might be objected that interest is Haram, but an agreed method of compensating a merchant for the time-value of late payment of

a business debt must be capable of being Shari'ah compliant.

Bad debts and no payment are a problem for SMEs the world over. A sole trader can ill afford the time and effort, let alone the cost, of chasing a bad debt through conventional dispute resolution in the courts. This is not a new phenomenon: as Justice Mathew observed drily nearly 150 years ago, ‘English justice is open to all–like the Ritz Hotel’.

Litigation is expensive and timeconsuming, and involves an unfamiliar, sometimes daunting, process. Each of those elements presents a particular challenge to SMEs. The moneycost of litigation will bite into cashflow; less revenue employed means less business done and less profit generated. Building a small business is not a nine to five occupation; the time-cost of litigation diverts and distracts the small entrepreneur and can sap business spirit. Navigating through the process of litigation can be bewildering. On top of everything, however strong the case, the gnawing uncertainty of litigation risk rests heavily.

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Building a small business is not a nine to five occupation; the time-cost of litigation diverts and distracts the small entrepreneur and can sap business spirit.”

– Michael Patchett-Joyce

Taking those elements together, if an SME owner in England were to ask a lawyer “Is it worth litigating a money claim for under GDP 50,000?” the answer would be “Probably not.”

At GDP 25,000 (or less), the answer would, almost certainly, be “No.” But, for any SME, those are big sums just to write off.

EFFECTIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION NEEDED A new approach to achieve quick, cost-effective and reliable dispute resolution is needed.

This debate has been illuminated in the UK by a series of recent reports, culminating in Civil Courts Structure Review: Final Report, by Lord Justice Briggs, published on 27 July 2016.

Briggs has undertaken a wideranging review of the structure of civil courts in England and Wales. By far the most innovative element of the report is what it says about e-justice, and the creation and development of an online court (OC).

The detail of an OC will be jurisdictionspecific, but the outline structure should be of broad application.

The process should be simple and clear. It should be ‘lawyer-lite’, if not lawyer-free. The parties should be encouraged to negotiate and settle.

Basic help should be provided for those who are not computer-savvy.

That litigation is a last resort should be emphasised at each stage.

The process should encompass three stages, identified in the report as automated online triage, conciliation, and determination.

An automated online triage would help the parties to formulate their cases clearly, using templates and drop-down menus, with a userfriendly matrix for providing factual and documentary evidence.

Conciliation would look at means of solving or narrowing the issues.

Those means would vary from caseto-case, and might involve online dispute resolution (ODR), mediation (by telephone, or face-to-face) or early neutral evaluation by a court registrar or facilitator.

Finally, determination would also comprise a range of possible mechanisms, including a decision on the papers, or at a hearing–

by telephone, video, or in court, as appropriate.

The OC would hear all money claims up to a limit but with exclusions for identified categories of case that are inappropriate such as some types of personal injury claim, housing disputes, professional negligence actions and patent cases, and for cases of complexity or public importance.

The Gulf States have a young population. In an environment where education is prized, there are many Emiratis as well as expat business people to whom the digital world is second nature. E-justice and an OC may offer an innovative and convenient method of dispute resolution. The new entrepreneurs of the 21st century will feel at home navigating their way around such a system, and others may feel drawn by the ability to work remotely to a career as OC administrative or judicial officer.

One of the criticisms of this proposal faced by Briggs was that it would be a step into the unknown.

So it would. But, remember, today’s conventional wisdom was always yesterday’s radical new idea.

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CHALK TALK

ABDULLA AL NUAIMI The Chief Officer–Shared Services at Abu Dhabi Insurance Company (ADNIC) talks about the rise and fall of business during 2008, pumping petrol and playing pool for the UAE My first ‘job’ was buying pool cues from the US and selling them here.

I ordered the cues using my Hotmail address, which I still have to this day, and I got a margin with the shipment fees and I sold them here. I used to represent the UAE in nine-ball pool.

I played in Cardiff, Wales and flew the UAE flag. I played against Mark Wiliams, who was the world champion at that time, and lost six games to four.

When I finished high school, I thought ‘Why go straight to university?’ and I applied for two jobs.

The first was as cabin crew with Emirates Airlines and the second was with Sheikh Rashid Military School. I spoke to my dad, he accepted me wanting to go to Sheikh Rashid Military School, but he still wanted me to continue my education eventually, but I definitely couldn’t be part of cabin crew.

I taught topography, map reading, to VIP security escorts and pilots at the Sheikh Rashid Military School. When I joined the military I was young with no older brother to guide me, and I thought teaching in military school would benefit me, and it did.

In 1993, I remember seeing foreigners arriving in Dubai and starting to do business. While His Highness Sheikh Mohammed

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bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai was still the crown prince, I saw new projects beginning how and Dubai changing. I decided to get my Bachelor’s degree and I attended Chelmsford College in Essex, England. At that time it was a two-and-a-half year high diploma and when I came back to the UAE it was credited it as a Bachelor’s degree.

When I returned, I worked as the retail sales manager in an oil company. I started as a retail site manager during my six-month probation period. I worked a petrol pump filling petrol tanks, I cleaned car windows, I had to know how to do an oil change, and I had to know how much soap and water was needed at the car wash and how to make a profit. After my probation, I became Area Manager and was responsible for petrol stations at 10 sites. I was there almost three years when I was asked to join Dubai Shopping Festival as the events manager. I was responsible for all the activities on Al Seef Road, behind the British consulate in Bur Dubai. The Dubai Shopping Festival combined a festival and sales and it was lovely to be led by people who understand events management very well.

I was headhunted to Tejari.com in 2003. I reported to HE Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, who is my mentor and my leader and that when my career really took off. I was the Director of Marketing at Tejari.com and I had the opportunity to join the Hamid bin Rashid leadership programme aligned with Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania, and I did my executive MBA there in the US in Pensylvania and Philidelphia.

Tejari.com used to be a local e-commerce B2B provider. In 2003, when dot com companies were

starting to collapse, we survived and we wanted to extend the brand outside the country. We managed to put Tejari.com on the global map, with 25 offices in 15 countries. We had Tejari.com in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, and we had 10 offices in China, because we wanted to compete with Alibaba, which is massive. We had full support from our leadership, as well as the mayor of Chengdu. During that time I had the opportunity to communicate across cultures.

Working at Tejari.com taught me my most valuable lessons. One of the best lessons I learned was how a local company could become an international company. The vision was high before 2008. Everyone was coming to Dubai to give us their brands. We went and established our brand outside Dubai.

I think 2008 was a hard lesson for everyone. Each shareholder had their own office and ran it their way. When some of the countries didn’t produce results financially, we covered them in order to keep the international network. Watching the brand grow from being local to global and then back down to local taught hard lessons in company restructuring, with people losing their jobs and budgets being cut for a number of reasons.

After seven years with Tejari.com, I went back to the education sector. I went to the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research because technology is close to my heart.

I worked there for one year and I loved being back in education.

Then I was invited to join ADNIC and I have been here almost five years now.

Time management is very important for me and it is all about delegation and trust. I have a leader for each department of the business

and I run strategy from the top. I believe in making time, not finding time. I do make time for myself and my family and I’m very strict when it comes to my family’s life balance.

Sometimes I don’t mind staying at work until nine or ten at night, but only in busy periods, like when we close our quarterly results. During regular periods every department head is responsible for their own function and they come to me at the final stage to guide them. That is how you build the next wave of leaders. Tomorrow I might not be here. A leader should create leaders to handle their job.

I wasn’t born with the golden spoon in my mouth. My father, thankfully, is well-to-do. But to his credit he never taught us things were easy. When I travelled to England he gave me my passport and a ticket and told me my itinerary, and that was it.

At university I used to deliver newsletters on campus for GBP 7 a week. I bought a bicycle and rode through campus making deliveries, even in the rain and the cold.

I looked after myself and I was happy.

I think the new generation should learn about life this way. They are lucky now, everything is available to them.

Look at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development (Dubai SME) and the Khalifa fund. If someone wants to be an entrepreneur, they can present an idea to either of these two bodies. It is open and for free for UAE nationals. Which other country in the world does that? There is no war in my country. There are no political obstacles stopping anyone.

Our leaders encourage us every day. To aspiring entrepreneurs have a mentor, don’t ever quit, don’t let any lesson, even one as severe as 2008, stop you.

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CEO CHAT

I wanted to introduce henna to people who have no knowledge of it by giving them an opportunity to see and experience our henna designs – Fathia Ahmed, Chairman, Heritage for Henna

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PRESERVING HENNA’S HERITAGE Fathia Ahmed, Chairman of Heritage for Henna, discusses the necessity of building a business to provide for her family, while giving the traditional art of henna a global flair

H

eritage for Henna was established in 2003, in one small khaimeh (tent) in Jumeirah Beach Hotel, according to Chairman, Fathia Ahmed. A manager of Jumeirah Beach Hotel liked the idea and was willing to try it. She always wanted to open a salon, but they are expensive to start and can be a risky choice, given the number of salons available in Dubai, she added.

“That is when I narrowed down the idea to a henna salon. Dubai is a dynamic city which encourages people to dream big. The Dubai Development and Investment Authority had just been launched, and I called the office of Mohammad Al Gergawi, of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment (MBRE), which is now known as Dubai

SME, and I had to provide details of the business. I never expected a call back, but I got one, and I was told that they were soon going to launch an SME initiative, and that is how Heritage for Henna really got started,” said Ahmed.

Henna is one of the earliest beauty products ever developed, with the dyes used in body painting across the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years, said Ahmed, adding that she wanted to make it better known internationally.

“In the past, the application of henna was restricted only to homes, specialised salons, and to people who knew about it.

I wanted to introduce henna specifically to people who have no knowledge of it by giving them an opportunity to see and experience our henna designs,” she said.

She added that the Heritage for Henna team has honed the craft, preserving designs and decorations passed down through generations. With such wide appeal, it has fast became a profitable business opportunity, since there has been considerable interest from those seeking to establish salons in other parts of the world for a relatively modest capital outlay.

CHALLENGES AND FEARS Personal problems served as the impetus to pursue her vsision of opening a salon, when she found herself in a position where she had to look after her children on her own, but lacked resources or unique skills.

Once she was given the opportunity to set up her first tent in Jumeirah Beach Hotel, she handled all business cont. overleaf

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CEO CHAT

Six to seven times a month customers will bring their own designs and ask our artists to reproduce them, and we have added two or three colours to the henna pallette. This is one of the main reasons for Heritage for Henna becoming a leading company in the contemporary use of the henna,” said Ahmed.

BUSINESS EXPANSION

Heritage for Henna has added extra colours to its henna palette to better cater to international tastes. cont. from pg. 19

operations alone because she had no employees, and was commuting daily from Sharjah, changing buses three times just to get to the hotel.

Her biggest fear was that customers would not visit her tent; though those worries were unfounded when she quickly discovered that at the end of each day she had surplus cash.

“In the evening I engaged with the guests and customers, and I got a sense of what they were feeling and what they wanted. There were occasions when customers would queue to wait their turn. I collected AED 300 on first day, AED 700 on the second day, AED 1,000 on the third day, and AED 2,000 on the fourth. When I saw business improving on a daily basis I became really determined to grow my business and make my dream a reality,” said Ahmed.

From there, Ahmed wanted to expand the business from the small khaimeh in Jumeirah Beach Hotel to stylish kiosks, shops and cabanas in five-star hotels and shopping malls throughout the UAE. “I returned to the MBRE and reached Abdul Basit Al Janahi, the CEO, and they supported and funded me, allowing Heritage for Henna to

grow rapidly with 28 majlis located in some of most stylish locations in UAE,” she said.

Heritage for Henna become popular through referrals at hotels, events, and Dubai SME referrals; and eventually became a member of the Khalifa Fund Enterprise Development in Abu Dhabi, and connected to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Culture Authority.

Ahmed is grateful for the support she received in growing her business because she says finding funding and managing capital are two of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs when they start their businesses. Based off her own experience, she would still encourage anyone wanting to start their own business to keep going and not to be discouraged.

To maintain quality, Heritage for Henna has set up its own farms in different areas to cultivate its henna shrubs, said Ahmed, and considerable investments have been made to select and train the most talented henna artists.

“Providing a professional service has been the core value of Heritage for Henna success. We cater to foreign customers and have tried to internationalise henna designs.

Ahmed has five more outlets opening in the remainder of 2016, two in Abu Dhabi and three in Dubai, to continue the legacy she started. Ahmed added that she intends to expand the business further into the GCC. Further plans involve franchising the business internationally.

“I have run the business for 14 years and I am very glad that we have survived fluctuations in the market and continue to do so,” she said.

BUSINESS VISION AWARDS– MOST IMPROVED COMPANY Being a business woman and winning the Most Improved Company at the Business Vision Awards is a big achievement, especially being an Arab Muslim who grow up in a conservative culture, in which the essence of being a woman is to be a good housewife.

We are taught to run our household, and are not given the same treatment as men. So having a business in my culture is a risk for my family because I had to make all my decisions alone and it was never easy.

As I started to build my business I feel that I was given a big responsibility because I needed to prove that I know what I am doing. Running my business has taught me many lessons, and I want to grow with the business for as long as possible.

Source: Fathia Ahmed, Chairman, Heritage fot Henna.

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COUNTRY FOCUS

BAHRAIN:

BURGEONING BUSINESS? With the recent amendments to the Commercial Companies Law and the proposed five per cent VAT, contributors look at the Government of Bahrain’s plans to boost the economy and support the SME sector

B

ahrain is an attractive destination for international investors, having been recognised in the Heritage Foundation’s 2016 Index of Economic Freedom as the freest economy in MENA region, as well as ranking second in the GCC region for ease of doing business in the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business report.

Foreign investors in Bahrain will be able to acquire 100 per cent business ownership in various sectors under the amendments to the Commercial Companies Law, in a decision passed by the Bahraini government in midJuly this year.

The law is expected to spur growth, generate rewarding jobs for citizens and attract investment, according to Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Chairman of the Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) Board of Directors.

Bahrain’s value proposition in the region rests on its human capital, its liberal yet high quality regulation, and its good connectivity from an attractive geographic location. Along with a far-sighted vision, these factors contributed to it becoming a regional leader in diversifying its economy away from the hydrocarbons industry, while concentrating its efforts on developing sectors such as financial services, tourism, ICT, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, said Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). He added that that this has protected the real economy from the vagaries of the oil price. Non-oil sector growth reached just under four per cent in 2015 and is expected to be around 3.4 per cent in 2016.

These amendments facilitate business out of Bahrain, as well as business into the greater GCC; and there are different types of minimum

capital requirements the companies you’re setting up, depending on activities, said Bashar Bazian, CEO & Middle East Head, corporate services firm, Elian.

“For example the amendments removed the minimum capital requirement for different types of companies including with limited liability (WLLs) and special purpose corporation (SPCs), and allowed the establishing of joint stock company by two parties only,” said Bazian.

He added that Bahrain has an excellent environment for establishing SMEs, and for attracting foreign investors, be they individuals or big companies, with the steps for setting up a business being straightforward.

A business owner can apply for their company’s registration through the newly launched online company registration portal, Sijilat. The only required documentation is the individual’s national identification

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The Kingdom is looking for ways to strengthen its SME environment and support entrepreneurs establishing businesses in Bahrain.

card or passport; an applicant doesn’t even need to supply an address.

Bazian added that Bahrainis and other GCC national will receive their company registration within 24 hours of applying.

“The most significant among the new portal features is the separation of the issuance of the commercial registration from the addition of permitted activities on the CR. Another key feature is the migration from ISIC 3 Standards to ISIC 4, which reduces commercial activities from more than 1,800 to around 400, giving businesses more flexibility in choosing what to do and reducing restrictions. April 2016 witnessed a record number of 3,000 commercial registrations, compared to a monthly average of about 600,” said Al Rumaihi.

Al Rumaihi said an important distinctive factor about Bahrain is that it does not have ‘free trade zones,’ but a unified jurisdiction.

“The Kingdom offers the benefits associated with a free trade zone, such as a competitive taxation system, low costs, and availability of labour throughout the entire country.

Businesses looking to access the GCC market are able to access these advantages and also benefit from the GCC customs union when they export goods to the region,” said Al Rumaihi.

With strengthening links between Bahrain and Saudi, such as the proposed King Hamad Causeway, Al Rumaihi said Bahrain offers an opportunity for SMEs to expand their client base to include the Saudi market. He added that the Kingdom’s strategic geographic location and its strong pan-GCC transport links, encompassing road, sea and air positions it as the natural gateway to access the $1.5 trillion GCC market; a figure forecast to reach more than $2 trillion by 2020.

He added that Bahrain is recognised as one of the most liberal business environments in the Middle East, and is also an ideal test market for new project ideas or ventures.

The availability of a skilled bilingual local workforce means that growing businesses can expand rapidly and face fewer constraints in hiring skilled, motivated employees who have a strong understanding of the region.

“Manufacturing companies are also benefiting from the competitive advantages the Kingdom has to offer, locating their operations to serve the Gulf and its largest market Saudi Arabia. A good example is RMA Middle East, a subsidiary company of leading German industrial firm RMA that manufactures pipeline equipment as well as MTQ Oilfield Services W.L.L. from Singapore,” he said.

SUPPORTING SMES There are a number of programmes offered by government to support the SME sector, particularly from Tamkeen and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB), two government programmes that support SMEs, said Bazian.

He said Tamkeen is a body that offers support to companies through grants for capital investment, subsidised wages and training for SMEs who hire Bahrainis, helping companies set up their business plans, introduces businesses to venture capitalists and financiers, and other investors. It also offers incubator support to start-ups and access to advisory services such as assistance in writing a business plan. cont. overleaf

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COUNTRY FOCUS

cont. from pg. 23

“Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) offers low interest rate loans for local start-ups on receipt of a business plan, and sometimes facilitates expansions in cooperation with local banks, offering the borrower better access to financing by reducing the risk by banks,” he said.

Al Rumaihi added that the government continuously works towards reforming laws and regulations in an effort to create a more accessible, and efficient, economy that encourages entrepreneurship and SMEs; an example being the recently launched initiative to develop a National Policy for Business Entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, in light of its strategy for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship.

“This enhances Bahrain’s well-established environment for supporting entrepreneurs. The model is followed by over 40 countries and is endorsed by UNIDO as the best SME model development in the world. The government of Bahrain has also been targeting efforts to fuel the economy by driving private sector growth and shifting employment to be through the support of entrepreneurs and SMEs,” he added.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES In April this year the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said additional efforts are needed to further reduce the fiscal deficit, while continued reorganisation to diversify the economy should strengthen the country’s growth prospects.

The government has a number of approaches to improve the economy during the fiscal consolidation initiatives that will take place in Bahrain and the wider GCC over the coming years, said Bazian.

“First, the government will continue to offer support to SMEs through continued financing support, advisory

services and business incubators.

The government will also develop its flagship state-owned enterprises through expansion, including the planned expansion of ALBA and BAPCO, the aluminium smelter and the petroleum refinery over the next five years,” he said.

He added that the Government’s third initiative will be to continue its investment attraction efforts, such as creating a downstream aluminium park to receive new aluminium from the ALBA expansion. Finally, projects worth over $32 billion are currently in the pipeline to upgrade the Kingdom’s infrastructure and are anticipated to have an impact on the country’s economy.

Kotilaine said that beyond this, the Government is implementing a programme of fiscal and broader economic reform that is designed to further strengthen the non-oil growth drivers and ensure a transformation Steve Armitage that will deliver a sustainable budget balance within three budget cycles of two years each.

“The government’s efforts are structured around three main pillars: curbing the budget deficit by streamlining government expenditure as well as redirecting and restructuring government subsidies, fast-tracking regulatory reforms, and over $32 billion infrastructure investments in strategic projects funded by a variety of mainly non-government sources,” he said.

He added that since the correction in oil prices in late 2014, the Kingdom has implemented a number of fiscal adjustment measures, including reforms of energy prices. Gasoline prices have been raised by nearly 60 per cent, while prices of diesel, kerosene, natural gas, and electricity and water tariffs are being adjusted gradually over the medium term.

Tobacco and alcohol taxes have been increased.

FIVE PER CENT VAT Current government expenditure has been reduced and as of December 2015 the Gulf States are working to implement a five per cent value-added tax (VAT) tax in 2018 across the region.

According to estimates by the IMF, the introduction of VAT by January 2018 is likely to result in increased inflation and $568 million in revenues.

The introduction of VAT is part of a broad programme designed to raise revenues, rationalise spending and sustainably eliminate the budget deficit.

The IMF described the VAT tax as ‘an ideal revenue instrument for the GCC countries’ and argues that it is ‘relatively simple to administer and will have no impact on foreign direct investment into the region or exports from the region’ and that the first round impact of the VAT is expected to be limited. For one thing, inflationary expectations across the region are well anchored and the impact of fiscal reforms on price dynamics is likely to be very transitional.

One of the key attractions of VAT from the fiscal policy perspective is the broad revenue base. It will not discriminate between different types of companies. However, fiscal reforms in general can ultimately be expected to have a positive effect on the corporate sector by creating new incentives to achieve productivity gains through better organisation and innovation. This transition to a more productivity-driven growth model will be very positive for sustained gains in living standards across the region.

Source: Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)

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E-COMMERCE The GCC e-commerce market is estimated to be worth $20 billion by 2020.

EVERYTHING E-COMMERCE

Studies show that retailers are moving towards having both digital and physical stores, giving SMEs an opportunity to compete by setting up their own online platforms

T

he Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) is one of the most challenging e-commerce playgrounds, despite some of the world’s highest levels of GDP per capita and a population with largely disposable income, according to a recent report by global management consulting firm, AT Kearney, Getting in on the GCC E-commerce Game.

Furthermore the region’s average mobile penetration is at 170 per cent and has more than 65 per cent smartphone penetration, and internet penetration in the UAE and Qatar exceeds 90 per cent. Yet e-commerce contributes approximately 0.4 per cent to the region’s GDP. A contributing factor is the stillevolving payments infrastructure,

according to the report, which added that only 34 per cent of major GCC retailers have an e-commerce channel compared to the approximate 58 per cent of retailers in the US. This gap in the e-commerce market may provide an opportunity for SMEs to set up their own channels and compete, provided certain requirements are met. Regulations vary from country to

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fraud attacks and privacy rules are the main aspects that merchants have to consider to keep the gateway secure.”

– khalid elgibali, division president of middle east and north africa, master card

country, but, in general, any business that has a commercial registration in its country of operation can set up an e-commerce platform and begin to accept payments online. A commercial registration is also necessary to open a merchant bank account, which is required in order to accept customer payments electronically, according to Omar Soudodi, Managing Director, online payment gateway, Payfort.

But these licencing requirements vary by jurisdiction and the type of e-commerce activity, according to Kunal Kapoor, Founder theluxurycloset.com.

“DED, JLT, or Media city seem like decent options both from cost and proximity perspectives. However, you cannot find any warehousing in the area and will either need to work with a logistics provider who can provide it to you as a service or obtain an additional city-based or free zone based licensing, such as JAFZA, to get warehousing depending on where you're looking to lease. It is advisable to ask the set up department of the potential location where you are planning to establish the business,” said Kapoor.

MERCHANT ACCOUNTS VS. PAYMENT GATEWAYS According to the report mobile shopping is growing fast in the Middle East and the GCC e-commerce market is estimated to quadruple to reach

$20 billion by 2020. With a 30 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), e-commerce is expected to outpace traditional retail’s nine per cent, owing to factors such as a greater awareness off e-commerce, higher online conversions, and more retailers offering e-commerce solutions.

When setting up their e-commerce platforms, SMEs owners need to consider a number of factors when deciding between using a merchant account and a payment gateway.

First and foremost, SMEs must check to ensure that the solutions that are being offered fully serve the business’s purposes, such as ensuring that they help minimise check-out abandonment, convey trust and ensure security. It should not be operationally complex or difficult to integrate, and it should be advanced enough to consolidate consumer data into actionable insights, according to Khalid Elgibali, Division President of Middle East and North Africa, MasterCard.

The most important thing for any SME owner is to be able to focus on their core business, so the less complicated your e-commerce platform is, the better. SME's should consider their own, and their customers’, ease of use.

They have to look at how easy is it to set up their new payment gateway, if their business can withdraw funds easily, as well as if their customers can pay in local currency, added Soudodi.

Kapoor said the main job of a payment gateway is to validate your customer’s credit card details securely, to make sure the funds are available for the payment and to ensure the vendor is paid.

“It is also important to consider what kind of risk analysis and protection is available, the various currencies involved, how easy it is to setup and how many rules are available for you to set up the account to your liking; as well as the percentage rates, payment period, and any rolling deposits. Meanwhile, these factors should be considered while selecting a provider: what types of cards are expected by the payment gateway, if the payment gateway can be used with existing/planned integrations, and what level of support does payment gateway offers,” he said.

For smaller merchants, payment service providers can provide a simpler sign-up and on boarding experience.

For mid-size and large merchants, however, direct internet merchant account is the way to go due to the flexibility and cost advantages it offers, added Elgibali.

Kapoor added that a payment gateway is the best option for SME customers who may not be able to obtain their own merchant accounts due to having limited or no trading history, or operate in certain high-risk sectors.

“They are easy to set up, and when you are not able to accept cards cont. overleaf

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E-COMMERCE

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payments directly as a business, the bureau provider will allow you to make use of their merchant account, and then passes the payments on at a later date. This is simpler than having your own merchant account, which is an online bank account that will temporarily hold your money until it is moved into your actual bank account. With a merchant account set up, after a successful sale, money will be transferred into your merchant account and it will sit there for a few days, and in most cases, it will automatically be transferred into your bank account used to deposit checks and so forth. A merchant account is a kind of temporary holding tank for the money that comes in from online sales. Whereas when you use a payment bureau, the merchant uses the payment bureau's internet merchant account and benefits from the use of reassuring brands,” he said.

Soudodi added that complexity can be the biggest drawback to setting up a payment gateway. The business’s team should be focusing on core business activity and not get tied up with technology, integration issues or payment issues.

“Time-to-market is also a critical issue to consider. Just a few years ago, businesses that wanted to set-up an e-commerce platform were obliged to piece together payment solutions themselves, navigating local and global financial issues and ploughing resources into development, integration and problem solving, which resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of delayed ecommerce projects across the region,” he said.

The working of a payment gateway comprises multiple steps and it is critical to keep the gateway constantly up-to-date with the latest rules, regulations and security requirements, said Elgibali, adding that central banks, card schemes, regulators and authorities

have evolving requirements which payment gateways would need to constantly incorporate.

“Fraud attacks and privacy rules are the main aspects that merchants have to consider to keep the gateway safe and secure. Merchants should also be alert to the fastevolving technology landscape as well as the changes in the market environment. For these reasons, they should apply themselves carefully when comparing different payment gateways and choose partners that are innovative, agile and responsive,” said Elgibali.

COD The AT Kearney report added that at least 60 per cent of online orders are paid in cash at the point of delivery.

Cash on delivery (COD) is expensive for retailers because they must bear the risk upfront, which can negatively affect cash flow, in addition to the risks that come with carrying cash.

Ross Laing, Senior Marketing Manager, corporate training firm, Biz Group said that first a business owner has to distinguish between ‘failed deliveries’ and ‘customer returns’, track both and accept they are a part of doing business in the region. If it is a failed delivery then the goods are usually in sellable condition, unless they are food or have a short shelf life. He cited examples where he has had orders where customers changed their mind but did not cancel, were not contactable, the orders were fake or made by children.

“As annoying an inconvenience it was, the demand for this payment method and completed deliveries were much greater and it did not really impact business enough. COD is also part of e-commerce life in Saudi, Russia, China and I have heard some horror stories where failed deliveries can be higher than 50 per cent of all orders going out,” he said.

Kunal Kapoor, Founder theluxurycloset.com

GCC E-COMMERCE IN NUMBERS 67% of payments in Saudi Arabia are cash.

58% of payments in the UAE are cash.

40% of mobile shoppers in MENA have suffered cybercrime.

71% of mobile shoppers in MENA have observed cyberattacks.

50% of UAE internet users are aware of e-commerce platforms.

50% of Saudi Arabia’s population is unbanked.

40% card penetration in Saudi Arabia.

Source: ‘Getting in on the GCC E-commerce Game’ by AT Kearney

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9/8/16 3:47 PM 14/04/2016 12:04

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FLEXTIME

While more and more companies overseas are seeing the benefits of offering their staff flexitime, the practice has yet to take hold in the GCC.

TIME TO GET THINGS RIGHT? Ian Hainey, Managing Director, IHC; Abdullatif Alsayegh, Founder and CEO, Alsayegh Media; and Steve Ashby, Founder and CEO, Systems4 look at how implementing flexitime can benefit a company, how to do it, and what the potential drawbacks are

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ith so many demands on our time, the periods that are most pressured are usually bunched up into a few hours at the start and end of each day, according to Steve Ashby, Founder and CEO, SME consulting firm, Systems4.

In many families both parents work, so a burden falls on their shoulders

if a child gets sick. But it is not only parents who are interested in flexitime, many people have to juggle their time, whether dealing with the admin of life in the UAE, or wanting to spend less time commuting and more time living.

Ashby added that flexitime is a very popular concept in many countries, but it does not have much traction in the

GCC region yet. Varieties of flexitime range from staggering start and finish times to remote working, with the former being the starting point for most organisations.

BENEFITTING BUSINESS Studies have shown that employees love the idea–it gives them autonomy

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It is important to ensure we are doing our best to get the best out of our employees. It is essential that we are able to adapt to a constantly changing environment.”

– Abdullatif Alsayegh, Founder and CEO, Alsayegh Media

and means they do not have to make awkward phone calls asking to come in ‘a bit late’ owing to a personal commitment, added Ashby. But what do business owners think of the idea?

“Many owners still equate ‘facetime’ in the office with productivity.

It is a Dickensian notion which is completely out of whack with a mobile, digital, 24/7-contact world.

But flexitime can give a business, as well as its employees, greater flexibility to meet the needs of customers over extended hours, to focus on essential project work before and after the normal finishing time, and to have a more committed and happier team,” he said.

If a business has the right workforce and corporate culture then in an ideal world, flexible hours would be fantastic, said Ian Hainey, Managing Director of communications agency, IHC. However, he added, it rarely works like that, having once believed in flexible hours, but now of the opinion it only applies to certain types of organisations, and definitely not creative agencies, where the team is much more than the sum of its parts.

“Where companies can really benefit from flexitime, is when they can attract talent to work for them that could not commit full time. For instance: parents with young children

who have time to work at home and can come to the office on certain days and times. They can be a wonderful flexible resource for a company and the mutually beneficial relationship can be the perfect fit for both parties,” said Hainey.

It is imperative for an entrepreneur and business owner to understand the balance between what they give and get in return, according to Abdullatif Alsayegh, Founder and CEO of multimedia production and event management firm, Alsayegh Media, which operates on a philosophy of a results oriented work environment (ROWE), where people work in order to get the job done.

“The marketing industry can be a demanding one, so it is essential to be flexible and considerate with people's work-life balance, because essentially, a happy team member is an efficient one. It is important to ensure we are doing our best to get the best out of our employees. Moreover, living in the modern age of connectivity more and more businesses are moving to the cloud. It is essential that we are able to adapt to a constantly changing environment,” said Alsayegh.

THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE Ashby added one of the arguments for implanting flexitime is that it fosters a

greater work-life balance by reducing stress, with Alsayegh adding that other benefits can include the employee feeling like they are not micromanaged; the sense of freedom can not only empower and motivate, but also help drive optimum levels of creativity and productivity. Alsayegh said that in his experience, flexible hours help raise employee retention levels, in addition to creating an organisational culture those potential employees find appealing.

Hainey cited an example from when he moved to Dubai over a decade ago and was working in an office in Media City, where approximately half the staff commuted from Sharjah.

“Many used to leave their homes at 4.30am to get to work for 9am, then some would stay in the office and stare at their screens until 9pm until traffic died down. They were like zombies some of the time and I always thought some– especially those in admin positions– could have had their lives transformed and productivity improved if they could have worked from say 11am-8pm, instead of 9am-6pm. Imagine the motivation and the loyalty that could have fostered,” he said.

Having said that, Hainey pointed out that flexitime does not work in every scenario and since becoming a business owner himself, the nature cont. overleaf

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of his business is not conducive to implementing it for his staff.

“We are a fast-growing SME and when we have half the team off or out at meetings, there may only be a few in the office, which can be demotivating for employees. Growing companies need to feed off each other’s knowledge, creativity, and positivity and this cannot happen while half the team are at the pool sending emails from their handset.

Our clients buy into our collective team, so it is really short changing them by not having the team together as much as possible. In addition, we have an open plan office, like a newsroom, where everyone contributes ideas and comments. Work is meant to be fun and a collective effort towards a long term goal. In general, if flexitime is what you are after, then be a freelancer. I freelanced for a few years and it suited my lifestyle at the time perfectly,” he said.

Alsayegh added flexible hours have their advantages; however they may not work for everyone. Therefore, it is essential that line managers know their team members personalities, and take responsibility to hone a working environment that is customised and contextual to their individual strengths.

“From a management perspective, not all staff may be right for flexible hours. The freedom to be your own timekeeper comes with an incredible amount of responsibility. Some are more comfortable working to a precise schedule where they clock in and out every day and work an eight- or ninehour shift under the watchful eye of their manager. This is not an environment we want to foster at Alsayegh Media, and I can say with absolute sincerity that our 150 team members give 150 per cent all the time because they know they are empowered decision makers,” he said.

Another drawback to introducing flexitime to staff, according to Hainey, is simple human nature.

“Some staff might take advantage and it can be difficult for management to keep track of employees as a business grows. There is nothing worse than clock-watching, but it needs to be considered that many people lie by nature, and it is unreasonable to allow trustworthy staff flexible hours and not the less disciplined members,” he said.

He conceded that while flexitime is ideal in principle, certain companies cannot grow with people coming and going as they please. When weighing up whether or not to practice flexitime, business owners had to look at factors such as where the boundaries would be, and whether junior members of the team would be adversely affected.

Alsayegh added that management had to look at whether their employees are the right fit for an open schedule– will they be able to handle any last minute requests that may arise?

Are they dedicated enough to take accountability for their work? Are they confident to deal with crisis situations?

Are they equipped for contingency planning during an ongoing project?

Also members of a team must be able and ready to answer any questions or consider an alternative plan of action should a tough situation arise.

Secondly, he said it is important that every line manager is empowered to work with individual members to create a customised schedule that works for each employee. The lines of communication must always be open and strong to ensure that deadlines are not lost in translation.

“Flexitime is a privilege, not a right.

Done well it can play directly to the heart of employee motivation. In his book Drive: The Surprising truth about What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink listed three primary motivators: autonomy, mastery and a sense of purpose.

Giving your staff the opportunity to design, implement and manage their

attendance system is right on target as a win-win initiative. By involving your staff in redesigning meetings, or some business processes, so that work can be done more efficiently, could make it even easier to run flexitime,” said Ashby.

DO IT RIGHT!

1. Make sure everyone is at work during ‘core day’ hours, such as between 10am and 4pm.

2. Hold meetings between those hours and make them highly effective, instead of meandering talk-fests.

3. Offer flextime to everyone on the team, not just to parents.

Making one group happy while upsetting another just does not make sense. Everyone deserves work-life balance.

4. Involve your staff in designing the framework and developing the rules. Engaging the people who will use the process really ramps up the commitment to making it successful.

5. Measure its success in terms of increased employee engagement, reduced staff turnover, reduced absenteeism, better sales figures, and better profits. Let your staff know the baseline stats so they have something to improve on.

6. Trial it for three months. If it works well, continue with it. If it does not, despite adjusting it to make it run better during the trial, then quit.

Source: Steve Ashby, Founder and CEO, Systems4

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The development has distinctive engineering and architectural designs and features. The main facilities of the project include a health club and spa, swimming pools and other recreational amenities. In addition, the boardwalk will act as a point of attraction to the public as it will host cafes, restaurants, retail outlets with a terraced air-conditioned podium, sea views, spacious car parking, marina and landscaped areas. gfh.com | Invested with insight

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CASE STUDY

DRIVING SALES Saygin Yalcin, CEO and Founder of SellAnyCar.com discusses creating one of the largest online platforms to streamline the process of buying and selling vehicles

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ellAnyCar.com, one of the largest car-buying platforms in the Middle East, was started around June 2013 and launched September of the same year. The frustration experienced by buyers and sellers while trying to conduct transactions in the new and preowned car platforms led Saygin Yalcin, the company’s CEO and Founder, to develop the SellAnyCar.com platform, which is designed to streamline the selling process.

Recent research by SellAnyCar.com shows that a wide price variance for each model in classified ads of preowned cars actually hinders the rate of successful sales, which according to Yalcin leaves consumers disappointed.

Online adverts will have a number of similar cars with a price difference of around 40 per cent. He added that sellers generally look at the highest price asked for a similar vehicle, then add on one or two per cent as a buffer for negotiation.

Buyers, on the other hand, will filter their searches by the lowest priced cars, leading to frustration for both parties.

Trying to sell cars to official dealers does not always work for the seller either. Most dealers will not accept cars that do not fit their brand strategy, and even when they do, the prices they offer tend to be low. Yalcin added that not checking a trader’s licence is also a common error among sellers which, if not valid and current, can increase the risk of fraud.

“Companies who claim to purchase any car have been in existence for the past decade, however our business model allows us to buy and sell cars in a matter of minutes. For automotive dealerships, the average turnover time for a sale is 87 days. It was only a matter of time before technology disrupted the industry, especially when it comes to trading cars. We believe we have implemented a fair way of

buying cars because SellAnyCar.com provides only one out of thousands of opinions of what a car is worth.

Any price derives from supply and demand, and putting this together in real time creates true market value. That is why we believe we have changed the way people buy and sell cars,” said Yalcin.

It was important to Yalcin that the words ‘any car’ were in the business name because the company promises to purchase any car within 30 minutes and from anyone, from any of the locations where the company is situated. He added that the inevitable question from consumers is ‘Mine too?’ and the answer is ‘Yes. Any car.’

WIN-WIN BUSINESS MODEL Once a consumer decides to sell their vehicle, they can apply for a valuation online. Within 15 seconds they will receive an orientation pack for their car based on similar models purchased, which Yalcin

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SellAnyCar.com guarantees that it will buy any car, no matter the model, year, or condition.

said gives a fairly accurate estimate, with the final figure subject to a physical inspection, which can be booked online.

Once at the branch, the car owner can check in using their smart device, and an inspector will meet them, collect their keys and commence an 18-minute inspection.

“The following, and final, 12 minutes of the process is a live auction. We present your car to our entire market place of automotive professionals.

SellAnyCar.com is always one of the

bidders which guarantees that the car will be purchased. We will manage the entire process of the sale, which also ensures that the highest bidder wins,” said Yalcin.

This process, along with the industry data the company has– including information on which models are the most popular as well as the most common issues associated with each make of vehicle–allows the company to provide a high standard of customer service. With 19 per cent of the UAE population already registered

on the site, it is also one of the biggest online car dealers.

CHALLENGES AND PARTNERSHIPS The set-up and financing posed few problems for Yalcin, since SellAnyCar. com is not his first company in the Middle East, having previously launched shopping hub sukar.com, which later merged with souq.com.

He said any problems were minor and quickly addressed, and he financed the business by himself in its initial stages, and quite soon afterwards financial cont. overleaf

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CASE STUDY

AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR OUTLOOK

We are in the process of a structural change in the industry. The new car business has traditionally been a much larger industry than the used car business; however we now see higher growth rates in the used car sector, while new car sales are stagnating.

This is natural for a maturing market, meaning unless a dealer is exporting a high number of cars, the used car business has to be bigger compared to the new car business, which has been apparent in this year’s evolution; certain dealerships are suffering because of this change and they weren’t ready for it.

Saygin Yalcin, CEO and Founder, SellAnyCar.com cont. from pg. 35

partners came on board. Marketing was one of his biggest costs.

“Usually when you create something new, marketing is where some of the highest costs come in, and that was one of our major investments. We used all the online channels at our disposal, but we also realise the importance of being visible in real life–that is on billboards, on the radio, on TV, and in magazines and newspapers. I believe that giving the company a face has led to the high brand awareness we have in the country,” he said.

Nothing at SellAnyCar.com is outsourced, with all the technological developments taking place in-house, and the only ‘partners’ being members of the public wishing to sell their cars.

But the company has recently announced its white label solution where it will open up its platform for all the dealers who register with the site, giving them the opportunity to use the SellAnyCar.com system to evaluate and buy any car.

Yalcin has ambitious plans for business expansion, with SellAnyCar. com already licenced in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with Kuwait the next country on his agenda, followed by the remaining countries in the GCC. “We are also soon going to announce interesting new IT projects and we are going to place more emphasis on the B2B side of the business by collaborating more with dealerships and offering more of our services to them as well, which will facilitate faster sales,” he added.

They have pressure to purchase a certain amount of new cars, but they cannot sell them as fast as they thought they would, because of how the new car business is stagnating. This creates pressure on the dealership’s inventory and leads to heavy discounts.

Heavy discounting immediately has an effect on their old used car purchasing behaviour because now they have a two-year old used car in their lot selling for a price that is almost equivalent to that of a new car. For another AED 1,000 or AED 2,000 a consumer can buy a brand new car.

Fortunately, the dealers who do not have restrictive contracts which enforce certain economic decisions, have a much lower cost structure and they can adapt to market conditions much faster and be more flexible. That is basically what is happening in the market and will continue unless new car traders wake up and change their focus to the used car business.

Source: Saygin Yalcin, CEO and Founder, SellAnyCar.com

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FACETIME

FILLING THE SKILLS GAP Omaira Al Olama, Managing Director, ALF Administration, discusses the skills gap experienced by UAE nationals and how the quota system does not work

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mirati's under the age of 25 years are 58 per cent more likely than any other age group to view their first job as a means to get to other jobs, according to the Qudurat Initiative in the Middle East report by recruitment firm, Aon Hewitt.

Part of the problem is that the local community lacks training specifically for Emiratis, and a lot of training companies are very broad in what they offer, according to Omaira Al Olama, Managing Director, ALF Administration, a training centre that focusses on making UAE nationals employable.

Al Olama explained that the main difference is in the mindset of expats and UAE nationals, and is due to trends in behaviour that starts at home. For example, at the age of fourteen the expat may have been told by their mother that they will not be given extra pocket money to go and buy things, they have to go out and get a job to earn it.

“From a young age, they already have that mindset that they have to work for what they want. Sure, their parents will put a roof over their heads and make sure they have enough to eat, but if they want a new laptop, they know

they have to get a part-time job, or start doing chores and pulling their weight around the house,” she said.

Here in the UAE, she added, that doesn’t happen. School leavers fall into two categories. A student will finish high school and go straight into a job, because they can’t afford to go to university or don’t have the grades to be accepted. The other category has gone to university and achieved a bachelor’s degree. Both these groups have no working knowledge of what it means to be employed.

“The problem becomes apparent when companies have to hire Emiratis

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for their Emiratisation quota, and they need to fill those numbers. They will call recruitment agencies and ask for Emiratis, any Emiratis, because companies will take them on as receptionists or the person doing the meet and greet, with no regard for that employee’s career development,” she said.

As far back as 2013, Professor William Scott-Jackson of Oxford Strategic Consulting said quotas might seem like a good idea, but in reality they make employers focus on just filling targets for the sake of it, rather than building long-term solutions to Emiratisation; and a dedicated and highly-skilled Emirati workforce that is valuable to the organisation, during his presentation Building local talent in the Oil and Gas Sector at the Oil & Gas HR Summit.

Al Olama used the example of a company hiring an expat with over five years’ experience, and an Emirati with zero experience as the token department seat-filler. The biggest mistake the company makes is expecting both employees to perform at the same level.

“On one hand you have an Emirati, who is completely overwhelmed because of the gap in knowledge and experience between them and their expat colleague, wondering how they are going to perform at the expected level. On the other hand, you have the expat who doesn’t have time to train the UAE national, because they have been hired, and possibly flown in, for their skillset. It is also demotivating for them to be hired, only to be seen as being on the same level as someone with zero experience,” said Al Olama.

TRAINING, EDUCATION AND INTERNSHIPS Scott-Jackson said employers are missing out on a key opportunity to train young Emiratis and give them the

right skills to find jobs in key roles when they graduate from college, adding that training before employment will help employers develop the right skills in young Emiratis, which will make them attractive candidates for employment when they are older, and help youngsters find jobs in key roles easily.

With proper training and mentorship, Al Olama said these nationals are able to add value to a company, even though they are at a disadvantage by not being taught how to work.

“Internships have started in some universities here, with the proviso that students can only graduate if they do six months’ work experience somewhere. They need to get their feet wet because they don’t have practical skills,” she added.

Al Olama said there also needs to be a way to get these young nationals to continue studying, if they are unable to attend university.

“Every year, approximately 4,000 UAE nationals graduate. That equals 4,000 people vying for jobs, who will get accepted, because they have a degree. That means students who don’t attend university have 4,000 people ahead of them in the employment line,” she said.

She added that unless the skills shortage is addressed, there is going to be a huge gap of UAE nationals at the age of 30 or 35 in really meaningless jobs, so demotivated that they are not going to want to contribute to the company or the community anymore. This will also lead to friction with the expat community because of underlying resentment over the gap in salary, position, and career path.

Al Olama said at first, companies are resistant to make the investment to train, and retain their staff, since the positions are usually filled at the entry level, which can easily be refilled.

But once the cost of a high staff turnover is broken down, managers become more receptive.

According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, it will cost an employer approximately nine months of an employee’s salary to find and train their replacement.

So for an employee earning AED 120,000 a year, it will cost the company around AED 90,000 to hire and train someone to fill that position.

The Centre for American Progress has the estimated cost of losing an employee at 213 per cent. Using the previous example, that will cost the employer AED 255,600 to replace that staff member. This can add up to a large amount to have to write off if a company has a high staff turnover.

Al Olama said she hopes the government, which established the quota system in the first place, will come to understand what training companies in the UAE are trying to achieve and allow them leeway to approach companies to do an assessment. From there, the company should be free to choose a training facility that suits their purposes and will address the skills gap.

“But commitment is also needed from the company in writing. It is very hard to get HR to commit what they will do if the employee reaches a certain skill level. But trust goes both ways. If they want that UAE national to perform, the company is going to have to prove that there is something at the end of all that candidate’s hard work,” she said.

She added that there needs to be more consideration regarding what needs to be done; that employing UAE nationals should be about more than filling quotas. It should always be about making the UAE national employable and giving them a career path.

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FRANCHISE

BIG, FAT, GREEK RESTAURANT Andres Gonzalez, General Manager of Fast Casual division at Foodmark talks about bringing the US-based Greek brand, GRK Fresh Greek, to the GCC, adapting the menu and dining experience to the region, as well as the industry outlook

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RK Fresh Greek is a franchised business, launched in new York in 2012, with the first outlet opening in Dubai at the end of 2015. The proprietary rights are with New York-based Greek entrepreneur and brand founder, George Nikas, according to Andres Gonzalez, General Manager of Fast Casual division at Foodmark, the food and beverage division of the Landmark Group. He added that the partnership between Landmark and GRK Fresh Greek was brokered by a local agent specialising in exposing local businesses to emerging international brands, with the potential to grow in the local market.

“The core elements of the business are the high quality USDA meats, which are sourced directly from the United States, from local farms in New Jersey, which are then produced by Megas Yeeros, one of the world’s leading yeeros producers. The franchisee is required to manage all of the aspects of the business including real estate, human resourcing and marketing with the support of the franchisor in areas related to menu development and providing branding

elements and adapting them to the local market,” said Gonzalez.

Foodmark has the master franchise agreement for the GCC, granting exclusivity rights to operating and developing the brand across the market. Gonzalez added that the business plan includes opening 50 restaurants in the GCC region over the next 10 years.

“With the ever evolving economic and political conditions in the region, the expansion landscape is still very fluid. At present the strategy is to penetrate the UAE and Qatar markets, focusing on Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha to a greater degree within the next three years, and we plan entry into Saudi Arabia for 2018,” he said.

Initial testing of the brand in the Dubai market has provided positive, indicating that the brand is suited to cater to key nationalities in the region.

Expanding the brand to other markets will start with two new restaurants in Qatar within the next 12 months, he added.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES One of the biggest challenges when introducing a new brand to market,

according to Gonzalez, is how to pitch the brand positioning within the industry. This applies not only to site selection, but also to the menu design and the development of the communications strategy.

“We have conducted consumer research (both in-house and thirdparty) to better understand our primary target audience and how to broaden GRK’s brand appeal to a wider audience. As a result of the strong cultural diversification of the market, and given that the density of the population is lower than places such as New York, where the host brand is based, it means that by bringing the brand to Dubai, we need to be tactical in our communication. Anything from our menu content to our social media content and style of imagery has been carefully considered to increase competitive advantage,” he said.

The Foodmark team knew the brand is positioned in New York as fast casual, with the likes of Chipotle and Panera Bread, as part of a fast growing and well-established segment.

“Here in the UAE the fast casual segment is still developing, so we decided to pitch the brand at a slightly

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higher positioning to the US with western customers in mind, in order to facilitate perception and acceptance but potentially alienating other demographics with higher population in the UAE. This was a strategic decision made to give the brand an easier market entry, following which we were able to build on our insights and further tweak the next version of the operating model,” said Gonzalez.

The other challenge faced by the team was the short supply of prime real estate in Dubai, as GRK thrives in areas with high density and traffic, and in Dubai especially, those areas where target demographics may be found in larger groups are scarce. He added that the big malls have extensive waiting lists, and more established developments already have operators trading successfully, so empty units in the likes of Dubai Mall or DIFC are difficult to secure.

FRANCHISEE SUPPORT The management structure is solely provided by Foodmark with a dedicated team for the development of the brand, including Gonzalez as the business head, a marketing team, and all other functions including HR, procurement, real estate and leasing are provided by Foodmark’s central team.

“The US-based GRK Fresh Greek team are very progressive and have been on board at every stage with us. The host brand fully understands the requirements of the brand in the GCC region, which have been slightly different to that in the US. In this regard, the commitment of the host brand has been key in understanding and supporting our team calibrating new recipes, amending specs for food presentation and service standards.

In the UAE we operate a system where we deliver dine-in orders to the customers’ tables, whereas in the US customers are asked to wait for their food by the front counter.

The menu has been adapted to suit consumer tastes in the GCC region.

Here we use non-disposable plate ware and our next restaurant will have an even more premium feel,” said Gonzalez.

He added that the US team has participated closely in terms of the asset design, including sourcing of locally available materials in order to maintain the GRK Fresh Greek interior guidelines, meaning to deliver the brand personality, stores were fitted out with concrete finish tiles and wall elements, and using a colour palette with greys and browns. The sizes of the restaurants do vary depending on the restaurant, with a flagship unit requiring an average of 762 square metres and an express unit requiring about half as much space.

“A brand representative was on the ground with our local team during the lead up to our first opening in Me’aisem City Centre, as well as the US’s highly experienced chef who was on hand to support the back of house team. The Operations Director of GRK is also due to support with all upcoming openings,” said Gonzalez.

Menu development was another consideration for the team, as they had

to take multiple aspects into account including demographic, local tastes and the current softening market conditions.

“We have created our own recipes inspired by authentic Greek street food.

In its original form the concept’s core trade comes from lunchtime users, in the buzzing business districts of NYC and the original GRK menu caters perfectly to this area’s consumer need.

In order to successfully operate in this market we have developed a menu that will work for all day parts, within a variety of contexts,” said Gonzalez.

To increase versatility of the brand, the team developed a menu with a wider range and new food categories such as starters and desserts, coffees and a breakfast offering. He added that consumer use in the US is functional and guests tend to grab and go, but customer behaviour differs in this market, where users are looking for an experience rather than an on-thego meal option. The guest experience in Dubai is enhanced by adapting the service style, the physical menu, food range and the small wares and food presentation.

WWW.FINANCEMIDDLEEAST.NET

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START-UP

KEEP IT CREO

Nooruldeen A. Agha talks about creating a customisable fashion brand that will appeal to the Middle East Many of the people involved in the project also offered financial backing, which Agha had to consider carefully.

He added that the decision was not easy as the selection process had to be done without emotion and he had to weigh up each person’s dedication and reliability. Once he established his team, the branding and marketing became the most enjoyable part of the process.

“Advertising is what I do. This part was the most intense but I loved coming up with the concept, thinking about the brand persona, objectives, and how to represent them to the audience,” said Agha.

He added that he works closely with designers and that often the result of any creative differences result in beautiful products that both parties are proud of. When deciding on the designers he works with Agha considers factors such as their capability, creativity and their reliability.

Nooruldeen A. Agha, Founder, Creo

C

reo, a fashion company that personalises its products according to consumers’ tastes was established in July 2015.

Nooruldeen A. Agha, Creo’s founder and CEO was first inspired to start the business at the beginning of last year, owing to a perceived lack of creativity in the region. Agha added that most products available within the Middle East are similar, and keep up with worldwide fashion trends, with basic quality designs.

“The inspiration [for Creo] is also much simpler–it can be classified as ‘I want to wear that; I want that to be mine’ with ‘that’ being a personal design that would reflect who you are and what you stand for,” he said.

The business was launched within five months of the initial idea with few challenges involved. The time to set up

was mostly spent on research, concept construction, and design selection.

Licencing and finding the right location for the business were the least of his concerns; Agha said that the biggest challenge was choosing the right personnel. Agha was already running branding and advertising agency, Elephant Nation, when he set the idea for Creo in motion, and many people close to him were eager to be involved.

“Finding the right people involved a great deal of work initially. One can only be so sure of a person’s willingness to bear with the project to its final stage.

Unfortunately, the only way to tell if a person will fail is when they fail. Hence the most significant obstacle would have to be staffing; who would prove not only to be loyal but also to be able to keep up with the strain of the extreme pressure involved,” he said.

Moving forward

The short-term plan was for the company to expand into the GCC by the end of Q2, and into the rest of the Middle East from there. Agha added that the core objective is to tap into the Saudi market and become a prominent seller in that region.

“Currently it is considered one of the more conservative nations, and many that I have spoken to believe our designs may be a bit much for that audience.

However, I have also seen the other side of that opinion, which leans towards the untapped potential of a large market of consumers who wish to wear products such as ours,” he said.

Creo has established a presence in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, and Agha said the Saudi consumer market has a promising future ahead of it.

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2016 Best Consumer Finance Company

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TECH FOCUS

GET ONLINE Mark Hirst, Founder & CEO of digital agency Blue Beetle, looks at why an SME should invest in a website

D

efinitions of a small- and mediumsized enterprise (SME) differ from country to country. In the European Union, for example, SMEs are companies that have a headcount of between 10 and 250 and turnover between EUR 10 million and EUR 50 million. In the UAE, the definition followed is a similar set of numbers, but distinctions are made depending on whether it is a trading, manufacturing or service company.

Every day 2.9 billion Google searches are made. Figures on display at internet usage and social media statistics site Internet Live Stats show that there are around 966 million websites in the world today with about five new websites created every second. This rate has been growing exponentially since 2000. So today, if a company does not have a website, it is very hard to take it seriously.

One would think that it is easier than ever for small businesses to have a website. But nearly half of them do not have one. The majority of these owners claim that they do not have a website because it is not relevant to their business or because it is too expensive.

According to Small Business Websites in 2016: A Survey done by research company Clutch, for those business

owners who have websites, 23 per cent of those sites are not mobile friendly, and another nine per cent have unknown mobile capabilities. Moreover, a lot of business owners still do not understand what kind of benefits websites can provide to their businesses.

CREDIBILITY AND VISIBILITY That leads onto the first reason why it's important for an SME to have a website– credibility. Though the internet has been around for some time, it is true that a business did not always need a website to find its audience or for its audience to find it. It used to be a lot easier to market via direct mailings, Yellow Page ads, and local word-of-mouth. However, today the landscape is very different. Today customers are much savvier; they have more choice, and they do their research before making buying decisions.

A website and social presence are the factors that customers are looking for when they research a company. Not only do they provide the information they are researching to make an educated decision, but having a web presence also shows that a business is a stable enterprise, that it has a history and that it will be around tomorrow if something were to go wrong.

Studies show that 36 per cent of consumers are more likely to contact a local business with a website rather any other channel. And when they do that, the company’s lists of products and services make up the most important information they are looking for. Poor quality content, confusing links, and no contact information are the biggest barriers for potential customers.

A website helps a business build authority, and gives customers peace of mind. Without one a business is at a significant disadvantage, not only because of the lack of credibility but also because its competitors are probably online, introducing the second reason why it is important to have a | website–visibility.

If a business is not online, it is as good as invisible. People are increasingly more blind and deaf to traditional forms of advertising, with most moving online to use search engines to find products and services. When a potential customer does not find a business online, they will find its competitor. In short, a business without a website will not be found, simple as that!

With a website, however, not only does a business stop being invisible but it becomes accessible 24 hours a day,

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SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Without [a website], the company is at a significant disadvantage…because its competitors are probably online.”

– Mike Hirst, Founder and CEO, Blue Beetle

365 days a year. Potential customers will be able to learn about what a business has to offer from anywhere in the world while the owner sleeps.

SALES AND ANALYTICS This constant accessibility leads to greater sales opportunities. In today's competitive market, it's important to use all the tools at one's disposal to maximise opportunities. A website can dramatically increase the number of sales one is making, either directly by selling and taking payments online or indirectly by generating enquiries. Forty per cent of global internet users, or more than one billion people, have bought products or services online at least once, according to data analysis site, Hosting Facts.

With the benefits of search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising, a business owner can target a specific audience or niche with relevant messages that resonate directly with them. They can tweak the settings to make sure the right people are hearing their message at the right time, and through analytics they can see what works and what does not. Gone are the days of guessing. With the multitude of tools available online, they can test, iterate and evolve their offering on the fly relatively inexpensively.

The higher the number of relevant people visiting a website, the more sales and awareness a business builds. A website is, therefore, a powerful sales tool and one that allows a business owner to address their customers’ concerns, give them the information they need to make a decision and create compelling calls to action.

But a single second delay in a website’s loading time can result in a seven per cent loss in conversion. Forty per cent of web users will abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load, so a business owner should ensure they have changed all these options and their website operates fast, according to The List of Internet, E-commerce & Hosting Statistics for 2016 by Hosting Facts.

A website is a virtual shop-front where consumers can go to seek out trusted information about a company and engage with the owner on a more personal level. A business owner can use it to build confidence in their brand and to incentivise customers and give them valuable buying information. They can also use it to create another sales tool.

Along with the valuable collected analytics there is another opportunity that, besides your site, may just end up

being one of a business’s strongest sales tools–an email list.

Every business should be building a database of customers and/or prospects. If this information is not collected through a website already, a business owner is more than likely doing it somehow else, by collecting business cards at reception, manually inputting data into their CRM or adding contacts to their address book.

Having a website allows a business owner to do all of that more efficiently because it makes it easier, faster and convenient. Simply by capturing names and email addresses with the incentive that registrars will be kept up to date on latest developments, deals, and promotions will help a business owner create a valuable opt-in database that they can nurture and communicate with going forward. These are people who have expressed they would like to hear from the business. Without a website, the owner may never have come across them.

Credibility, visibility, sales and a database of prospects are invaluable assets a site can provide, and that SME's require to thrive in today's competitive marketplace. By getting a website delivering on these important aspects a business will be in good stead to succeed.

WWW.FINANCEMIDDLEEAST.NET

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Behind the scenes Donna van Vuuren and Andrea Allen, Co-Founders, Amazing Mums Sensory Supplies DONNA VAN V UUREN

– CO-FOUNDE R

Why did you start Amazing We starte Mums Se d this busi nsory Su ness beca special ne pplies? use we bo eds. I have th have ch found that that my so ildren with there are n has requ a lot of th ired over th we have b erapy item e years. Sin attled to g s ce we mo et those it quite high ved to Du ems here, . So we de bai, because th cided to so e costs are centres w urce and su ith these it pply famili ems at a re es and asonable price.

ea? ss id e sine s that w u b hat our the item t y t p e g ud velo arch on would nab u de d yo t of rese ecided o ess that the i d How with a lo in. We d he busin to keep to t had rted bring It sta fford to g to put in ilies. We ing m a re go in . fa could each go l to our tty small lly if we a upply nta cia ere os pre we w detrime budget ion, espe r goal is t need e t u b a We r o t . e o e s o n ave t caus milie onsid rge c items, be ividual fa and we h . la a , d rger ck in ing is front as in Fund source la as well hose up come ba s t y o e r t e r t nt to has income py ce purc thera flow to it for the h wa as the c e able to b

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ANDREA ALLEN– CO-F OUNDER

How suppor tiv e is your med My son’s first di ical insuranc agnosis was se e? nsory processin we were seeing g difficulties, an an occupationa d l th erapist. When cost coverage we first broach with our insura ed nce, we were to condition which ld it’s a psychiat the insurance ric doesn’t cover. is a neuro-deve W e tried to explain lopmental issue it , not psychiatric reason for them and there was not to cover it. no Th ey it and we spen co nt in uo us ly refused to cove t a year paying r for therapy out My son got a fu of our own pock rther diagnosis ets. of separation anxie which the insu rance covers, bu ty disorder, t is capped at AE We pay over AE D 20,000 a ye D 6,000 a week ar. fo r therapy. So our in April, and we insurance star ’ve blown our bu ts dget within we cost ourselves eks. So we carry , including any the medication an may need. Man d th erapy items he y families are in a similar situatio source therapy n, so we wanted items at a price to they can afford .

What is your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge has been to send items to other emirates and other countries. We’ve had enquiries from Muscat, Oman and Egypt, for small items that weigh next to nothing, but we’re expected to pay between AED 50 to AED 100 in courier fees to get them there. So we’re trying to be fair in our pricing but we still cannot get these items to people that genuinely need them, because we cannot find a courier company that does not have prohibitive costs.

Allen and van Vuuren make sure they source their non-toxic chews from reputable suppliers.

TO SEE MORE FROM OUR DAY ‘BEHIND THE SCENES’ WITH AMAZING MUMS SENSORY SUPPLIES, VISIT WWW.CPIFINANCIAL.NET FOR OUR VIDEO INTERVIEW, AS WELL AS A SLIGHTLY MORE IN DEPTH ARTICLE. WE ARE ON INSTAGRAM: @FINANCE_MIDDLE_EAST, TWITTER: @FIANNCEMIDEAST, AND FACEBOOK: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/FINANCEMIDDLEEAST/

WWW.FINANCEMIDDLEEAST.NET

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LAST WORD

Flexibly organised

Leon Machenaud, Brand Manager at interior design company Ethan Allen UAE, discusses Moonrise Kingdom, teleportation, and adapting his leadership style to each individual WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT ROLE INVOLVE ON A DAY-TODAY BASIS? My responsibilities include the overall management of Ethan Allen in the UAE. I oversee the operation, finance, marketing, business development and logistic departments within our two branches. Ethan Allen is located at The Dubai Mall and Sheikh Zayed Road, which is our flagship design centre.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE DAY AHEAD? I believe that staying organised is the key to success; it allows you to anticipate critical situations, to be ready at the right time and gain more hours to focus on other important tasks. To top it off, a good night’s sleep is essential for a busy week/day ahead. ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’–a healthy mind in a healthy body. It is important to have a balance. Work hard but make sure you take time for your family and also for yourself.

WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE? I adapt my leadership style depending on the particular challenges being faced and the needs of the staff involved. I think effective leaders are able to move between styles, selecting

the one that is required in the moment.

I trust my colleagues and give them my support; it is important for me as a team leader to encourage them to show initiative.

WHAT DOES YOUR AVERAGE DAY LOOK LIKE? I wake up at 7am and run for 30 minutes. From 7.30 to 8am I spend quality time with my daughter. I have my breakfast between 8am and 8.30 and at 9am its office time! I start with checking my dashboard, and prioritising what is urgent and important. I visit our different design centres and work on the important tasks for the day.

I get home around 7.30pm, freshen up and cook dinner for my wife and daughter. Cooking helps me unwind and relax from a hectic day. I end my day around 10pm with a good book or movie.

IF YOU WERE TO START A COMPANY FROM SCRATCH, WHAT VALUES WOULD YOU BUILD IT ON? Integrity, transparency, excellence, dedication and passion! The most important asset of any company is its employees. I would encourage my team to work in the area which they are passionate about and take ownership of what they do.

Leon Machenaud

What is the one quality a potential employee should have?

Passion with the right attitude; skills can be learned but it is essential to possess the drive to achieve. You either have it or you do not.

What movie or novel character do you most identify with?

I identify with the lead from Moonrise Kingdom, Sam. He is full of hope, imagination and dreams.

If you ruled the world, what would you change?

If I ruled the world I would work towards providing fairness and equality to every single person.

What superpower would you like to have?

I would choose teleportation, only so I can visit my family and friends all over the world.

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