SME Advisor Middle East

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Issue 74 JANUARY 2012 WWW.SMEADVISOR.COM

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Publisher Dominic De Sousa Group COO Nadeem Hood Managing Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9126 EDITORIAL Group Editor, CPI Business Ketaki Banga ketaki@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9115 Editor Mike Byrne mikeb@cpidubai.com +971 440 9105 Assistant Editor, CPI Business Aparna Shivpuri Arya aparna@cpidubai.com +971 440 9133 Contributing Editors Ali Koaik ali@cpidubai.com +971 440 9140 Meghna Pant meghna@cpidubai.com +971 440 9130 ADVERTISING Commercial Director Chris Stevenson chris@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9138 Sales Director Francis Morgan francis@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9163 CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9147 PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Production Manager James P Tharian james@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9146 Art Director Kamil Roxas kamil@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9112 Designer Froilan A. Cosgafa IV froilan@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9107 Photographer Cris Mejorada cris@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9108 DIGITAL SERVICES www.smeadvisor.com Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Maagma Web Developers Jerus King Bation Erik Briones Jefferson de Joya online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100

EDITORIAL The circle of life As we bid goodbye to yet another year, for better or for worse, and get ready to face 2012, let’s tap into some classic Disney wisdom.

What! Did you read that right? Disney in a business magazine?

Well, why not! As Pumbaa says in the Lion King, “You got to put your behind in your past.” What he means is, “You got to put your past behind you.” But you get the picture.

Even though it might seem like a continuation of the same old daily grind, a new year is a great psychological tool – a way to clearly demarcate the new from the old. There are times you really need to do that. Make a clean break, a fresh start, find emotional closure, start a new chapter, change your perspective, go back to the drawing board.

You need to do that as much in life as in business. And what better time is there than now to look back and then look ahead.

Tell us what 2011 meant for you and your business, what challenges you faced, how you dealt with them, what you learnt, what you will discard, what you will take forward, and what you are looking forward to. Write to us and share your stories and we will feature them in the magazine over the following months.

You’ll see us continue to grow and evolve too. There will be new team members and the old familiars in new roles. I’m delighted to announce that former Assistant Editor Mike Byrne – our very own Mikey – is now the Editor of SME Advisor. And Group Assistant Editor Aparna Shivpuri Arya will be handling the English edition of Private Sector Qatar, which is an SME Advisor publication in Arabic and English, tailor made for the Qatar business community.

I will continue to make everyone’s life hell with my obsessive-compulsive intensity, but I can’t help but beam with pride seeing Mike and Aparna rise to the challenge. They were thrown into the deep end and have worked hard to prove themselves.

Do follow Mike’s regular “Sign off” column in the magazine. He is camera shy and publicity wary but he knows his stuff and, in case you didn’t know it, he is a qualified lawyer – though he hates it when I tell people that. Oops, did I just say it out loud, again!

And as for Aparna – she is a hotshot economist and trade policy expert who has worked for the WTO and UN. So get ready for an exciting year from not just SME Advisor but our other business publications too. We will learn and grow, just like any other business. As the song goes: Till we find our place On the path unwinding In the Circle – The Circle of Life

Published by

Ketaki Banga, Group Editor, CPI Business 1013 Centre Road, New Castle County, Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Branch Office PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409 Printed by Atlas Printing Press LLC, Dubai © Copyright 2012 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

Talk to us: E-mail: ketaki@cpidubai.com Twitter: @SMEadvisorME Facebook: www.facebook.com/SMEAdvisor LinkedIn group: SME Advisor

CONTENTS Issue 74 January 2012

Opportunities 32 PLANNING

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In the first of a three-part series, John Lincoln, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, du, talks to us about the importance of planning, funding, and managing cash flow.

Marketing 36 BRANDING Mark Rollinson, Group Creative Director, All About Brands and CEO, Brand Faith, sets out a five stage process to create and manage a great visual expression for a brand.

38 SOCIAL MEDIA Google+ has often been confused as another social networking site. But it’s different and offers a lot more options, says Alan Devereux, Communications Officer, British Business Group.

Management Food for thought: The SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit 2011

Shoptalk 08 TRENDS AND UPDATES A quick look at news and events that will impact SMEs in this region.

14 SHELF LIFE New toys for you and your business. Like you need an excuse!

Summit 16 OVERVIEW The SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit 2011, presented by ADCB, in conjunction with our Exclusive Telecom Partner du, was held on the morning of our awards.

We bring you the exclusive coverage.

18 PANEL DISCUSSION Get to know what the panellists had to say about the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the Middle East.

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40 LEADERSHIP SKILLS Sahar Moussly Haffar, Executive Director, Trans Gulf Management Consultancy, tells us the difference between a manager and a leader and what steps to take to become a good leader.

42 COMMUNICATION 22 WORKSHOPS We take a look at the three workshops, which were held as part of the summit and covered various aspects of starting and managing a business.

28 SAY CHEESE

Every business relies on communication to get things done. Stephan Melchior, Managing Partner, Wilson Worldwide Learning Middle East, shares some pointers on why good communication skills are important for leaders.

We bring snapshots from the summit, held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai.

Human Resources

Trade

Philips Lefebvre, Managing Partner, Whitewater Executive Search, tells us all about talent mapping and finding the right people.

30 SERVICES International trade is not only about trade in goods, but also services, says Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head of Export Market Intelligence at Dubai Exports, and Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Dubai Economic Department.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

44 RECRUITMENT

Sales 46 SELLING TIPS Peter Heredia, Managing Director, Max Sale Solutions, outlines how to overcome objections and to differentiate between real and false objections.

Young Entrepreneur

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56 YOUNG GUN Uday Singh received recognition as an “inspiring young entrepreneur� by SME Advisor. He talks to Aparna Shivpuri Arya about his journey so far and the milestones ahead.

Driving Business 58 GOLF We bring you the highlights from our final golf day held at the Els Club Dubai.

Technology for Business

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62 WATCHGUARD We get to know WatchGuard Technologies and their latest IT security offerings for SMEs.

66 SMARTPHONES With multi-purpose SmartPhones pulling in more usage rates than personal computers, the line between the two, as far as functionality is concerned, is being blurred, reports Info2cell.com.

SME about Town 68 BOOK LAUNCH

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SME Advisor attended a roundtable organised by Bain & Co, to launch its new book, which highlights how to secure customer loyalty.

SME Success Series 48 POWER LUNCH We invited three winners from the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards to come and share their story with our audience.

Business pin up 54 BAYT.COM Rabea Ataya, CEO, Bayt.com, talks to us about best practices and the recipe for success at Bayt.com.

70 CSR PROGRAMME Al Tamimi Investments hosted a meet-up for UAE-based university students. SME Advisor was there to gain insight into this initiative.

A day in the life of 72 WILD PLANET Jonathan Khan, Managing Director, Wild Planet Productions, tells us what a day in his life is like.

Sign-off 74 DRAWING INSPIRATION SME Advisor Editor, Mike Byrne, looks to the year ahead and to the role the entire business community can play with spreading inspiration.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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shoptalk

trends & updates

Education sector in the UAE Private school enrolment is expected to grow significantly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the next decade, but governments and investors must overcome several key challenges in order to capitalise on this opportunity.

Chief among these challenges, is an immature operating environment, characterised by a lack of transparency and consistency regarding regulations in the sector. In addition, constraints on financing new schools in the region, fragmented ownership structures that offer few economies of scale, and a lack of information for parents regarding school quality, have all inhibited the growth of the private school market thus far.

With USD 5.2 billion in annual tuition, the GCC

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private school market is one of the world’s largest.

Approximately 1.36 million students, the majority of which are expatriates, are enrolled in roughly 4,400 private schools throughout the region. However, this represents only a fraction of the GCC’s overall education system, which has around 6.3 million students in 35,000 schools. Private education represents about 14% of the GCC’s USD 36 billion education market.

Three factors will likely increase the scope of private education in the coming years. Demographic shifts will increase the number of students and thus schools in the region. Parents’ desire for higher-quality education will increase the share of private education in the overall landscape. And their greater willingness to pay will increase

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

the potential revenue pool.

The GCC K-12 private school market will grow between USD 11 billion and USD 17 billion by 2020 and enrolment will reach roughly 2.6 million.

Investors seeking to enter the market will need to have a keen understanding of its dynamics. To that end, Booz & Company recently conducted a survey of more than 1,000 parents in the GCC to understand what is most important to them in choosing a private school. National and expatriate parents agreed on the most critical factors; quality of teachers, curriculum, reputation, environment for children and the preservation of culture.

National parents expressed a clear preference for gender segregation; 80% indicated that their children currently attend schools without mixed classes. They also demonstrated a preference for international, English-language curricula, with 53% preferring “Western-style” curricula (UK, US, or International Baccalaureate). Currently, only 35% of parents have their children in such schools, which suggests a significant potential market opportunity.

The challenge is for operators to determine whether this gap is due to a simple lack of supply, or some other aspect of the market, such as cultural factors, in which case they will have to modify their offerings to satisfy consumer preferences. Shortage of qualified teachers is one obstacle in the way of growth.

Land ownership is another challenge; most GCC jurisdictions

restrict foreign land ownership, requiring prospective private school operators to go through the relevant private sector regulator. This complex and time-consuming process is offputting to many. Conversely, in jurisdictions that do allow foreign land ownership, investors have indicated that the inflation has made land prohibitively expensive, undermining the feasibility of new ventures. The lack of public information about school quality is another problem.

Last but by no means least, opaque regulations pose a challenge to be overcome, as many of the operating challenges facing private schools in the region are driven or compounded by a perceived opaque regulatory regime.

The key stakeholders in the GCC education system have a significant role to play in overcoming these obstacles and realising the market potential of the region’s private schools.

Another element of support that governments can provide, is to increase the supply of national teachers by establishing new kinds of teacher-training programmes.

Recent initiatives, such as exchanges with advanced education systems aimed at spreading knowledge and increasing the teaching capabilities of nationals are a good first step but do not have sufficient scale to satisfy market need. Finally, governments can take steps to reduce the capital burden on investors by facilitating access to debt capital.

shoptalk

trends & updates

Security and data loss top concerns for SMEs in the Middle East Symantec Corp. announced the findings of its Small and Medium Business Information Management and Security Study in the Middle East, in partnership with research company, YouGov. The survey revealed that the majority of small and medium sized businesses in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not taking effective measures to secure and backup their important information, nor are they setting aside a dedicated budget for IT. “It is a major concern to find that while SMEs place significant importance on critical information, such as financial records, customer databases and corporate data, yet they are taking very basic measures to back-up and secure that information,” said Johnny Karam,

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Symantec’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Symantec’s latest intelligence report shows that the UAE and Saudi Arabia rank high for phishing and virus attacks, so we know the threats are real in this part of the world. Global trends also show that cyber criminals are more likely to target small businesses, as they have more money than individual targets and far less security than large enterprises,” he added.

The survey found that SMEs in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE are spending up to USD 10,000 per annum on IT; with the 17% majority spending in the range of USD 1,000 to USD 5,000. 45% of respondents in Egypt do not have a fixed annual budget for IT and are making purchase decisions as and when

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

needed, the same is true for 45% in UAE and 39% in Saudi Arabia.

“The survey results tell us that a high percentage of small businesses are making purchase decisions for IT on a need basis, without threat assessment of their critical information, and without long term planning,” said Karam.

In Egypt, data loss due to power failure was noted as the most prevalent problem, while UAE and Saudi Arabia highlighted the inability to recover data from back-ups as the biggest problem.

In addition, the research found that the frequency of back-ups was not optimum, with only one-third of respondents backing up on a daily basis. Only a quarter (26%) of respondents claim that they have never experienced an issue recovering data from their

back-up, or faced loss of data due to power failure.

Between 57% and 72% of respondents identified virus attacks as a key concern and between 44% and 63% expressed concerns around external hacks. On average across the region, only 29% claim they had never faced a known attack on their systems by a virus or malicious code.

Despite these concerns and the high incidence of issues being faced by SMEs, only the very basic security protection is implemented. Internet antivirus, automated antivirus checks, password protection for network access, firewalls and user authentication, were the five most common IT security measures implemented across all three markets. More advanced security measures like authorisation for downloads, encryption of sensitive data and archiving of information were not as commonly implemented by businesses across the Middle East.

Recommendations for SMEs in the region: Develop an IT strategy and budget:

SMEs should regularly evaluate their security and data protection strategies in order to make more planned decisions.

Select trusted solutions that fit your needs: Businesses should

start by finding a solution that best fits their needs and then consider, categorise and prioritise the data they need to backup and protect.

Take action and protect your business: SMEs need to assess

their security situation, put a security strategy in place and implement security solutions that will offer them all-round intelligent security that goes beyond antivirus but also looks at antimalware.

shoptalk

trends & updates

Changing job patterns A recent survey conducted

by Bayt.com, and YouGov, has unveiled that 34% of MENA professionals are considering an industry shift mostly into the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry.

Reasons for change

Of the top five industries that employees are considering moving into (oil, gas and petrochemicals; banking and finance; IT; human resources; manufacturing), the top motivational factor is money.

Across each of these five sectors, the second reason cited is career growth opportunities, followed by better job security.

The reasons cited were better career growth (30%), better job security (20%), and better remuneration packages (18%).

Preferred industries

Perceptions in the UAE

Regionally, the preference for employment opportunities tends to lean towards the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry, with 20% of survey respondents saying it is the best industry to work in, in their country of residence.

The reasons for this are better career growth (25%), better job security (22%), and better remuneration packages (19%).

Second most popular is the government or the civil service sector, with 11% of respondents citing preference, predominantly for better job security (62%), followed by the fact that this sector was least impacted by the recession (10%), and the better work-life balance offered (9%).

Banking and finance comes in as third most desirable, opted for by 10% of respondents.

Respondents in the UAE see the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry as having the best salary packages (52%) and non-monetary benefits (38%).

Following close, in terms of perceived best salaries, is banking and finance (22%), with government and civil service ranking third (20%).

As for benefits, the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry is followed by airlines with 24%, and government and civil service with 23%.

In terms of work-life balance, oil, gas and petrochemicals continues to dominate, with 29% saying it is the best industry in the UAE to offer this equation, government and civil service ranked second with 28%, followed by banking and finance with 20%.

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

When it comes to the industry offering and the best career growth in the UAE, 38% said oil, gas and petrochemicals, 21% banking and finance, and 15% airlines.

Oil, gas and petrochemicals (29%) also seems to be hiring most in the UAE, followed by construction (28%), and banking and finance (17%).

Oil, gas and petrochemicals again tops the list, as the industry retaining the best talent in the UAE (37%), followed by airlines (20%), and banking and finance (18%).

As far as local talent is concerned, government or civil service ranks first, with 24% saying it is most favourable and popular with local talent.

Banking and finance, and oil, gas and petrochemicals, followed both at 9%.

Respondents in the UAE believe that construction (31%) is the industry that has downsized the most in recent years; real estate (10%), and

banking and finance (7%) are also considered to have been hit hard.

Construction (14%) is considered to be the most popular industry for expatriates in the UAE. However, there is a paltry 2% margin between the lead position and the industry that ranked second, which is oil, gas and petrochemicals, with 12%. Banking and finance came in third most popular, with 10%.

Government jobs are considered to be extremely favourable by 50% of UAEbased respondents.

Industries considered to be the most favourable and popular for women in the UAE are, education and academia (17%), banking and finance (15%), and healthcare and medical services (9%). As for fresh graduates, banking and finance is most popular (17%), followed by IT (11%), and government and civil service (10%). “While the oil, gas and petrochemical industry is clearly a leading choice for many, it appears that the region’s banking and finance sector is up-and-coming for employment opportunities.

That it is the top favoured industry for new graduates, shows that there is clearly a demand for more jobs within that particular sector,� said Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov.

shoptalk

trends & updates

Offshore solutions for banks

Banks in the Middle East are being energised and challenged by the innovative potential of technology in creating new products and services, which typically require new functionalities across a growing portfolio of platforms and channels.

Although the continued push to deliver such products and services is helping banks to build new business, it is also significantly taxing their already-stretched IT resources, according to a recent study by Booz & Company.

In many cases, bank Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are discovering that their IT functions are overburdened by demands from business and the challenge of maintaining an ever-growing portfolio of technology solutions. As a result, they are significantly hindering the bank’s ability to go to market quickly with new products and services.

Throughout the evolution of the financial services

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industry, banks have harnessed new technologies to offer current and prospective customers, increasingly sophisticated products and services. In the Middle East, banks are attempting to meet evolving consumer needs while encouraging the use of low-cost electronic channels. However, as the pace of this tech­n ological evolution intensifies, bank CIOs are discovering that their IT functions are simply overburdened by the increasing demands placed on them, thus hindering the banks’ ability to go to market with new products and services.

There are a number of resourcing models for the banks to consider, to effectively manage their growing IT development demands. Each has its own merits and limitations, but given the needs of regional banks and the limitations of the labour market, the most effective option is likely to

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

be Offshore Development Center (ODC).

Banks can increase their IT function by hiring additional staff, which allows them to maintain control of the IT operation and keep proprietary knowledge in the bank. Banks can assimilate contractors into in-house teams with the help of third party vendors.

Contracting presents a simplified hiring and termination process, and the bank keeps control of the IT function as it remains onsite, but third party vendors are also affected by the availability of talent.

However, the model is more costly than hiring an inhouse team directly, because vendors add a premium for their service. Banks can elect to remotely source people and processes from external vendors, particularly with technology that is neither proprietary nor strategic for the company. In addition to sourcing people and processes, banks can source the underlying technology in a cloud computing service model. This is slowly becoming a more popular option as vendors’ experience and success in this arena continues to grow. However, becoming fully dependent on a vendor can be a disadvantage, due to the loss of technology ownership,

which makes it difficult to undo such a partnership.

With the ODC, a bank develops its own dedicated talent pool, where talent is more readily available, either nearby (near-shoring) or distant (off shoring). There are three forms of ODCs: • Build-operate-transfer (BOT): The centre is started and operated by a partner for a fee until it is trans­f erred fully back to the bank.

• Captive: The centre is entirely set up and operated by the bank.

• Joint ventures (JVs): Ownership is shared with a partner.

Of course, a successful transition to an ODC model requires highly effective execution. Setting up an ODC takes a large upfront investment, which can quickly turn into a loss if governance and integration issues are not thor­oughly planned out.

CIOs who turn to an ODC as an off shoring solution, should know that they require sufficient setup time and additional manpower to initiate and manage the relation­ship. That means there will likely be pockets of downtime, either during the launch process or later during handover periods, when the bank has more IT employees than the current workflow demands. These temporary inefficiencies are more than offset by the IT function’s heightened abilities to support new products and respond to the day-to-day needs of the business over the long term.

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SHELF LIFE

Graphic designers’ delight Graphic design professionals now have a better, faster way to create vivid, colourful advertisements, marketing pieces and sales proposals with the Xerox Phaser 7800 colour laser printer.

Packed with colour quality tools, extensive media handling capabilities and professional finishing options, the Phaser 7800 from Xerox Corporation produces jobs quickly and offers precise control over colour matching, allowing creative shops to beat deadlines and exceed client expectations. Printing at 1200 x 2400 dpi, the Phaser 7800 brings out fine details in images, photos and graphics. Core to the printer are its colour matching capabilities, a must-have for graphic designers.

The device is equipped with the PhaserMeter Color Measurement Device powered by X-Rite and Adobe PostScript 3, offering color accuracy.

The 45 pages per minute printer handles a wider range of media weights and automatic two-sided printing is a standard feature. A colour touch screen makes navigation simple as users can view toner levels and print jobs in the queue. The heat-efficient fuser allows for start up time of less than 15 seconds and uses less power in standby mode than conventional fusers. Starting at USD 3899, the Phaser 7800 is available immediately worldwide through Xerox direct sales, agents, resellers and dealers.

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Enhance your computing experience ASUS has announced the world’s first tablet featuring the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor – the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime. The tablet is the world’s first to feature NVIDIA’s next-generation quad-core Tegra 3 processor, creating a new breed of high powered tablet devices. With the quad-core CPU, 12-core GeForce GPU and vSMP technology, it delivers fast experience for tablet- based multitasking,Web browsing,full HD video playback, and games.

Cooperatively working with NVIDIA to launch the first quad-core tablet in the world, the Eee Pad Transformer Prime features the innovative ASUS exclusive mobile dock, presenting a harmony of beauty and strength.

In addition to having superior multimedia performance, the Transformer Prime also boasts an 8.3mm ultra slim metallic spun finish, with enhanced features, including

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

audio powered by ASUS SonicMaster technology, an 8MP rear auto-focus camera with LED flash and battery life rated for up to 18 hours when combined with the mobile dock. Prices will range from USD 499 to USD 599, with the mobile dock, an optional accessory priced at USD 149. A first for any tablet, the 8MP camera on the Transformer Prime also has the ability to take full 1080p HD video.

The Transformer Prime is offered in both a 32GB and 64B model along with a micro SD card slot, 3.5mm combo audio jack and micro HDMI port, so sharing what’s inside and on screen is quick and easy. Preinstalled application SuperNote is fantastic for its ability to take, draw or record notes, while Polaris Office is great for staying productive with the ability to read and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint (MS Office 97-2007 version compatible) files.

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Multi-tasking just got easier Canon Middle East has launched a new series of high-speed, multi-functional devices aimed at improving productivity in small businesses. The new range of office solutions, including the versatile and cutting-edge imageRUNNER1700 further broadens Canon’s offering within the A4 market, providing customers with a portfolio of devices to meet the varied needs of their business. The imageRUNNER1700 offers an ideal blend of productivity and ease of use with higher printing and copying capacity per minute, enabling users to achieve greater efficiency and performance. The low acquisition cost makes it an attractive investment for the SMEs. In addition to its high-speed performance, the imageRUNNER1700 boasts cost-monitoring and heightened security functionality.

The new A4 range offers an option for a Cartridge based or a toner based model based on customer requirements, offering businesses still more flexibility and costefficiency.

Security options for SMEs Axis Communications announced small and affordable AXIS M1043-W and AXIS M1044-W network cameras, with local recording of video and audio, wireless capability and smart video surveillance features. They are suitable for securing locations such as, small businesses, boutiques, restaurants, hotels and residences.

These latest models of the AXIS M10 Series provide excellent video quality at 30 frames per second in both SVGA (AXIS M1043-W) and HDTV 720p (AXIS M1044-W) resolutions. They feature wireless capabilities with WiFi protected setup protocol, which simplify the process of configuring security on wireless networks. The combination of the wireless 802.11n standard and

the WPS protocol guarantees userfriendliness and high network security.

Edge storage creates the possibility to build cost-efficient and reliable recording solutions. The cameras further feature a passive infrared (PIR) sensor for detecting movement even in the dark, and a white LED light for illuminating the scene automatically when motion is detected or when requested by the user. They support two-way audio with an integrated microphone and speaker, allowing remote users to listen in on an area as well as communicate with visitors or intruders. In addition to these features, they include I/O ports (1 input and 1 output) for connecting devices, such as sensors and external relays to activate lights or open and close doors.

Phones get smarter!

The BlackBerry Curve 9380 is powered by the new 7OS, which delivers a faster and richer user experience. It also includes the ability to manage personal content separately from corporate content, and comes with a variety of personal and productivity apps.

The new BlackBerry 7OS introduces an enhanced browser that provides a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience. The browser includes a new JavaScript compiler to improve the load time speed of Web pages and it offers optimised HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.

In addition, the BlackBerry Curve 9380 SmartPhone includes built-in support for augmented reality and NFC. With the wikitude augmented reality application, users can find nearby BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) contacts in real-time, read reviews about restaurants close to them, or get the story behind an interesting landmark and points of interest.

NFC also enables many new and exciting capabilities, including the ability to make mobile payments, pair accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the SmartPhone. The BlackBerry Curve 9380 is now available in the UAE via authorised retailers.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

Business made easy

Food for thought The SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit 2011 was held on the morning and afternoon of our Awards. We decided to bring even more added value in terms of speakers and subject matter discussions, whereby hot topics ranging from utilising marketing budgets to mastering a disaster and turning a business around were analysed. The panel discussion took centre stage, where attendees had the opportunity to put panellists through their paces on the opportunities, challenges and tips of doing business in the Middle East.

Roger Harrop, Business expert, Author, International speaker

Internationally renowned keynote speaker Roger Harrop, Business expert, Author, International speaker Staying in the Helicopter – and the power of 4 (basics of business) Roger is a UK based, international motivational business growth speaker who inspires and entertains his audiences with his acclaimed Staying in the Helicopter programmes. He is also an author, business advisor, mentor, consultant and independent director focused on business development and success.

“I want to spend some time talking about getting up in the helicopter – the benefits of getting up there and looking at the big picture, because it’s amazing. The four basics

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of business that companies need to look at the big picture are; prospects for customers, exceptional at what you do, great place to work and bottom line. A lot of companies subscribe to the Columbus school of management – he left but he did not where he was going. This does not help. You need to know what the purpose of your business is. You also need to know, who should you sell to - there is a basic rule of business, sell to people who have the money. You need to go in with the right attitude and you can make so much money.

No one likes mediocrity, so you need to be exceptional for your consumers and reinvest in your organisation”

Well-known UAE based business guru John Lincoln, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, du How to fight a price war John Lincoln has over 20 years of telecommunications experience in the USA, Japan, Europe, India, Dubai, Malaysia, Latin America and various other countries. He has extensive senior expertise in international

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

John Lincoln, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, du

telecommunications sales, marketing, business development and customer service delivery.

John also has executive experience with general management, marketing, P&L, product development and revenue management responsibilities in both consumer and enterprise segments for both fixed and mobile sectors. In addition John has an impressive operational and management portfolio of established proven expertise in incremental business value creation and management of large multi-cultural teams in Vodafone Global in the UK, Japan Telecom in Tokyo, AirTouch and Pacific Bell (now AT&T) in San Francisco and Tokyo, Airtel in Delhi and other telecom and technology companies.

Typically, small businesses are the losers in a price war as they often cannot compete and must shut shop. In the long term your customers are the losers too. But all war is based on deception. In this pricing survival guide, you understand your enemy, pricing strategies and how to jump into battle.

John spoke to attendees across these ranges of issues, noting more specifically that most SMEs operate in a highly competitive environment and hence must differentiate and offer a unique value proposition. This must be made clear to the customer while keeping in mind that there is a limited budget.

“SMEs need to know three things- the market, the art of pricing and the art of war.

Very large companies can engage in price wars because they can get consultants and experts to help them. But we know most price wars are something that most SMEs don’t realise, but they need to think about it since it can affect their business. SMEs need to know the market; what is the market structure, and who are the players.

Secondly, you need to have a pricing objective.

presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

Business made easy John also pointed out that if you are ever caught in a price war you should know how to fight the war. “For most SMEs pricing objective could be just basic survival, or to maximise revenue, or sometimes to maximise the margin.

Remember when you set your pricing; know why you are doing, what you are doing.”

He also went on to mention that SMEs should try to avoid competing on price, especially small businesses.

“Don’t fight on headline pricing since perceived value matters the most. Most customers buy for perceived benefits and not for functionality and features. Price your products according to how much the customer thinks a product should cost them,” he said.

Internationally renowned business advisor Hedi Larbi, Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank How do you protect your business from a possible second slowdown?

Hedi is the Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank, since 2007. He has held various positions in Africa region as a lead specialist, then as Sector Manager in the Sustainable Development department of the Middle East and North Africa Region.

Hedi Larbi, Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank

What are the general economic trends and what should your business be prepared for?

What are the lessons to be learnt and applied from the previous recession? How can you be better prepared this time? How do you go global but be less vulnerable to international fluctuations? These are all questions which Hedi tackled throughout his presentation.

Hedi noted that the future is SME; that they are still below their potential but that huge opportunities existed. He went on to mention that there has been a shift from West to East and a split between oil and non-oil producing regions.

At present, he stated, it is not a level-playing field

in this region as it depends on who you know but that this trend was beginning to shift.

“If we can create an ecosystem for SMEs; create jobs, innovate, and invest in human capital so they have good skills. Remove favouritism. Sit with governments and try to create an effective strategy. Form a business community that works and find the voice through a community. There has never been a better time as governments in the region need to stimulate job creation and the SME sector is the sector with the pulling power to do just this,” he said.

Hedi said that, at present, there are two million graduates every year but not enough jobs; the public sector accounts for 5-10% of this, the private sector 30% and so SMEs needed to create jobs. Within this, the unemployment level of women is the lowest labour participation in world, with only 25% able to access jobs. “If these areas are looked at and efforts made to turn this around then it can go some way to boosting economies” he said.

Inspiring regional business case study Dan Stuart, Founder and CEO, GoNabit (now rebranded Living Social Middle East) My story – from start to success Dan Stuart was the founder and CEO of GoNabit.

He currently leads LivingSocial for the Middle East region after LivingSocial acquired GoNabit in June 2011. Dan holds a Masters Degree in Curriculum, Theory and Learning from the University of Toronto in Canada.

Group-buying website GoNabit was our 2010 Stars of Business Award winner in the category The one to watch (best new business). When LivingSocial acquired GoNabit.com in June 2011, it was hailed as a huge success story involving a locally-based business.

Dan started his presentation by mentioning that a good team is important; his business partner, Sohrab Jahanbani, had something different from him. He had a legacy and he had the passion and commitment for it and that’s what he brought that to the table that made a huge impact. If one person is not passionate, one of you will resent the other, said Dan. “It’s better to get a viable product before you go to raise money. Investors need to be convinced about what you are trying to sell. What is great about our model from an entrepreneur perspective

Dan Stuart, Founder and CEO, GoNabit (now rebranded Living Social)

is that we get instant feedback. For raising money, the one thing I have learnt is that – it is one thing to get an opportunity and another thing to raise money. It’s not good to burn your bridges; it’s a return trip ticket. So you might say I have the best ticket to go somewhere, but you need to come back home and for that you need a return ticket.

“Risk management is very important and the one way to do it is to create your own risk and then at least that way the major risks you are taking, are the risks you can manage. Getting out will take you twice the time that it took you to get in and will cost you five times more so you need to love your excel sheets and your lawyer,” said Dan. A stand-out feature of the rebrand is the launch of the LivingSocial mobile app which brings the speed and convenience of purchasing and redeeming vouchers to local commerce consumers for the first time in the Middle East.

“Buying and redeeming deals while on the go via mobile is a fantastic development for our business, our subscribers and for our merchant partners too. It offers the convenience of paperless transactions and, through geo-location functionality, informs subscribers of unused vouchers for nearby merchants. We all want to use the vouchers that we’ve bought, and with this innovation, it’s now much easier for redemptions to fit into your life and what you do, when you do it,” added Dan. He also said that Living Social’s focus is not to gather as many members as possible, but to provide both businesses and consumers with a rich experience and building a diverse user base.

“We tend to be focused on building a rich user base in all the countries we are in. It is not so much a numbers game from an audience perspective; we are a performance-based marketing business so we look at how we perform in a market. How do our deals perform and what are we able to sell and bring to businesses, whether it is in markets like Egypt or Lebanon,” he said.

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SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

PANEL DISCUSSION

Plotting the route ahead The panel discussion at the SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit attracted a big attendance and invoked much participation from the audience. Several subject matter experts were invited along to give their thoughts and tips on the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the Middle East.

We bring you the highlights from what proved to be an entertaining and informative discussion.

(L-R) Dave Crane, MD, The Life Designers; Mahadevan Radhakanthan, Vice President, Head SME Credit and Policy, ADCB; Hedi Larbi, Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank; Roger Harrop, Business Expert, Author, International Speaker; Amir Sohrabi, Regional Alliance Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Pakistan), SAS; Jonathon Davidson, Chairman and CEO, BBG, Dubai and the Northern Emirates; PK Gulati, CEO, Optimistix Ventures; Shimi Shah, Chairperson at Carousel Solutions and seasoned early stage investor; Monica Malhotra, Owner and Managing Director, Kidville

MEET THE PANELLISTS Mahadevan Radhakanthan, Vice President, Head SME Credit and Policy, ADCB Mahadevan has more than 21 years of commercial banking experience in India, Japan and the UAE. He has predominantly worked in Credit Risk relating to SME and mid corporates.

Hedi Larbi, Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank Hedi is the Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank, since 2007. He has held various positions in Africa region as a lead specialist, then as Sector Manager in the Sustainable Development department of the Middle East and North Africa

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Region. Mr. Larbi, a Tunisian national, joined the Bank in 1993 as a Transport and Urban Economist in the infrastructure division of the West Central Africa Department.

Mr. Larbi received his Baccalaureat in Mathematics from Bizerte College in Tunisia; a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and Management from Ecole des Mines de Paris, France; and an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School, USA. Roger Harrop, Business Expert, Author, International Speaker Roger is a UK based, international motivational business growth speaker who inspires and entertains his audiences with his acclaimed Staying in the Helicopter programmes. He is also an author,

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

business advisor, mentor, consultant and independent director focused on business development and success. Roger Harrop has spent over 25 years leading international business at the highest level, putting him in a unique position to deal with contemporary business challenges. He has extensive business management skills and experience across a broad spectrum of businesses; from small start ups to large multinational corporations; from high tech manufactured products through basic commodities, to people based services businesses and not-for-profit organisations.

Roger spent seven years as Group Chief Executive of a FTSE quoted, high tech industrial instrumentation group with 12 operations over four continents

presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

PANEL DISCUSSION Amir Sohrabi, Regional Alliance Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Pakistan), SAS Amir Sohrabi is the Regional Alliance Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan), SAS. He is an IT professional with over 20 years of experience in business development, sales, channel management, strategic planning and marketing. He has also done projects for the US government and the World Bank.

Jonathon Davidson, Chairman and CEO, BBG, Dubai and the Northern Emirates Jonathon Davidson is the Chairman and CEO, BBG, Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

He is also a lawyer and the Managing Partner at Davidson & Co Legal Consultants.

Jonathon first arrived in Dubai in March 1999 and prior to founding Davidson & Co. in July 2008, was a legal consultant at Clyde & Co, the international legal practice based at its Dubai offices, and more latterly, Associate Legal Director of Sama Dubai, the international real estate arm of Dubai Holding.

PK Gulati, CEO, Optimistix Ventures PK is the CEO, Optimistix Ventures and a serial entrepreneur, early stage investor and a technophile, based in Dubai. He is a trustee on the Global board of TiE and the founder and past president of TiE Middle East.

He has co-founded The Hatch Incubator network and is building a worldwide start up support ecosystem with it. He is also actively involved with various developmental initiatives like StartUp Weekend, Mobile Monday, Dubai Enterprise Centre, Dubai SME and various Angel Investment groups.

Shimi Shah, Chairperson at Carousel Solutions, seasoned early stage investor Shimi Shah, who is the Chairperson at Carousel Solutions, is a seasoned early stage investor. Shimi is also currently the senior advisor to a US based medical product start up company called Ziivaa.

She has been actively involved in angel investment and venture capital for 15 years and has made over 50 investments in early

and expansion stage transaction, of which many have been successfully exited with superior returns for investors. Another business, is a pioneering new company called Tilly & Pinch, a social selling business in the accessories sector.

EXCERPTS FROM THE PANEL DISCUSSION

Monica Malhotra, Owner and Managing Director, Kidville Monica Malhotra is the owner and Managing Director of Kidville. She has professional experience of over 13 years in finance, strategy and operations at KPMG Consulting in London, Pfizer and Goldman Sachs in New York.

Dave Crane This question is directed to Mahadevan.

Mahadevan what is the situation like for start ups or SMEs seeking funding from banks and what is the strategy for lending from ADCB? Mahadevan Radhakanthan If it is a new start up we need to understand the nature of the business because most start ups are expat driven and if it fails there is no plan B and they leave the country. For the nationals, the government has some

Mahadevan Radhakanthan, Vice President, Head SME Credit and Policy, ADCB; and Hedi Larbi, Director, Middle East and North Africa Department, The World Bank

Dave Crane, Moderator and Managing Director, The Life Designers Dave is the most highly requested trainers and motivational speakers in the market. In the last few years he has worked in Spain, South Africa, Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Egypt, the Carribean, Italy and Monaco. One motivational session in Greece led to a global company recording 49% growth in sales within their next 12 month period and they attributed much of it to his work.

A certified NFNLP hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner and life coach, Dave is also one of the best known names in regional radio having worked on 99.3 Radio 2 FM and was formerly the station manager of 104.8 Channel 4 FM and Dubai 92 FM.

agencies that support start ups. Banks look at a year’s vintage and growth.”

The medium sector is over funded. And they come to different banks asking for reduced rate and sometimes we do reduce the rate, because if they have been our customer for the last 5-7 years and their turnover is okay, we can trust them. So, it’s a mixture you do all the time. I agree, for a start up, especially for an expat it is difficult because they need to show the money. Sometimes, their personal net worth is high but what they put on the table may not be much.”

Dave Crane How important is the private sector in the region in creating employment and how can it best do this in the years ahead?

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SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

PANEL DISCUSSION

ANALYTI their growth in recent years. What would you recommend for SMEs wishing to inject new life into their business?

Shimi Shah There are three keywords; focus, trend and manage. 2012 will be challenging year for everyone, established SMEs as well as start ups.

Understanding your customers and their changing needs is vital. There needs to be more careful long Sharp skepticism and increased regulatory pressures call for a firmwide approach term planning by many businesses in the region – (L-R) Roger Harrop, Business Expert, Author, International Speaker; Amir Sohrabi, Regional Alliance you integrate strategies throughout your business cycle and focus on long-term gro Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Pakistan) SAS; and Jonathon in order for this to work there needs to be better Davidson, Chairman and CEO, BBG, Dubai and the Northern Emirates cash flow management, an increased effort to retain quality staff and minimise staff turnover.

We all know that it can be challenging for Hedi Larbi SMEs to raise capital, especially in this region and The private sector is very important now and it is therefore angel investing critical for this region; possible to join forces to create a voice to bring the more guidance on how best to invest and expand government to partner with you and make policies. networks and seek out potential investors is so If we succeed in improving and levelling the playing important. What there certainly needs to be more field, we have a bright future in the region. of is education regarding all of these factors.

Risks are everywhere and the issues in this are going to affect every government to some extent.

Roger Harrop Social and political stability will depend on how Monica Malhotra, Owner and Managing Director, Kidville Belief, passion and courage is what modern the private sector will create jobs and it is a great business leaders need. Start ups need to believe in opportunity for the private sector to work with the what they do and have passion towards it because make it better. Everyone needs to be a stakeholder governments to create the business environment. that’s what will drive them forward, but, they have for SMEs, including banks.

Youth need employment and we also need to to have the courage to seize those opportunities Have expectations of raising your money; engage the women in the workforce. in the first place. They need to always look at investors will ask whether you’re doing it to the big picture when considering their business invest in yourself or the company and also be Jonathon Davidson development; there are plenty of opportunities in committed to having both a reasonable and The governments and private sector compliment the region and it’s absolutely up to them to make flexible business plan.

Even though it’s a small each others’ progress and development. However, SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are tradem the most out of those opportunities. ecosystem there is still tremendous scope for there is work to be done to ensure that by growth in this region; it’s a matter of staying both parties maintain and grow already existing Monica Malhotra hungry, staying foolish and being passionate. cooperation. From the government side, more SMEs need to look for creative solutions, especially freedom should be given to SMEs, simpler rules, when budgets are limited and strained. What have Amir Sohrabi regulations and legal processes should be adapted you not done yet? Focus on retention of existing It is always critical to plan ahead, especially if you’re to help SMEs strive and grow. On the other hand, customers, which is cheaper than acquiring new in management position. However, markets aren’t SMEs need to plan wisely and try not to highly customers. It’s equally important to retain talent for always predictable, and that applies to economic depend on loans to start or run their business. My the same reasons. turbulences as well. This is the right time for SMEs advice to them is not to use loans and try to save, What I have seen that there is often a lack to grow and make gain higher grounds as weak at least in the first year. of oversight on existing regulations and in some competitors will have difficulties surviving this fast cases businesses are operating outside the lines of changing economic environment. Actually it is Dave Crane regulatory requirements. What is needed is further much easier for SMEs to move forward, recover Having mentored many entrepreneurs and aided regulation and an effort by businesses to exercise and change their business strategy than it is for people in starting up businesses, PK what do you due diligence in order to not only meet such large enterprises, simply because smaller businesses see as major points of consideration for not only guidelines but also to cater to the local needs. can make critical decisions faster, and that can help start ups but already established SMEs? Often under estimated is the power of creating them gain market share faster. and joining like-minded networks - more times PK than I care to remember I have seen such networks Dave Crane We still have a few years of pressure, especially benefit businesses, perhaps indirectly, but they are Many SMEs have been established for quite if you’re a small company. Focus on your team – still making a difference nonetheless. some time but may have become stagnant with make them stronger – and look at your product –

Find the delicate balance

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

ICS

e.

h to managing risk. SAS helps owth. Decide with confidence. ®

sas.com/balance

ANALYTICS

marks of their respective companies. © 2011 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. S71591US.0411

Find the delicate balance.

Sharp skepticism and increased regulatory pressures call for a firmwide approach to managing risk. SAS helps you integrate strategies throughout your business cycle and focus on long-term growth. Decide with confidence. ®

sas.com/balance

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. © 2011 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. S71591US.0411

presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

WORKSHOPS

MARKETING MAGIC For the workshops we sought out some of the region’s leading experts. As was the format with last year’s workshops, we split the sessions into three separate tracks, and each covered specific SME concerns, such as marketing, finance and crisis management. Ali Koaik, covers the key learnings from this session.

Maxmising the power of referrals

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etworking and social media are among some of the most effective marketing and sales techniques for SMEs. When done correctly and effectively, it could be more rewarding and a bang for the buck than direct marketing that may cost small businesses an arm and a leg.

This workshop at the SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit tried to generate more understanding around this topic through some of the best experts in the field.

Phil Bedford, who is known as the “The Rebel Networker”, and the Managing Director of The Referral Institute Middle East, talked about our misperception and misunderstanding of the concept of networking for business: “The challenge with the most people networking is that they’re not networking; they are actually cold calling face to face. The owners of a business would simply ask their staff to go to a networking event and put a target for them on the number of business cards they should come back with! Then he asks them to send them emails and try to sell them”.

Unfortunately that’s how we were all brought up to do our networking; our idea of networking is to scoop business cards and try to sell it to everybody in the room. It is right that we need to sell our business cards to as many people as possible, but we can make a world of difference just by changing our approach.

“The first thing we need to do when we try to network and meet people, is to try and

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become visible, they need to know that we exist; they need to know roughly what we do and they need to believe that we do a good job. Once that has been accomplished, we start developing trust which develops credibility and builds a relationship which may lead to profitability” Phil explains.

“If we think about it, if we’ve just met someone and all he’s trying to do is sell us

Phil Bedford – The Rebel Networker, Managing Director, The Referral Institute Middle East

“If you try to help someone’s business by referring him to someone instead of trying to close a single deal with him, you will develop a long term relationship where he or she will be willing to do the same for you.” something, then we will start finding an excuse to get away from him, and that’s what is called wrong networking.”

Statistics show that if there are about a 100 people in a room, the chances of finding people who are interested in buying our product or service is no higher than 2%, this means, if we try to sell to every person we meet in the room,

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY DECEMBER2012 2011

there is a chance that you might actually annoy the small percentage of potential clients.

What we need to do is to start developing relationships by simply changing the dynamics of our networking approach. Phil explains “When you network with people and before you actually start trying selling something, try to ask them what they do, why they are there and then try to suggest how you can help them. And always keep asking yourself if you’re actually selling too much, or if you’re actually trying to help other people with their business while developing relationships?”

If you try to help someone’s business by referring him to someone instead of trying to close a single deal with him, you will develop a long term relationship where he or she will be willing to do the same for you.

Using simple math, on average, each person knows about a 1000 people, so instead of attempting to sell my product to that one person, I am developing a long term relationship that will grant me access to the people he knows, and instead of selling him one product, I will have the opportunity to sell to at least 20 people if we assumed that only 2% would be interested to buy my product.

Branding as part of the marketing magic mix

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any people wrongfully assume that the brand is defined by a sexy, cool or catchy logo that will attract customer’s attention. However, a brand is not just a logo, colour or shape; it’s not the beautiful packaging or the catchy TV ad. All of that is marketing. The brand is much

presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

WORKSHOPS more than that, as Mark Rogers, Founding Partner, mojo Group defines: “The brand is the reputation of your product or service that sits in the mind of your client or customer.”

So what are the things SMEs need to look at when setting up a brand?

Mark explains: “When we look for a brand for a client, we deconstruct it and look into three things. The first thing we look at is

Kurt Blanckenberg, Founding Partner, mojo Group

“The third thing we look at is the soul. It’s the thing inside the brand that connects with the consumer and that is the hardest part to get right when you’re marketing. It is usually very difficult to find and very difficult to define but at the same time a very important part of your brand.” the art. When you want to sell your brand, whatever it is, they’ll be an art in what you do and you have to figure out what that art is”.

The second thing we look at is the business part of it so when we are talking to marketing people then the focus is on the marketing and when we are talking to commercial people we talk about the commercial aspects of the brand and how to drive profitability and so on”.

“The third thing we look at is the soul. It’s the thing inside the brand that connects with the consumer and that is the hardest part to get right when you’re marketing. It is usually very difficult to find and very difficult to define but at the same time a very important part of your brand”.

The brand is what defines your product in the customers’ minds. As a customer, you will be able easily predicted what kind of product you should be expecting from a certain brand in

term of look, quality, service and functionality, and that is what branding is about.

And that is why it is absolutely critical to unify your business with your brand. And as a company, if you haven’t unified your vision and if your brand voice is not consistent with it, then you will fail.

Mark explains: “Everybody within your business needs to know the story and they need to speak with a single voice, you need to agree who you are and what your value is to consumers, and to do that you need to do three things: One, you need to get the organisation behind you, two you need to simplify your message and you need to create a message with words or with picture or both so that everybody, from your employees to your customers, understands what your brand promise is. Three, you need to amplify the message, despite perhaps not having the budgets that larger companies possess, but which can be achieved to some extent with the help of social media.

choosing the “get more applications” option from the top bar menu.

But when it comes to Twitter, it’s all about being active and visible, and to do that, many people think it is very time consuming and many companies do consider hiring someone just to keep their Twitter account busy!

“The main point is to drive people to your profile using keywords that will help them find you using the search engine, so try to repeat in your profile the words that will make your profile appear on the top of the search result.”

Social media done right

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reating a profile on any social media Website is not enough and besides trying to find people who would be interested in connecting with you, you need to be able to find people who are looking for your type of services or products.

Alan explained: “The main point is to drive people to your profile using keywords that will help them find you using the search engine, so try to repeat in your profile the words that will make your profile appear on the top of the search result – people simply won’t be searching for your name and so you need to draw them closer to your product or service by an alternative means.”

Additionally, you can rearrange the boxes within your LinkedIn profile by putting the important things on top, so if you are looking for a job, place your CV at the top but if you’re providing a service put this description instead and so on.

You can add to the links anything that you would like to promote, such as word documents, some powerpoint slides or presentations, PDF files or images by simply

Alan Devereux, Communications Officer, British Business Group

“Twitter does not need to be hard work; I was able to create over six thousand tweets since my Twitter account was created last October and that’s about 50 tweets a day. There is no way I can be able to do that and have a full time job at the same time, so what I do is that I schedule and plan.”

He explains: “There are many applications that you can use within Twitter to schedule your tweets. Some of them will highlight the times when your followers are highly active and schedule your tweets accordingly. So I prepare my tweets and schedule them for the week and the program will do the job of sending them during the times when my followers are highly active”.

“You can also categorise your followers by lists to make sure you are tweeting the right message to the right people in the targeted country. However, this should be measured, and you can use other applications that will calculate the number of clicks on a particular tweet and therefore track down what works and what doesn’t.”

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SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

WORKSHOPS

STAGES OF FUNDING

Financing is undoubtedly one of the most debated topics where SMEs are concerned. At a time when it is so vital for the growth of the sector, our experts showed there is more than one way to skin a cat! There is always the option of seeking funding from banks, but there are also alternative routes to financing your business. Meghna Pant reports.

How to be irresistible to banks

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ilanjan Ray made it clear from the outset that bank funding is not a substitute for owner’s equity. The session was held amidst the backdrop of growing clamor against bank lending practices to SMEs, especially in this region.

He went on to clarify a lot of misnomers that start ups and business owners have with regard to bank lending and regulatory policies. “Return on capital expected from bank lending and owner’s equity are not interchangeable,” he emphasised. These points were made as Nilanjan advised companies on how to look more attractive to banks while initiating loans and funding, while also debunking conspiracy theories about bank lending in view of the recent economic recession and its impact on this region.

He tackled many concerns raised by attendees, pointing special attention to the fact that banks do not benefit from delaying a loan decision. He said that the banks typically lend against the assessed capacity of a business, not to create more paperwork for businesses, but in order to generate future income from identifiable current or fixed assets.

Talking specifically about the SMEs role in bank lending, he admitted that, “SME lending does pose a unique challenge for banks.”

He put to rest the theory that a good lending policy views collateral as of primary importance.

“Primary collaterals are often the underlying

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“There are three primary things that banks are interested in when issuing loans. These are owner commitment, identifiable underlying current or fixed assets to secure a loan, and identifiable cash flows to repay loans.”

regulations that govern whom they lend to and under what conditions. SMEs must also understand that with growing fear of defaults around the world, banks as a whole have adopted more stringent lending practices.

Despite this, there is a way to avail of lending facilities in a way that benefits an SME business while not endangering a bank.

Nilanjan, is the Senior Vice President, Head - SME Banking, ADCB. Prior to joining ADCB, Nilanjan had worked in ICICI Bank, Bahrain as Vice President, Corporate & Commercial Banking, in charge of launching the Commercial banking proposition for ICICI Bank in GCC.

Catching the attention of angels and VCs

Nilanjan Ray, Senior Vice President, Head - SME Banking, ADCB

current assets of the business, which will bring in revenue if the business has to be sold. But that does not mean that they are the sole contender for a bank to lend to SMEs.” So what do banks look for when lending to SMEs? “There are three primary things that banks are interested in when issuing loans. These are owner commitment, identifiable underlying current or fixed assets to secure a loan, and identifiable cash flows to repay loans.”

SMEs would greatly benefit by taking Nilanjan’s advice on how best to approach banks when looking for funding for their business. Banks have their own limitations and

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY DECEMBER2012 2011

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o benevolent capital is available in this region for SMEs. There is a need to kick-start an ecosystem for start ups, according to the CEO of Optimistix Ventures, PK Gulati.

A respected and sought after speaker, if one were to judge by the number of attendees in the room, he stated, “For any new business it is important to have a solid business idea, study the market and to build a team, especially at the initial stage of investment where the only tangible asset is the start up owner and his team.”

He did admit that in this region most start ups are single-member organisations and teams are rare to see.

PK gave insightful tips on how a start up can raise money. The good news for

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SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

WORKSHOPS

“For any new business it is important to have a solid business idea, study the market and to build a team, especially at the initial stage of investment where the only tangible asset is the start up owner and his team.”

and a technophile, based in Dubai. He is a trustee on the Global board of TiE and the founder and past president of TiE Middle East.

Gearing up for an IPO

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lessandro Tricoli, who works with Fichte & Co Legal Consultancy, stated at the onset that gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) is not easy business and it is not for everyone.

The first thing that a company has to do is to identify if they need to go public.

PK Gulati, CEO, Optimistix Ventures

companies is that there is ample liquidity in Dubai. “Risk capital to the tune of USD 50,000-100,000 is easily available to new businesses as long as they have a viable venture and meet the criteria listed above,” said PK. He went on to explain the revenue model of venture capitalists so start up’s better understand how this business works.

Most venture capitals have 2% plus carry business, so if they have a USD 100 million fund, they have to run on USD two million.

Since this is the only guaranteed part, it sets a high threshold for big ticket investments.

Therefore, start ups requiring handholding typically attract less investment. Due to limited number of exit options in this region, by way of IPOs, the risk aversion for these funds obviously increases. This is not set in stone, though, he clarified, as there are all kinds of players in the marketplace looking to fund all types of businesses.

“The best way to attract venture capital investments for a start up is to meet people and network, especially in this region, where no one lends unless they know you,” concluded PK. PK is the CEO, Optimistix Ventures and a serial entrepreneur, early stage investor

“The route is winding, but that should not discourage companies from availing of an IPO. There are several advantages with an IPO. It’s an easier way to raise cash, especially if a company needs immediate capital,” he said. It gives a company visibility, while also allowing them to study and hence better understand their own business. Tricoli also added, “Early stage investors like IPOs as it gives them the option of cash investments.”

It’s not a walk in the park either, so gear up for an IPO only if you are ready to invest time, he noted. An average IPO can take up to six months to two years of management time. Not only is it time consuming but it is also an expensive procedure. In this region, 5% of proceeds from stock sales can be used for an IPO. If this sounds expensive then bear in mind that in the US this figure can rise to 15 20%. “For management who prefer not to divulge too much information about their company, an IPO may not be the best route, as it involves disclosing a lot of information about your company. And after all that effort, the IPO may not yield the results a company expected, as success is not guaranteed.”

Despite all this, if a company still wants to go ahead with an IPO, then Tricoli recommended some important steps. “The first step is to study your company. What are the growth prospects? They must be solid to proceed with an IPO. Is the company uniquely positioned?”

“A company must choose a good management team and put together a reliable external and internal team as it embarks on an IPO.” He reiterated that nothing works as well as a good business plan, even if a company has to hire experts to draft it.

“Remember that senior management, Board of Directors and the CEO will have to take on new roles, especially in order to reassure the market,” he said to further illustrate his point. A good rule of thumb for a company going through

Alessandro Tricoli, Fichte & Co Legal Consultancy

“The first step is to study your company. What are the growth prospects? They must be solid to proceed with an IPO. Is the company uniquely positioned? A company must choose a good management team and put together a reliable external and internal team as it embarks on an IPO.” the IPO route is to manage performance expectations. If a company has conservative financial projections then it will be better off if it exceeds these expectations in the marketplace.

Alessandro is a senior associate with Fichte & Co., specialising in shipping and ship finance and head of the award winning firm’s dry shipping team.

Alessandro is named in the Legal 500 (Shipping) 2011, and a regular speaker at presentations and seminars on finance and maritime topics as well as contributor to different journals .

DECEMBER JANUARY 2011 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

WORKSHOPS

HOW TO MASTER DISASTER At present some SMEs are faced with the uphill struggle of turning their business around for fear it will not recover. Our experts gave invaluable advice about how to turn negative into positive and how by implementing some simple operational structures, your business can begin that route back to profitability. Aparna Shivpuri Arya reports.

The impact of analytics on SMEs

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n his presentation, Amir talked about managing risks to secure the future of the business. According to him, there are no simple answers to averting risks, but there are ways in which you can lower your risks.

And that is where business analytics come in play and how you leverage your risks and make your decisions so that they have a much better impact.

Because of the complex environment that we are dealing with, which we cannot control, our risks get compounded and, SMEs do not have the expertise to deal with these risks, he noted. It is too complex for SMEs to manage risk. Highlighting on the major barriers to mitigating risks, Amir said, “Poor communication across all departments is one of the major barriers to manage risks.

People are not communicating.” He also added that there is insufficient expertise and knowledge about managing data.

When asked by the audience, to define risk, Amir said risk is uncertainty within business and the problems with measuring it. For example, in construction business, the risk is the cost of labour and raw material which can spike due to currency fluctuations. Each business has its own risk indicators that they have to measure, manage and plug.

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“Because of the complex environment that we are dealing with, which we cannot control, our risks get compounded and SMEs do not have the expertise to deal with these risks. ”

Amir Sohrabi, Regional Alliance Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Pakistan) SAS

Amir then moved on to explaining what business analytics is all about and how it can help avert disaster. One of the key indicators is price; we have to be price sensitive and our pricing and solution should be relevant to return of investment, he said. Business analytics helps you to manage your data and to forecast what will be the best products to focus on and so it gives a decision support system which helps you take a business decision

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY DECEMBER2012 2011

and allow you to be nimble on your feet.

“Therefore, business analytics allows any organisation to gain insight and gain advantage of their market space.”

To conclude, Amir advised the audience that the competitive landscape is changing very quickly and SMEs that come up with innovative thinking and are able to carry it based on some analytical thinking. “If you have a basic framework of this type of practice, and if you show that you understand a bank’s language and have the numbers in place and calculate your risks, then you stand a better chance. That’s why it is important to have business analytics in place.”

Amir is the Regional Alliance Manager, Middle East & Africa Region (Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan) SAS. He is an IT professional with over 20 years of experience in business development, sales, channel management, strategic planning and marketing. He has also done projects for the US government and the World Bank.

Reputational crisis management

W

hatever kind of business you are, reputation is intrinsic and it is very difficult to quantify and put a value on it. It is critical to business and affects all,” said Camellia, as

presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

WORKSHOPS she started her presentation on reputational crisis management .

Camellia stressed on never letting a crisis go to waste; from every crisis there are lessons.

Corporates are often hit by crisis but how they handle it is what makes the difference. Camellia used the example of Toyota to explain this point. As many of you know, cars get called back every

“How can we turn a problem situation into a positive situation?

Reputational crisis comes in all shapes and sizes. Perception, unpredicted events, health hazards, economic challenges are some of the reasons that can lead to a crisis and if they are not handled properly can damage the reputation.”

and information sharing is key to handling any situation,” advised Camellia.

Some of the golden rules of preventing a reputational crisis, which must be remembered, are; do not wait until it’s too late. Predict, plan and practice are the three key things and it is also important to have a crisis team in place and a designated spokesperson who is media trained to do public speaking and ensures that the message being conveyed is consistent.

With every aspect of business being digitalised, another aspect of reputational crisis is now digital crisis and it’s important to have guidelines about communicating online, dealing with social media and not putting office information and happenings on social network.

Camilla is the Managing Partner, DABO & Co. Her expertise lies in strategic communications and the implementation of comprehensive Middle East PR campaigns.

Restructuring: Perceptions and realities

N

Camilla d’Abo, Managing Partner, DABO & Co

time but the problem is when it becomes a reputational crisis and how they handle it. The problem with Toyota was how they actually communicated it to the customers.

They lost 15% of their share price and were downgraded within global rankings.

How can we turn a problem situation into a positive situation? Reputational crisis comes in all shapes and sizes.

Perception, unpredicted events, health hazards, economic challenges, are some of the reasons that can lead to a crisis, and if they are not handled properly, can damage the reputation.

“The key to it all is response. You can either be defensive or offensive. Defensive approach of being silent, making excuses and this does not help. Corrective action

eel defined restructuring as, substantial changes in ownership, control and financial structure, business portfolio, and the operating environment in order to restructure.

Three questions need to be asked; why, how and when. It is important to know what the fundamental problem is, how should you create or preserve the present value and when the right time to take action is. Measures should be pre-emptive and not taken under duress.

Neel said SMEs need to analyse their financials and evaluate the reasons for performance or non-performance. Based on the evaluation, you need to have an action plan with a proper framework.

Follow that up with monitoring the progress and revisit your financials periodically.

This needs to be done on a regular basis by an organisation as a process and not just looking for a crisis and then restructure. “We need to move from post mortem to prevention,” said Neel.

“The key issue of concern that we find within SMEs is the prevalence of micro management. Senior management is too involved, which gives them little time to do strategic thinking. All this leads to diminishing returns to equity.”

Neelakantan Krishnaswamy (Neel), Senior Consultant, Morison Menon Group

The key issue of concern that we find within SMEs is prevalence of micro management and senior management is too involved, which gives them little time to do strategic thinking. All this leads to diminishing returns to equity.

For restructuring you need to fix your business, finances and partnerships. When you fix a business there are three basic things; customers, market and people. For markets, you need to look at alternates.

For people, you need to see whose performing and whose not, do they have the necessary competence and who are the customers and strategic partners.

Proactive budgeting and monitoring is important. “Manage your budget and make people accountable and what they receive from the customers,” added Neel.

All this needs to be done on a proactive basis and not after a crisis.

Neelakantan (Neel) is senior consultant, Morison Menon Group. He is an engineer by qualification with a professional career spanning 17 years. He has advised many organisations, including SMEs and large corporate houses, on process re-engineering, risk management and financial planning.

DECEMBER JANUARY 2011 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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presents

SME Advisor Stars of Business Summit

Snapshot!

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3 5 4

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

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©2011 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved. Schneider Electric, APC, StruxureWare, and InfraStruxure are trademarks owned by Schneider Electric Industries SAS or its affiliated companies.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. APC Middle East, PO Box - 53852, Dubai, United Arab Emirates • 998-4108_ME-GB

Trade

Partnerships

Ensuring food supply With rising population and changing consumer habits, food security is one of the most important issues facing the Gulf countries. Dr. Ashraf Mahate, Head of Export Market Intelligence, Dubai Exports, and Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee, Dubai Economic Department, talks to us about how the region can deal with this situation.

G

ulf countries currently import approximately 65% of their food requirement, amounting to USD 25.8 billion (2010 data) or 3% of the total regional GDP. It is predicted that this trend will continue and food imports will rise to USD 36.3 billion in 2015 and USD 53.1 billion by 2020.

The fear that Gulf countries may not be able to feed their population has resulted in them pursuing a number of different strategies, most notably the purchase of land banks in various friendly countries in Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe; building

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strategic stock piles; and enhancing domestic production through subsidies or investment in new farming techniques.

Formally food security implies “access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life� (definition adopted by the 1996 World Food Summit). Such a broad definition embodies three key factors, namely, the availability, access and utilisation of food.

In the case of food availability, the definition assumes that sufficient quantities need to be available on a consistent basis either through reserve stockpiles, trade or even aid. Second, access to food assumes that people should be able to acquire it in sufficient quantities

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

either through purchase, domestic production, barter or even aid. Third, the utilisation of food assumes that it needs to have a beneficial nutritional value and as such it needs to have appropriate cooking, hygiene, storage and sanitation facilities.

So far the governments in each of the Gulf countries have pursued the various food security strategies without any real involvement from the private sector. This is despite the fact that the private sector is many times larger than the public sector and has the ability to contribute to the achievement of national goals. Of course, unlike the public sector, which seeks to enhance social welfare, private businesses are motivated by potential profits of a project or venture. In this regard, the private sector can play a pivotal role in enhancing government efforts in the area of food security.

Private businesses have the potential to carry out sustained long term investments in agriculture, as well as food production and storage. The private sector also owns and manages a vast amount of knowledge and intellectual property, some of which can be used in the area of food security. More importantly, global food security poses challenges which are complex and interconnected, therefore, the private sector with its established resources and experience is more able to innovate than the public sector.

In order to effectively deal with the challenges posed by the food security problem, there needs to be a strong partnership between public institutions and the private sector. There is a growing global realisation that governmental institutions need to work with the private sector.

This realisation also comes about due to the need for governments to become more efficient and effective through the removal of duplicative activities. At the same time the public private-partnerships seek to scale up the activities of the private sector. In doing so, these partnerships seek to work on one, or at best a few large projects or initiatives, whereby all the partners can utilise their strengths, instead of the government using its cheque book to solve a problem that may not be sustainable.

These partnerships need to allow for the sharing of resources, risks, and of course benefits. In this manner the partnerships become more than an avenue for raising low cost finance. More structured partnerships tend

Trade

Partnerships

to include those involved in knowledge centres such as, universities and research institutions, farmers or even owners of land along with businesses in food production and storage as well as firms in the logistics and retailing sector.

In this manner the public-private partnerships seeks to incorporate all the participants in the value chain or at least as many as possible, for the initiative to achieve its desired outcome. The coming together of these different groups is underpinned by the common benefits that arise from the synergies of the partnership. Typical examples of the common benefits are, a reduction in costs and risks entailed in research as well as the provision of direction towards market driven relevancy of research; the bringing together of complementary abilities, skills, and resources and hence improved competencies; and the ability to allow small scale firms (SMEs) to access knowledge and technologies which they would not otherwise have the ability to exploit.

The coming together of public and private participants also allows for divergent interests of both sectors to converge. For instance, a new invention or technological

Private businesses have the potential to can carry out sustained long term investments in agriculture, as well as food production and storage.

Dr. Ashraf Mahate

and proportional to the cost incurred by each party. Although, there is no golden rule as to what may be considered proportional, it is generally considered to be the rate that satisfies all the parties. A totally equitable

In the first instance, governments need to reform laws and policies that guide business activity as well as to incorporate SMEs into the public private partnership framework.

Second, governments need to build investor confidence through investment in infrastructure and the support of research and development centres. The establishment of research and development centers will allow for the private sector, especially SMEs to innovate and market the inventions that are developed. Third, the private sector, and in particular SMEs, need to be encouraged to enter the agriculture, food storage and production industries so as to ensure the future security of the country’s food supplies and to capitalise on the huge reservoir of unused potential especially within the SME sector.

About In order to effectively deal with the challenges posed by the food security problem there needs to be strong partnerships between public institutions and the private sector. There is a growing global realisation that governmental institutions need to work with the private sector.

breakthrough may improve yields for small scale producers (which is typically the case in the UAE) with minimal usage of water. This in turn will generate higher profits for the food storage and processing industry. At the same time it allows for the knowledge centre to immediately commercialise research and bring it to the marketplace.

Therefore, public private partnerships are formed and maintained as long as all the participants believe that benefits will be accrued. This may be the case even though the participants may have different goals or objectives. The ideal situation for such a partnership is where the benefits are positive

ratio would be where each party receives the same rate of increase on their investment (cost).

Various examples have shown that public private partnerships have the ability to harness the experience and strength of small and medium size enterprises. However, for this partnership to take place and for the development of the SME sector to take place, governments need to create an enabling environment. The key aspect of the enabling environment is the incentives that are made available to SMEs to harness their experience and ability to advance the cause of food security.

Dr. Ashraf Mahate is the Head of Export Market Intelligence at Dubai Exports (formerly known as the Dubai Export Development Corporation), which is an agency of the Dubai Economic Department. Dr. Mahate is also the Vice Chair of the Economic Policy Committee with the Dubai Economic Department. He has written a number of journal articles, chapters in books and edited books in the areas of economics, finance and banking. He has also presented papers at major international conferences. Dr. Mahate has provided extensive consultancy services to various organisations in the areas of banking, economics and finance. He has been a director of a number of companies including a venture capital company and a private equity fund.

Dr. Mahate received his doctorate from Cass City University Business School in London (UK) which was ranked by the Financial Times newspaper as the 12th best university in the world for finance.

He read Economics at University College London, followed by a Masters in International Economics and Banking at the University of Wales in Cardiff.

Dr. Mahate is a professional educator and received his training at the Institute of Education (University of London). He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Managers (UK) and a Member of the Institute of Commercial Management (UK). He is also a member of the Association of Certified AntiMoney Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Opportunities Planning

Cash is king!

In the first of a three-part series, John Lincoln, Vice President, Enterprise Marketing, du, talks to us about the importance of planning, funding and managing cash flow for small businesses.

I

n business and in personal life, cash is the life line for most of the things we do. There are many sources of funding that small business owners and investors can turn to, to fund their new business, or manage the growth of an existing business.

Cash flow management is not just raising cash for your startup or growing business.

Before I discuss about sources for funding and cash flow management, it is important to know

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some fundamentals that any funder, lender, or investors seek, before they dish out their hard earned money to you.

First and foremost, you need a business plan! Yes, it seems too obvious. You will be surprised that not many entrepreneurs have it. You need to have a plan before you can execute. If you cannot make one, get a friend or pay a professional to write one for you. It is the first step before you start on your new venture.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

A plan gives you direction, like a compass navigating you through troubled waters.

Remember that good business plans help shape good decisions.

Why do you need a business plan?

You obviously need a business plan for sharing and presenting to your potential investors. My top ten compelling reasons, as to why you need to develop a business plan are:

Opportunities Planning

1 Feasibility A business plan helps you determine if your new business idea is feasible, viable and sustainable.

2 Resources requirements A business plan helps you identify the level of short, medium and long term financial and human resources that you will need to commit to your venture.

3 Risks A business plan will help you to identify all the risks to your proposed venture, and mitigate potential risks.

Stakeholder management A business plan is one of the most important tools for you to communicate to your investors, lenders, employees and suppliers.

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First and foremost, you need a business plan! Yes, it seems too obvious. You will be surprised that not many entrepreneurs have it. You need to have a plan before you can execute. as identify skill gaps that you need to fill for your new business.

What do lenders and investors look for before funding – 20 things that most investors will ask you!

I have often been approached by many entrepreneurs seeking my advice or involvement in a venture. I often put the entrepreneur through a list of 20 questions before I give my nod. Here they are:

Funding requirements A business plan is critical to identify your funding requirements and timelines for funding.

1 Owner credibility Do you have references to attest to your character and professional capabilities? People invest in people first!

Commercial model A business plan will help you to know if your commercial model and pricing are realistic, and whether you need to tweak or change your original assumptions.

Business plan Do you have a well documented business plan?

If you don’t, then don’t bother wasting your time further. No one else will waste their time with you.

7 Operating model A business plan forces you to think about your new venture’s operating model. It further forces you to think and map the end to end the processes that you need to execute your business.

3 Vision and mission Have you clearly articulated what the vision and mission of your venture is? This does not mean that you cut and paste from others to create your vision and mission statement.

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Marketing plan A business plan is a precursor to a marketing plan. You cannot have a marketing plan without a business plan.

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9 Competitors A business plan forces you to think about your competitors, and analyse your potential strengths and opportunities, as well as the potential weaknesses and threats to your business.

10 People A business plan helps you to identify the right resources required for your new venture as well

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4 Is the idea marketable?

You must have a business plan with a marketable idea. If it cannot be marketed, then it is of no use.

Target market 5 You should have a clear view, as to what your target market would be and whether the market potential is realistic or unrealistic, too narrow or has high potential for growth.

6 Commercial model How is money flowing to your business? Is it easy to explain? Will the other players in the industry value chain tolerate your existence and let you “eat their lunch”?

John Lincoln

7 Operating model Do you have a plan for how your business would be run? These include the processes of hiring, accounting, product development, sales and marketing, supply chain management and other processes, required to operate your business.

8 Business strategy Is there a business strategy to execute the plan and is it realistic?

9 Risk mitigation Have you identified the potential market, technological, legal, and human capital risks for your new venture? If risks have been identified, do you have a plan to mitigate these risks?

10 Profit potential You business plan should reflect realistic profit potential in a reasonable period of time. The annual rate of returns should be high enough to compensate the risk that a potential investor is making.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Opportunities Planning

11 Unique value proposition How do you differentiate in the market visa-vis your competitors? Are you a “me too” player? If you are that, then you do not have much chance to get funding from established sources. You have to clearly articulate as to how and why you will have an edge over your competition.

What are the entry barriers for others to replicate your business model? What is the window of opportunity that you have to get scale before other imitators follow your model?

16 Execution capability Are you able to execute and deliver a superb quality proposition with a high degree of probability? Your plan is not worth a penny if you cannot execute. What are the weak points in your execution? How are you going to mitigate this weak area?

12 Go to market model Do you have a clear view about you will take your proposition to market? Do you

18 Level of risk of the owner/s Do you have “skin in the game?” What have you risked for this venture? Are you counting on a full

17 Management capability Do you have an experienced team running the business? Are they credible? Are their experiences verifiable? Do they have the relevant functional and managerial expertise?

You should have a clear view as to who your target market would be and whether the market potential is realistic or unrealistic, too narrow, or has high potential for growth.

Time bound)! You cannot be all things to all people indefinitely. If your plan is not focused and time bound, in all likelihood it is not a realistic plan!

I would also recommend that you read the following relevant articles written by me; Connecting the dots, http://www.smeadvisor. com/2011/12/connecting-the-dots/ and Virtuous vs. vicious http://www.smeadvisor.com/2011/10/ virtuous-vs-vicious/.

I leave you with two excellent quotes on business planning.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act.

There is no other route to success.” – author unknown “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin Without a plan, you cannot raise funds, let alone act or respond to changes in business.

Therefore, Plan! Plan! Plan!

About have a view on how you will promote the business? What channels will you engage to take the product to market? How will you compensate them?

“OPM” (other people’s money) funding strategy?

If you counting 100% on OPM and if you don’t have any sweat equity, you can forget about raising any money!

13 Sales and marketing capability Do you have the right folks to market and sell your proposition? This is one of the most important functions, critical for the success of your business. Having a bunch of talented technology people is not enough. Likewise, having all the marketing and sales superstars, without the relevant technology talents, is equally not a viable proposition.

19 Socio-economic benefits and ethics Is your business legal? Is it an ethical business that the investors can be proud of being associated with?

14 Technology Is the technology unique? Is it patentable?

Do you have the right people to develop the proposition? Is it easily imitable?

Supplier and partner commitments Have your secured commitment to supply from your vendors and suppliers? Are your vendors and partners reliable and dependable?

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20 Multi-scenario financial projections Do you have financial projections for all situations? Have you projected your income statements, balance sheet, and cash flow statement? Do you know your sources of funding (both equity and debt)? Do you know when new injection of funding is required and how you plan to secure it?

In summary If you are in the business of business, and if you need to raise funds, then a business plan is imperative, and you should spend time, effort and money on it. Make sure that your business plan is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable and

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

John Lincoln has over 20 years telecommunications experience in the USA, Japan, Europe, India, Dubai, Malaysia, Latin America and various other countries.

He has extensive senior expertise in international telecommunications sales, marketing, business development and customer service delivery. John also has executive experience with general management, marketing, P&L, product development and revenue management responsibilities in both consumer and enterprise segments for both the fixed and mobile sectors.

In addition, John has an impressive operational and management portfolio of established proven expertise in incremental business value creation and management of large multi-cultural teams in Vodafone Global in the UK, Japan Telecom in Tokyo, AirTouch and Pacific Bell (now AT&T) in San Francisco and Tokyo, Airtel in Delhi and other telecom and technology companies. Additionally he has extensive large scale business development, M&A and operational project experience across the USA, Europe, Asia and Latin America. John has an MBA and MS in Telecommunications from the Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California, USA. You can find John’s personal blog at www.johnlincoln.blog.com. He can be contacted via: john.lincoln@gmail.com, Twitter: @lincolnjc.

At present John is in the final stages of finishing a book which explores how businesses can grow and achieve sustainability and which is scheduled for publication by February 2012.

Marketing Branding

WHAT THE EYE SEES

Brands and their identities can be leveraged to create

awareness, reputation and market share. Mark Rollinson, Group Creative Director, All About Brands and CEO, Brand Faith, sets out a five stage process to create and manage a great visual expression for a brand.

M

ankind has thought in visual terms since time immemorial.

Art has been highly prized through the centuries because it connects with us at an emotional level, bringing about incredibly strong reactions and feelings.

A company’s brand can exploit these reactions by creating a unique visual expression of what it stands for, why it’s different and where it comes from. Think of any brand you admire and I’m willing to bet you are already thinking in visual terms; the way the

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product looks, the colour, the packaging, the advertising, the environment it’s sold in, and even the logo.

Here are some tips for creating and managing a great visual expression for a brand.

STEP 1 Brand strategy The first step has got nothing to do with type, colours and pictures, so put your paint brush down for a moment. Before we can

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

create the visual expression of a brand we need some solid foundations. Your brand must have a reason to exist; a belief in what it stands for and a unique and differentiated point of view. If you believe with total conviction, what your brand stands for, and who you want to talk to, you will be able to convince people to work with you to achieve your goals and your customers to buy your product or service.

STEP 2 Communicate your vision Now we can begin to bring the brand to life visually. We need to express the brand in terms that are synonymous with brand positioning and personality, and we need to think about our target audiences. It’s a great idea to create mood boards at this stage. Cut out images, patterns, colours, even typefaces that you feel match your brand personality

Marketing Branding

and positioning, and which will appeal to your target. Once equipped with these visual cues you can either create the brand yourself or create a powerful design brief for your design team that will communicate clearly the type of brand that will capture your business in a unique way.

A brand is expressed visually through a number of different elements, all working together. Most common brands include, a logotype, typography, colour, pattern and imagery.

STEP 3 Create your brand toolbox A brand is expressed visually through a number of different elements all working together. Most common brands include, a logotype, typography, colour, pattern and imagery.

Logotype - This is the most easily identified part of your brand. Done well, it should work as visual shorthand for what your audiences can expect your brand to deliver.

Colour - The days of owning your own unique colour are gone. All the key ones have been claimed long ago. While you will certainly have a primary colour or colours, these days we think in terms of colour palettes. This allows you to talk to different people in colours that appeal to them, while still retaining consistency.

style and flair but also in a way that leverages the brand’s positioning and personality.

The best way to ensure that you are consistent is to create brand guidelines. Don’t create a straitjacket; good brand guidelines are a creative springboard that allows your agencies to understand the marrow of your brand quickly, so that they can produce brilliant creative work. Try to have as few rules as possible and make them simple. The more complex your identity system is, the quicker it will fall apart.

STEP 5 Stay the course Brands are built over time. Avoid the temptation to chop and change. Great brands evolve with time, but remain true to their original conception.

Mark Rollinson

Implement your brand with ruthless consistency. You must ensure that whatever the medium, your brand is conveyed with style and flair but also in a way that leverages the brand’s positioning and personality.

Typography - There are literally thousands of typefaces, all evoking different feelings and personalities. The choice of typeface for your logotype and for your communications is an incredibly powerful factor in determining your brand’s personality. Try to select a font that is unusual for your logo or create a unique one, but choose a font that is widely available for your communications, particularly online, so that it doesn’t default to something hideous.

Imagery - Your brand should last a lot longer than one set of images, so make sure

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you choose a style that can evolve with time and also consider mixing photography with illustration to add more flexibility. Do you want your imagery to be literal or symbolic?

Would metaphors communicate what your brand is about? Or perhaps a reportage style will imbue your brand with truth and energy?

STEP 4 Be consistent Implement your brand with ruthless consistency. You must ensure that whatever the medium, your brand is conveyed with

Mark Rollinson is the founding partner and CEO of All About Brands PLC, an international marketing and communications agency with business divisions that cover public relations, marketing, brand strategy, design and advertising, with offices in London, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and India.

Mark has more than 30 years experience working across the fields of design, advertising and public relations. He is an experienced practitioner of each discipline and has built a solid reputation on being able to create award winning integrated campaigns.

Mark was heavily involved in the 1997 election of the British Labour Party. In 2007 Mark was appointed to assist the Executive Affairs Authority, Abu Dhabi, with the development and launch of a new brand for the Emirate.

Mark has won many awards both for creativity and effectiveness across numerous marketing disciplines. In 1996 Mark was made a fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and in 2007 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Marketing

social media

TARGET SPECIFIC Google+, which was launched in September 2011, has often been confused as another social networking site. But it’s different and offers a lot more options to share with our circle of people. Alan Devereux, Communications Officer, British Business Group, tells us what Google+ is all about.

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hen Google announced its new offering, much of the media touted it as a Facebook killer; the social product that was going to attract Facebook users, who had become tired with privacy concerns. But, Google has never called Google+ a social network site. Instead it has marketed it as a product that allows new ways to share. And it is exactly that.

Google’s users, who inhabit much of the connected world, now have a new drop-down menu and it is very easy for people to sign up for Google+.

It is an amalgamation of the company’s existing products, with a few new additions.

The main page is similar to the Facebook timeline, as you can see what people, who you have “circled”, have shared. The similarity stops there. Differing from the large social networks, Google+ makes it easy for users to target

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Alan Devereux messages to different groups of people, using the aforementioned circles.

For instance, I have a number of circles for the 800 or so people I have chosen to follow.

Some are in the UAE circle, others in the friends and family circle. Items I share with my UAE circle are not seen by my friends and family circle (unless of course I have added a person to two circles, which is possible to do).

Allow me to use the BBG as a very basic example of how these circles can work.

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There are BBG members and potential BBG members. Why should existing BBG members read messages about joining the group? Google+ allows communicators to target specific groups with specific messages, groups predefined by the company itself.

There are many ways in which a company can use these circles. Perhaps a group of people could be invited to take part in a focus group, important documents could be shared with a circle, or maybe companies could do something as simple as devising a competition in which contestants need to work together for a prize – the contestants would be grouped by the company and given specific instructions. The point that I hope to make is, that with a little imagination Google+ can be a very effective way to communicate with people.

Another excellent aspect of Google+ is the “Hangouts.” Google has given us free teleconferencing abilities. Yes, there are already free video calling services on the Internet but are there any that allow users to watch YouTube videos while conferencing, or share documents all parties can edit? Companies can now play tutorial videos that they have uploaded to YouTube while talking to the clients through the finer aspects of the product. Google+ is an excellent development and I am a convert.

About Alan Devereux is a husband, father, and Communications Officer for the British Business Group, Dubai and Northern Emirates, and can be found here: http://ae.linkedin.com/in/alandevereux. He can be contacted at info@britbiz-uae.com

Management

Leadership skills

What’s your style?

The discussion on the difference between a leader and a manager has been going on for some time.

However, in these times of economic uncertainties, every organisation needs a manager who can be a leader as well. Sahar Moussly, Executive Director, Trans Gulf Management Consultancy, tells us what goes into making not jus a good leader, but a great leader.

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e live in a global village and function in a globalised market place that has imposed fierce competition on companies everywhere. More recently we have witnessed the difficulties faced by companies to stay in business. All these happenings make it a must for any company to have a leader rather than a manager to keep afloat.

Are leaders born to be leaders or can anyone learn to be a leader? Maybe yes, but let’s start by seeing what the difference between a leader and a manager is.

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Managers control risks, react to problems, enforce organisational rules, seek and follow direction and coordinate their team. Leaders on the other hand, take risks, seek opportunities, change organisational rules, provide something to believe in and inspire achievement.

Before you rush into deciding to learn the skills and behaviours required from you to become a leader, I believe you should find out whether you want to be a leader or you would rather be a manager. Please visit www.lifeinharmony.me and take the online test and score it yourself to decide if you prefer to be a manager or a leader based on your current behaviour.

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Is it easy to define a leader? I don’t think so – we all know that people everywhere need a leader to follow and many times we find individuals and groups of people following someone in authority, even if he or she does not want them to. This starts with children and parents; children will follow the example of their parents whether it is good or bad.

So can we define leadership by saying that you are a leader when you get people to do things they never thought they will do or want to do? Or is it the ability to get the best out of people and employees and make them perform at their best? Or you will only become a confirmed leader when people see consequences of your leadership, as in the case

Management

Leadership skills

Managers control risks, react to problems, enforce organisational rules, seek and follow direction and coordinate their team.

Challenge and change: The most feared thing in any situation, is change. People like to stick to what they know, even if what they know is not good, and does not give them any satisfaction. Leaders challenge their people and encourage change.

Have deep conviction: Leaders believe in what they are doing and show their deep belief to others enthusiastically. Yet it does not mean that leaders do not change their mind when necessary.

Make things happen: Leaders have the ability to make people start an initiative and keep the momentum until they finish the job in a coordinated way.

On the other hand what is the definition of a manager? A manager is a person responsible for planning and directing the work of a group of individuals, monitoring their work, and taking corrective action when necessary. Managers may n

Has good communication skills.

A manager is a trustworthy individual.

Is calm, deals with situations wisely and keeps optimistic attitude.

Has the skills of time management to get things done.

n

n

Sahar Haffar of Dubai as an organisation. The results achieved

by Dubai would tell you that there is a leader behind this city and that the leader played a key role to get the people to achieve success.

So if the leader’s mission is to make people move out of their comfort zone and do new

Leaders have the ability to make people start an initiative and keep the momentum until they finish the job in a coordinated way.

things and makes them see opportunities that they did not see before, then the leader has to concentrate on five critical areas, according to Paul Taffinder in his book “The Leadership Crash Course.”

Clarify what is important: Leaders make everything clear and explain what the goals are.

They are clear about the present and the past and have a vision for the future. They are clear about the values to be followed in alignment with the values of the organisation. In other words, leaders should put a framework for people to work with, since in many cases people know what they want in the future but it is very difficult for them to envision how to get there.

Make and take risks: Leaders look for opportunities in every corner, giving people the freedom to try new things, without losing direction and without compromising discipline. n

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In conclusion, to become a leader you should understand what leadership is, and what the difference between a manager and a leader is. I recommend that you do the exercise that I pointed to earlier to decide whether you are behaving as a manager or as a leader. Be honest with yourself; recognise your strengths as opposed to your weaknesses. Work on improving your skills and most importantly, turn words into actions because that is how you become a great leader.

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direct workers directly or they may direct several supervisors, who direct the workers.

Managers must be familiar with the work of all the groups they supervise, but do not need to be the best in any or all of the areas.

It is more important for the managers to know how to manage the workers than to know how to do their work well.

To summarise the characteristics of managers, we may enlist the following traits: A manager is self-motivated, understands the basic goals of the business and develops the strategies to achieve these goals.

Has good customer skills: Is a team player, who is interested in growing the business, and is the go between the top management or owner and the employees.

Has the ability to deal with conflicts.

Sahar Haffar Moussly is a Dubai based UKcertified Life Coach and NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner. Today she runs two businesses. Alongside her life coaching practice, Life in Harmony, Sahar is also Executive Director of Trans Gulf Management Consultancy (TGMC), a firm specialising in conference interpretation and translations service, which was established in 1997.

TGMC was listed as a finalist in the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards, 2010, in the category of Professional Services.

With over 25 years experience in the corporate world, Sahar holds a BA in English Language and Translation gained from Damascus University, and an MA in International Diplomacy gained at the University of Washington. She went on to become a qualified interpreter and translator, gaining a diploma in simultaneous translation and interpretation from the UK and became a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

In 2010 Sahar published a research and guidebook in Arabic entitled, Welcome to Tomorrow, which introduces the topic of life coaching and self development to Arab audiences. The book was launched in Damascus in January 2010.

For more information about Life in Harmony visit www.lifeinharmony.me

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Management

COMMUNICATION

TALK TO ME Every business relies on communication to get things done. Yet, only a small percentage of companies actually invest in teaching their employees how to communicate. Leaders are particularly vulnerable to being criticised for misunderstanding communication subtleties and for inadequate presentation of their ideas. Stephan Melchior, Managing Partner, Wilson Learning Middle East, shares some pointers on why good communication skills are important for leaders.

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hen leaders learn the dynamics of communication, and build the skill of versatility to get their messages across to a wide range of personalities, the effectiveness and productivity of everybody in the team rises.

Recent research confirms that versatility is one of the most important skills for creating a high performance organisation.

It influences all the interactions that occur within organisations and between an organisation and its customers.

Leaders with high versatility have employees who exhibit greater work satisfaction and higher performance.

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In sales organisations, high levels of versatility create higher revenues, greater market share, and better client relationships.

In any business relationship there are two primary sources of tension; task tension and relationship tension. Task tension is useful as it motivates work. It is the need to solve a problem or reach a decision. Relationship tension is not useful as it is the result of lack of information or miscommunication and causes discomfort in a relationship, leading to business inefficiencies.

When time and energy are directed toward relationship tension, less energy is available to address the task tension. That is, the more effort

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people have to put into the relationship because of different communication styles, preferences, or expectations, the less effort goes toward accomplishing the business objective.

How to be more versatile A person’s style tends to be very stable over time.

In contrast, versatility is a skill that you can learn and improve. Versatility is the ability to temporarily adapt one’s behaviour in order to reduce relationship tension and to make interactions with others more productive. In a recent study, Wilson Learning interviewed leaders and their employees about effective leadership. The results show that leaders need to pay attention to a number of factors to increase their versatility.

So what defines a good leader? You may think you know what makes a good leader, but you are looking from the perspective of your own style.

Different styles focus on different characteristics to define a good leader. While all styles agree that good leaders give clear objectives and the autonomy to carry them out, there are important differences between these styles.

Drivers value a leader with a direct approach; be prepared with desired outcomes and timelines.

Expressives want a leader who is open and trusting, and shows empathy for others’ feelings; be prepared with a big picture vision of what you want accomplished.

Amiables want a leader who shows confidence in them; be prepared with how you will support them.

Analyticals value a leader who is knowledgeable about the business and shares information freely; be prepared with specific goals and resources for getting the job done.

To be an effective leader, you need to be aware of the styles of your employees and how they perceive effective leadership.

What are leaders’ greatest weaknesses? While all employees expressed that micro-managing is a common weakness, each style described specific characteristics that they also consider weaknesses in a leader.

Drivers dislike leaders who give too much or too little direction. Too little makes the task vague; too much and the employee loses the ability to use his or her personal discretion.

Expressives do not like leaders who are close-minded; who see only one way to approach an issue and are closed to discussing other options.

For Amiables, not expressing personal

MANAGEMENT

COMMUNICATION

concern and interest in employees is one of the most common weaknesses in a leader.

Analyticals dislike leaders who provide too much or too little information. Analyticals don’t what to be told irrelevant things, but also dislike information gaps.

Leaders need to match the amount of information, direction, and expression of concern to the style of individual employees or they run the risk of being seen as weak.

How do leaders support employees? All employees need support from their leaders and all agreed that receiving advice and removing organisational barriers is critical. But the specific support employees need and expect varies by their style.

Give advice to Drivers, but do not do the task for them directly. Drivers need the freedom to solve problems themselves and they resent direct intervention.

Expressives need a sounding board, who is open to discussion and is non-judgmental. They want a leader who supports and backs up their ideas.

Amiables want a leader who acts as a guide, points them down the right path, expresses confidence in their choices, and suggests small course corrections along the way.

Analyticals value clear and full acceptance of their decisions and direct feedback when they go off track.

In any business relationship there are two primary sources of tension; task tension and relationship tension. Task tension is useful; it motivates work. It is the need to solve a problem or reach a decision. Relationship tension is not useful as it is the result of lack of information or miscommunication and causes discomfort in a relationship, leading to business inefficiencies. most common reason people give for leaving a job is, poor communication with their manager. The most common reason customers leave suppliers is poor communication with the sales force. And the most common reason global negotiations fail is the lack of sensitivity to global diversity and communication.

While versatility is a skill that can be learnt, it is also a reflection of a leader’s values and principles. Low-versatile leaders take the perspective that others must adapt to them, that it is “my way or no way.” They surround themselves with people who think the same, act the same, and communicate in the same way.

In contrast, highly-versatile leaders embrace diversity in all its forms; they surround themselves with people who are different; who bring different perspectives, different ideas, and different ways of expressing themselves. Versatile leaders use this diversity to grow their organisations and themselves.

Versatility is critical to effective leadership performance; and leaders would do well to mentor it in their organisations.

Stephan Melchior Expressive and Amiable leaders rely on employees to tell them that they are ready for additional responsibilities. Thus, employees who perform well and ask for more responsibility are

A person’s style tends to be very stable over time. In contrast, versatility is a skill that you can learn and improve. Versatility is the ability to temporarily adapt one’s behaviours in order to reduce relationship tension to make interactions with others more productive.

When are employees ready for more responsibility? One of the greatest mistakes leaders make, is not recognising when employees are ready to step up to new challenges and greater responsibility. Leaders often make assumptions about when employees are ready, based on their own style.

Driver and Analytical leaders tend to think employees are ready for more responsibility when employees repeatedly exceed expectations on current tasks. They often give high performers more responsibility, without checking to see if the employee agrees that he or she is ready.

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more likely to get promotions and advancement than those who just perform well.

Leaders need to involve employees in this decision. Analytical employees may repeatedly exceed expectations and expect a promotion, but will not receive it because their Expressive leader is waiting for them to ask for more responsibility. As a result, that leader may lose a high performer.

Conclusion Effective communication is critical, both for the success of the organisation and the success and satisfaction of employees. The

Stephan Melchior has been working in the learning and development field for more than 15 years; designing and delivering training programmes in more than 20 countries. He is well known for the graphic facilitation approach he uses in his courses.

Today, Stephan is Managing Partner at the Middle East office of Wilson Learning Worldwide, based in Dubai Knowledge Village. As a global organisation, Wilson Learning is the founder of the Performance and Fulfillment concept, and was rated among the Top 20 Leadership and Sales Training companies in 2010 and 2011 (www.trainingindustry.com). Wilson Learning Middle East was also recently ranked among the TOP100 SMEs in Dubai.

Wilson Learning Middle East can be contacted at info@wilsonlearning-me.com, or at +971 50 7553800.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Human resourceS Recruitment

MATCHMAKING SKILLS As emerging markets continue to dominate economic growth, and the mature markets’ woes seem likely to persist into the foreseeable future, much of the active recruitment is happening in countries and regions where talent is scarce. So how do we find the right people in such a scenario? Philips Lefebvre, Managing Partner, Whitewater Executive Search, tells us all about talent mapping and finding the right people.

T

alent mapping is in essence, the identification of available human capital within a specified country, industry, and corporate function. The level of complexity of this process becomes more apparent when a company is seeking to attract individuals that have the right

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corporate and cultural fit, with the entity in question.

It is not simply a plug-and-play solution, but rather a search for top-talented candidates that will successfully integrate themselves into an existing organisational structure, and have the experience to effectively deliver on their responsibilities.

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The decision to launch a talent mapping initiative could be on the basis of several different factors; the most common in emerging markets being, growth. Even though, the concept of growth is positive, it does lead to some daunting challenges, especially in the realm of recruitment.

Identifying and attracting talent in some regions can be much more difficult than in others.

Africa, for example, is becoming a highly active market. The wealth of opportunity across the majority of African countries has increasingly become of interest to many organisations across several industry sectors.

However, these same companies are struggling to find the right talent to lay the foundation and structure for their growth. Depending on the country, local talent will be scarce, and furthermore, the socio-political environment may not be one that attracts expatriates.

Companies entering new markets often make the mistake of not considering the

Human resourceS Recruitment

human capital variable. It is often simply assumed, especially by well known global brands, that “if we build it, they will come.”

The reality is not so simple, and it is therefore wise to research the candidate market, prior to taking the final decision of launching a business in these types of markets. It is less costly for a company to initiate a talent mapping process, than it would be to enter a market and fail due to poor representation.

Another circumstance where talent mapping is used, is through simple succession planning.

Succession planning is a part of any human resources strategy. Historically, planning for tomorrow’s leaders has been an internally focused activity. The organisation identifies and grooms its high potential employees for their next international (or local) mandate.

However, the market for talent is fluid.

High potential individuals come and go, driven by the desire for new challenges and a host of other market forces. This means that the most well crafted succession plan can easily leave companies short-handed when the time comes to fill a critical position.

Talent mapping arms the organisations with an external-facing succession planning tool, allowing them to be aware of who would be rightfully equipped to fill specific positions,

Philip Lefebvre

pressure on organisations to hire nationals, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to identify top talent.

The talent mapping process requires complex organisational skills, recruitment expertise and time. Companies in these emerging markets will seldom have the internal resources to manage a sophisticated talent mapping initiative across a broad range of geographies. In addition, there is an evident conflict of interest if companies are actively pursuing potential candidates in other companies, regardless of the location of the

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The decision to launch a talent mapping initiative could be on the basis of several different factors, the most common in emerging markets being, growth.

should there be an unforeseen vacancy in a role critical to the business.

It can also benefit an organisation that has identified a potential poor performer within a critical role of the company. Knowledge of whether or not there is a suitable external replacement can certainly assist in the decision of whether or not to keep and further develop the employee, redeploy him to another function, or have him replaced by a more talented person who is currently employed elsewhere.

Finally, another situation where a company would benefit from talent mapping is, with the strong emergence of nationalisation initiatives.

As local governments rightfully apply more

or through a member of the human resources team.

Companies will ascertain that there is evidently a shelf-life on the findings of a talent mapping exercise. Typically, the findings on such an initiative will be outdated within six months. Scarcity of talent is certainly a reality, particularly in markets where there is a shortage in employable human capital. A properly managed talent mapping project will need to flow well in order for a company to capitalise on its findings.

Clarity and a unanimous acceptance across all internal stakeholders regarding the type of experience and background that is required for a specific position is essential to the success of the process.

Knowing the market from a human capital standpoint should always be considered as an integral part of the due diligence process. As companies continue to face the challenges of recruiting star performers, talent mapping certainly helps organisations in mitigating the risk associated with the hiring decision. When a company arms itself with an insight into the “who’s who” of a market, it certainly gives them an added advantage over a competitor who hires blindly, and much better strategic positioning on the war for talent.

role. Talent mapping, when done properly, is a thorough mapping of a target market and where the results are then cross-referenced with actual industry sources.

Once these individuals are identified, organisations will want a clear understanding of the individual’s career motivators, adaptability to relocation, and compensation requirements. These elements would constitute the second screening tool to ensure that they are viable potential candidates. Lastly, and as a final mechanism to guarantee the relevance of an individual’s candidacy, a competency-based interview would take place through an external service provider

Philip combines more than 15 years of executive search experience between Korn/ Ferry International, and Heidrick & Struggles. He subsequently moved to Dubai in 2008 to participate in the growth of a regionally-based executive search firm. Whitewater Executive Search is a Dubai-based executive and midmanagement search firm with the primary objective of providing reliable recruitment services to clients across the Middle East and Africa.

Since his arrival to the region, Philip has had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of clients. He has closed searches in sectors, such as industrial manufacturing, oil & gas, real estate, hospitality and pharmaceuticals. He has also worked across several key geographies including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Philip is a native Canadian but spent the first eight years of his life in Saudi Arabia. He holds a Bachelor of Finance degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and is fluently bilingual in English and French.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Sales

Selling tips

Dealing with Objections!

If you are a sales professional, then you can relive the times when you have been rejected by a customer after months of followup. Wouldn’t you like to avoid this in the future? Peter Heredia, Managing Director, Max Sale Solutions, talks to us not only about how to overcome objections while making a sales pitch, but also on how to decide if the objections are real and can ever be overcome.

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e don’t have any reliable statistics on how many objections raised by customers are actually false, but from our experience, many are. Using the courtroom analogy, many objections are purely tactical and aimed at disrupting a logical process.

There are many reasons why buyers don’t tell you the exact truth, when they don’t want to purchase from you. Let’s look at a few: It may not be there decision.

They were only involving you as they needed a certain number of quotes.

Their family member or best friend works at your competitor.

They feel guilty about telling you the real reason.

Meeting suppliers is a pastime that makes them feel important.

Peter Heredia

Once you have the objection you need to understand whether it is true or false. So you should always ask, “If we resolve this objection, would you sign the contract today?” This simple step will save you so much time, heartache and unnecessary rejection.

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

A good way to understand what we are talking about is to look at your sales team’s closing ratio. Most industries range from 10% to 30% success rate, so taking the top sales person’s performance, why are 70% of your potential clients still not buying? Whatever the “false” reasons, don’t spend your valuable time chasing them up. Wouldn’t you like to know, upon submitting a proposal, whether they are real buyers or not?

Once you have the objection you need to understand whether it is true or false.

So you should always ask, “If we resolve this objection, would you sign the contract today?” This simple step will save you so much time, heartache and unnecessary rejection.

Let’s be very clear here; you are not committing to resolving the objection but gaining a clear understanding about, whether

Sales

Selling tips

this is a real objection and will they buy, if it is removed or resolved.

If they say yes, then it’s good news.

Although they haven’t agreed to buy, from all the complications of making a sale you have now narrowed it down to one last obstacle. If they say no, you have a decision to make. Do you give up there and then? Or do you still pursue the sale as usual?

We recommend you identify and understand the second objection and ask the question again. “If we resolve both the objections would you be willing to sign the contract today?”

Although we have talked about identifying and dealing with “real objections” throughout this article, it should be remembered that these objections are a good way of finding out the truth about our prospective position.

Rather than becoming immediately defensive, we should welcome objections and use them to develop solutions and our relationship with these future customers.

Identifying a false objection Realising a false objection

NO

YES

Closing ratio

25%

25%

Number of opportunities being worked on

10

10

Average value of the opportunities

4,000

4,000

Sales cycle period

20 DAYS

10 DAYS

Monthly revenue

15,000

30,000

STEPS FOR DEALING WITH REAL OBJECTIONS 1 ACKNOWLEDGE

5 DEAL WITH IT

Make the customer know that you see the importance of their objection. Agree it is somthing that needs to be addressed, but be careful not to sound fake.

Now you are clear that the customer is serious and what they need for you to win the sale, it’s down to you. Overcome his objection.

See how it can be resolved, get management involved if you have to.

You have come too far to lose this now.

4 REVISIT BENEFITS Outline the benefits the costumer would get from going with you.

Recap on these to ensure they fully understand the value in your proposal - the benefits should outweigh their objection. Always end with a “Will you buy” close.

2 ISOLATE This relates to what we have already discussed and understand, whether the objection is true or false.

Now if they say no, we would recommend that you put it on the back burner and spend little time on this opportunity. Focus on another opportunity with a real buyer. If they say yes, you still have some work to do but at least you know that they are serious and it could be time well spent trying to overcome both objections.

How does this assist you?

Does it help your closing ratio? Maybe, but the real benefit is the time you save. It doesn’t sound like it will make you much money but let’s see the impact and the additional revenue you will be generating, if your sales cycle is reduced by not having to follow up with potential clients, that you know you will never win.

Although we have talked about identifying and dealing with real objections throughout this article, it should be remembered that these objections are a good way of finding out the truth about our prospective position. Rather than becoming immediately defensive, we should welcome objections and use them to develop solutions and our relationship with these future customers.

3 GAIN SPECIFICS To resolve an objection you need to know the details. A common objection is price. Find out exactly what needs to be done or you will spend a lot of unnecessary time and still be nowhere near the required target.

About Peter Heredia is the Managing Director of Max Sale Solutions. He has worked with sales teams around the globe for more than two decades and has worked in the Middle East for the last ten years.

If you would like to talk to Peter about your sales team, please contact him on peter@maxsalesolutions.com.

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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SME Success Series

Stars of business power lunch Presented by

Meet our winners As this was our last “Success Series” event for 2011, we decided to invite three winners from the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards to come and share their story with attendees. Presented

by ADCB, in conjunction with our Exclusive Telecom Partner, du,

Nilanjan Ray, Sr. Vice President, Head, SME, ADCB, extending a warm welcome to attendees

the event was a chance to hear first-hand how these companies plotted their route to success.

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hen considering the theme for the concluding event for 2011 it seemed appropriate that attendees should be offered the opportunity to listen and interact with some of the leading SMEs in the region. It is often asked how SMEs, especially within the more challenging economic climate, manage to overcome the various hurdles that appear on a daily basis and push ahead with impressive strategies.

With this in mind we asked the three winners to give short presentations, mapping their success story and at the end of each session audience members were encouraged to make full use of the Q&A platform. More time to interact with speakers through audience participation and networking opportunities during coffee breaks and lunch was something conveyed to us by attendee feedback and so we created an opportunity for this value-driven interaction.

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Guest speakers Shabana Karim, Managing Director, The Nail Spa Winner in the categories of Health and wellness and Admirable Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.

Rabea Ataya, CEO and Founder, Bayt.com Winner in the categories of Technology and online and Business Star of the Year.

Dr. Ata Atmar, Managing Director, Bateel International Winner in the categories of Retail and Manufacturing.

One-on-one consultations have proved a big hit at our events during 2011 – it is an opportunity to sit and have a casual, yet, informative, discussion with subject matter experts from the various companies and government entities that we have as partners. With this event, the speakers also very kindly offered their time to sit and talk with attendees. We had consultants not only from our presenting partner ADCB, offering SME lending advice, but also from Zawya and

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

Chris Stevenson, Commercial Director, CPI Business, addresses the audience

SAS, contributing advice on effective visibility solutions and business analytics, respectively.

The event was concluded with all attendees and speakers attending a lunch, where all were encouraged to mingle and mix and enjoy some food.

It proved a great end to the 2011 event calendar and if there are any events which you may have missed then please visit www.smeadvisor.com/events for the written and photo updates on all the year’s activities.

We will of course continue to build on the momentum of 2011 with an exciting list of events for the coming year. Keep an eye on our Website www.smeadvisor.com for all updates.

Date: 20th December Time: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm Venue: The Address, Marina, Dubai For more event photos, visit www.smeadvisor. com/wp-content/themes/wp-clear-basic/ powerlunch-sme/fbphotos.php

SME Success Series

Stars of business power lunch

Presentations

Presented by

Shabana Karim, Managing Director, The Nail Spa Shabana discussed how she saw a niche in the UAE beauty industry because of the lack of professionalism in customer service and training for staff in salons and the lack of affordable luxury services. So she took up the challenge of exploring this business opportunity.

She made note that The Nail Spa is a home-grown brand and it was basically about tweaking and repackaging “I always assume that the competition is better than us and that is what keeps us on our toes, because for a business to be successful it is very important to pay attention to details, and we at The Nail Spa are continually striving to be the leading specialists in our industry, not only by providing quality service, but also by focusing on how it is offered.”

Rabea Ataya, CEO and Founder, Bayt.com Speaking at the SME Advisor Stars of Business power lunch, Rabea started his presentation by raising a question about the importance of SMEs, especially with the background of the Arab Spring.

He asked the audience what their take was on the Arab Spring and when will it come to an end and then continued to elaborate on why he believed that the uprisings will not end anytime soon. According to him, the uprising is a result of three factors; youth, unemployment and the Internet.

“Brilliant people, plans and perseverance can only happen when there is passion.

There needs to be passion about why someone is doing a business.”

Dr. Ata Atmar, Managing Director, Bateel International Dr. Ata spoke about how it took his company twenty years to create, support and sustain the brand, as well as a heavy investment across all its business operations like farming, manufacturing, sales, distribution, R&D and brand management. Today, the company has a strong market presence in fifteen countries, from cities like London to Jakarta.

“The biggest advantage that Bateel had was a first mover advantage, as we created a market that didn’t exist. Innovation led to our success. We instantly became a market leader which created high barriers of entry for our competitors.”

something that was old and to present it to the market in a unique concept. She outlined her role as Managing Director, as one which focuses on innovation, marketing and culture building.

She went on to talk about culture and how it is an important part of her organisation. Trust and integrity are primary values, which she noted were vital and went on to mention that training and development is a major part of The Nail Spa, owing much of her success to her staff and their development with her.

Taking it further and talking about his journey so far, he talked about the challenges he has faced and what kept him going. The four Ps that have been the cornerstone of his success are; people, planning, perseverance and passion.

Businesses are built with people and it is important to hire the best in the field to succeed.

The second focus was on planning big. “If you start building small, then you can’t expand. So we started big; we got the best external advisors and we planned to be massive,” he said.

Rabea concluded by stressing on the aspect of “goodness”. “It is goodness which should be the focus of business and not making quick money,” he said. He thanked the people who run SMEs and have persevered in tough times because he believes that the only way this region will get better, is if SMEs continue to grow and others follow them as well.

In order to grow a range and quality of dates, not available from any other source, Bateel uses state-of-the-art farming and processing methods in its own extensive date groves. The company owns a date farm in Al-Ghat that has 50,000 date palms and produces 20 varieties of dates.

Dr. Atmar pointed out an interesting snippet about Bateel that many are not aware of. Bateel has a wholesale trading unit that supplies dates to supermarkets, hotels, airlines and duty free outlets, under the brand names Bateel, Liege, Jomara and Puratos. The dates are those that do not cut the standard for dates sold in Bateel stores. This wholesale business is supported by strong sales and logistics capabilities in the KSA and UAE.

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SME Success Series

Stars of business power lunch Presented by

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SME Success Series

Stars of business power lunch Presented by

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

Effectively manage your day-to-day business expenses with the Visa Business Card.

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To see a list of Visa Business issuing banks please click on www.visacemea.com/wv/get_card.jsp

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UAE:Star Metropolis • Dynatrade Auto Service • Al Reyami Interiors • Arab Orient Insurance Company • Coral Hotels & Resorts and Corp Executive Hotels • Rotana Hotels and Resorts • CompuMe and I2 Egypt: Coral Hotels & Resorts • Al Khodeir Stationary • Misr October Industrial Co.• TNT KSA: Coral Hotels & Resorts • GroundLink Kuwait: Safir International Hotel Qatar: Doha Golf Club • DHL Express • Coral Hotels & Resorts Lebanon: FedEx Kinko’s • FedEx Express • LebHotels.com • Advanced Car Rental

Business pin up Bayt.COM

Bayt.com has 227 employees in 12 different countries. 73% of the workforce is Arab, 27% is non-Arab and we have 15 different nationalities.

Finding the right fit

After winning in the categories of Technology and online and Business Star

of the Year at our Stars of Business Awards, 2011, we decided to take a closer look Bayt.com. Aparna Shivpuri Arya talks to the CEO, Rabea Ataya, about their best practices and what has been their recipe for success.

B

ayt.com was established provide a link between job seekers and employers in the Middle East by leveraging the Internet to provide free access to employment opportunities in a region that has historically had limitations on the flow of both information and people. The motivation that powers Bayt.com is an obsession to empower others to lead better lives, by creating technologies that will help people lead the lives that they want for themselves.

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What is your management philosophy and vision?

Bayt.com’s management philosophy and vision revolve around leadership and empowerment.

Every Bayt.com employee is actively required to be a leader as well as to empower others. We do this by ensuring that our corporate culture preaches respect, and allows the freedom to act independently within a framework. People, planning, perseverance and passion are the four basic Ps of a successful business. This is what we believe in. We are here not to make quick money, but to build a successful business that we are passionate about.

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

What is innovative about your approach?

At Bayt.com, we are constantly striving for innovations that anticipate and meet the needs of both job seekers and employers. Our teams work very hard to ensure relevancy, above all else, and that requires a lot of innovation. Our goal is to ensure that job seekers have relevant job recommendations, have access to relevant career development resources, and have the ability to create CVs and cover letters that are relevant to the jobs they seek.

Some of our innovations are technological; our proprietary industry-leading CV search tool, for example, has very intricate algorithms that were custom designed by highly specialised teams at Bayt.com. Other technical innovations include Bayt.com Salaries, Bayt.com Career Watch, Bayt.com People and Bayt.com Classifieds. Some innovations are related to services; Bayt.com’s Career Services team for instance helps job seekers on a case-by-case basis in order to ensure they are maximising their professional branding and career planning.

What challenges have you faced along the way and how did you deal with them?

The story of Bayt.com’s success has been a story of hard work, persistence and an unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation and integrity. When Bayt.com was founded in 2000, the main two challenges were the very limited Internet penetration in the Middle East at the time and also the task of very speedily educating our various stakeholders about unique features and huge unparalleled benefits of online recruitment that we were introducing in the region.

How has the company fared during period of economic slowdown? Did you have to change your approach in the past two to three years?

One of Bayt.com’s key strengths as a sustainable business, has been its flexibility, ability and willingness to recognise, anticipate and adapt to change readily and in an optimal fashion. We recognised early on that the economic slowdown

Business pin up Bayt.COM

would actually only further consolidate our leadership position across the region because of heightened emphasis on sourcing only the very best human capital, coupled with drastically shrunken HR budgets. We have used the period of slower economic growth to build stronger, more endearing and more creative relationships with our clients, to increase their loyalty, and to increase and diversify our product offering further to take advantage of new opportunities to deliver value.

What insights can you provide about the job market in the UAE? The UAE remains a very robust attractive place to live and work and a popular hub for highly competitive top-grade talent looking to settle in a modern, cosmopolitan environment with a world-class business infrastructure. The attractiveness of the UAE globally as a work destination has meant that local employers over the past decade have had the luxury of being able to attract and retain world-class talent with very little difficulty. As per the latest Bayt.com Jobs Index Survey it seems that the hiring expectations trend across the region suggests more hiring activity in a year’s time than in the coming quarter. The UAE is not an exception, with 62% of companies considering to hire within a year according to the survey, and 49% looking to hire by January 2012, with the private sector being more likely to hire in the next three months, especially multinational companies.

The story of Bayt.com’s success has been a story of hard work, persistence and an unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation and integrity.

Rabea Ataya

2 Techniques: The systematic procedure by which a task is accomplished.

3 Activities: Measurable amount of work performed in converting inputs to outputs.

4 Role-plays: Acting out actions in a simulated situation.

5 Stories: A true account of a client interaction where a lesson learned was applied towards a successful outcome.

Aside from the STARS system, all employees are encouraged to participate in external trainings and seminars, for which we cover the costs. We also have the Speaker Programme,

One of Bayt.com’s key strengths as a sustainable business has been its flexibility and ability and willingness to recognise, anticipate and adapt to change readily and in an optimal fashion.

What are the salient features of your HR policies and training for staff?

A very important aspect of success is constant training, and Bayt.com is well aware of that. We have a STARS Training methodology that is applied company wide.

In STARS, employees undergo periodic training related to: 1 Systems: The understanding of our internal and external software processes.

where leading individuals come to our offices on a monthly basis to talk about topics that are interesting, like innovation through movie making and the psychology of change.

Are your processes eco-friendly?

Green thinking is the very core of our business operations: Online recruitment has meant paper CVs, paper files and physical letters and filing

cabinets and storage space associated with the recruitment process are both unnecessary and inefficient. Video CVs have also meant less of a carbon footprint.

Branded career channels have allowed leading organisations across the MENA to tap into Bayt.com’s green platforms to eliminate inefficiencies associated with the traditional recruitment process.

Virtual job and education fairs have also greatly elevated the green ethos in the region by eliminating the need to create expensive venues.

We have eliminated our sales collateral in favour of online presentations and live tutorials which are more targeted, more engaging and more eco-friendly.

Are there any CSR initiatives undertaken by your firm?

We have had many CSR initiatives over the past 11 years, as they are a part of our identity as a company. These include, sponsoring orphans from all over the world on behalf of each and every employee with a long serving history with us, donating a fixed percentage of revenue to charities, offering free job postings, university outreach programmes and roadshows.

What are your plans for the next five years?

We have huge plans for the next five years.

Bayt.com will continue to deliver on its longstanding commitment to the region to deliver the indisputable best recruitment technologies, tools, services, insights and local customer support.

We expect our leadership margins to be widened significantly, as several key initiatives have only been soft launched this year including, Bayt.com Salaries, Bayt.com Communities, Bayt. com Career Watch and Bayt.com People. At the same time we will continue to launch new products and iterations and grow our professional communities.

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Young entrepreneur Starting early

2011 provided him with a platform to put his ideas to action and execute them.

Elaborating more on his entrepreneurial startup, he said that he got his first idea in his freshman year, when he realised that it was not easy to order food on campus and students didn’t know where to order from, and what options were available. Andover has a very high restaurant density and Uday saw the opportunity to create www.andovertakeout.com, where he collaborated with local restaurants and created discount deals. Uday put the menu of the restaurants online and students could access the Website and know what eating options they have. At the same time, it gave the restaurants free publicity.

The Website has done well, with 16,000 hits since its inception and a lot of students use it. Moving forward, Uday has a lot of

YOUNG GUN! Entrepreneurs become what they are for several reasons and if you have faith in your dreams and ideas, then it’s never too early to start. Aparna Shivpuri Arya got to know this and much more from her conversation with Uday Singh, after he was recognised as an “inspiring young entrepreneur” by SME Advisor Middle East.

U

day, a budding entrepreneur, is a senior at the Philips Academy, Andover, USA. Philips Academy is a preparatory school and was founded to provide education to bright young minds from all over the world.

Talking to Uday, one cannot help but observe that he is acutely aware of the opportunities that have been given to him and has worked hard on making something out of these opportunities. Talking passionately about his school, the Philips Academy, Uday believes that being elected as the President, in March

To create an idea is not about sitting and intentionally thinking about ideas, but noting the thought down every time something innovative strikes you. The second part is feasibility. Once you have a great idea, you have to know if it’s possible to put it together.

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

innovative ideas. He said “We are in the process of building another Website called the Andover Exchange, which is something like an eBay for prep school.” The idea came to him when he was leaving for holidays and did not know what to do with his stuff and he realised that most students didn’t know either. So he is working on setting up a site, where students can put their stuff for sale and the highest bidder gets it.

Thinking about his other entrepreneurial start ups, Uday went back in time and told us about his “Big Blue Bikes.” In his sophomore year, he and his friends noticed that it was very difficult for students to keep bikes on campus. They gave it some thought and came up with a plan to rent cycles on campus. So they found a bike vendor

Young entrepreneur Starting early

Uday Singh

And he emphasised about not giving up.

“There will be a lot of bumps. For instance, we ran into a difficult situation with our bike venture and as a result lost our subsidised store and facilities. We were stuck with the problem, of who will supply us with these rates and hours. So we decided to change the whole model, rather than making it hourly rentals, we changed the offer to monthly, term-long and yearly rentals, since we could not maintain the bikes anymore. For us that was a huge bump and we wondered if we who was ready to rent for two hours and thus came the idea of the Big Blue Bikes. They applied for a USD 10,000 grant, which was approved by the Abbot Association Academy.

Uday found a local vendor in Andover Cycles. It was a first-of-its-kind deal and for the vendor it was a win-win situation, since it got him free publicity and more sales.

While for the bike venture, they got the funding from the association, the Website for the restaurants has been funded by Uday and his friends. He added that not much funding is required for the takeout Website because it’s non-profit and is not very expensive to run. The only work involved is to go down and meet restaurants and they encourage students to do that since it is great for students, who want to have some entrepreneurial experience.

The Website was initially accessible to only the school but now is open to all; however some deals are restricted to only the students.

When we asked him if there are any basic rules that he has learnt along the way, Uday was quick to point out that he was taught to always write down an idea. “You should

Elaborating more on his entrepreneurial startup, he said that he got his first idea in his freshman year, when he realised that it was not easy to order food on campus and students didn’t know where to order from, and what options were available.

Andover has a very high restaurant density and Uday saw the opportunity to create www.andovertakeout.com, where he collaborated with local restaurants downtown and created discount deals.

always write down your idea. Whenever you see something and wonder ‘what if it was....’, then write down the part after that ‘if’ because sometimes that part can end up to be something awesome.”

To create an idea is not about sitting and intentionally thinking about ideas, but noting the thought down every time something innovative strikes you. The second part is feasibility. Once you have a great idea, you have to know if it’s possible to put it together and how feasible it is.

should shut it down. But we didn’t want to and we looked around and we thought of getting student mechanics, who could volunteer to maintain and service the bikes.”

And this is how Uday said, they overcame this hurdle.

With so much done, in such little time, Uday definitely has a long way to go and he has a lot of dreams and ideas, one of them being that when he returns for his school reunion ten years hence, students will still be riding the big blue bikes. Touché to that!

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SME Advisor Golf Day Driving Business Presented by

THE GRAND SLAM As part of our ongoing events this year we thought it would be fun to arrange a number of golf days for senior management. Presented by ADCB, in conjunction with our Exclusive Telecom Partner,du, the key decision makers in attendance also had the opportunity to network during dinner afterwards. We bring you the highlights from our third and final golf day at the Els Club, Dubai.

Ehtesham Riaz Rabbani, Unit Manager SME Banking, ADCB, addresses participants at the after dinner.

W

e have tried our best this year to offer some variety to our readers and patrons, to network and connect and hence the golf days. Not only have these golf days provided an opportunity to network, both on and off the course, but have also created a lighter ambience to unwind and talk shop.

The final golf day was held on 15th December 2011, at the Els Club in Dubai, where after a quick registration, the players were all set to tee off at 1:00 pm. The format for the tournament was to consist of teams of two, better ball Stableford, as it is known to those within golfing circles. The top 11 teams from the last two golf days competed this time, for the final winner of the series.

The first three teams were given a CK Shock men’s fragrance and a pair of Hugo Boss sunglasses, each.

The winners of the longest drive and nearest to the pin, were also given a pair of Hugo Boss sunglasses.

Two lucky players, whose names were drawn from the business cards dropped, also won sunglasses.

Although eager to get underway, players stood in for group shot prior to tee-off.

For more information on the three golf days, their locations and how to register visit http://www.smeadvisor.com/events/sme-golf-days/

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SME Success Series Driving Business

Presented by

(L-R: AE Ravi and Ashok J Galgotia) – 1st place

(L-R: Mohammad A Khan and Richard Wilson) – 2nd place

(L-R: Nadeem Malak and Jack Craine) – 3rd place

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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SME Advisor Golf Day Driving Business Presented by

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

SME Success Series Driving Business

Presented by

JANUARY 2012 SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST

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Technology for business WatchGuard

Promoting security solutions With cyber attacks and crimes on the rise, SMEs need to ensure that their data is secure. WatchGuard Technologies recently launched appliances that are ideal for small businesses in the Middle East. Tim Helming, Director, Product Management and Eric Aarrestad, Vice President, Marketing, tell us all about the new products on offer .

T

he WatchGuard XTM 330 is ideal for businesses with 30 to 50 users and it provides advanced network protection in an all-in-one rack-mount gateway security appliance.

WatchGuard XTM solutions offer the ability to identify applications and provide granular control based on individual users or groups. This gives administrators full contextual awareness and understanding of their networks, services, applications and user activities, which facilitates high security and accurate and effective policy enforcement.

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Technology for business WatchGuard

Advanced management and logging features provide management with easy to use reports. This gives small businesses new insights as to Web and application usage, as well as remediation abilities to enforce business and IT policies.

Tim Helming “Small businesses are increasingly becoming targets of hackers and sophisticated cyber attacks,” said Tim. “Easy to use and easy to manage, the WatchGuard XTM 330 is the ideal solution for small organisations. Now businesses with 50 employees can have the same type of security and protection

and intrusion prevention capabilities, customers can choose to add application control, gateway antivirus, WebBlocker, spamBlocker and WatchGuard’s contextaware, cloud-based security service.

Also, the WatchGuard XTM 330 takes advantage of cutting-edge innovations from WatchGuard, including the ability to create highly secure virtual private network (VPN) tunnels for Apple iPad, iPhone and other iOS-based devices.

This way, small businesses can provide complete protection, even for popular devices that employees bring into the office.

Additional networking and VPN features allow for remote access,

solution for managed security service providers (MSSPs).

Besides the XTM 330, WatchGuard also unveiled their new security technology, designed specifically for Apple iOS-enabled devices. By doing so, WatchGuard provides mobile users protection for their iPhone, iPad and

WatchGuard’s line of extensible threat management (XTM) security solutions consolidates essential security functions, such as, VPN, anti-spam, anti-spyware, antivirus, content filtering and intrusion prevention in one easy to manage appliance.

Eric Aarrestad

that large enterprises, financial institutions and government agencies use to keep out spyware, malware and other Web threats. No other security appliance, UTM or next-generation firewall offers as much capability and firewall throughout in this price class, as the WatchGuard XTM 330. For small businesses, this is a redefining moment to combat cyber attacks and Internet criminals.”

The XTM 330 sports the latest security services from WatchGuard to meet any number of business needs.

In addition to next-generation firewall

which is ideal for SMEs with remote or mobile workers. Also, the XTM 330 supports clientless single sign-on, which helps to ensure simple and accurate authentication for user and group-based policies.

Advanced management and logging features provide management with easy to use reports. This gives businesses new insights about Web and application usage, as well as remediation abilities to enforce business and IT policies.

Because of the rich reporting and management features, it also makes for ideal customer premise equipment (CPE)

iPod touch data, while giving network administrators a superior way to manage, monitor and secure mobile devices, information and applications.

“With more and more consumers in the UAE and worldwide opting to use mobile Internet as their connection of choice for consumption of content online, the issue of managing and securing consumer technologies is a real challenge for businesses, especially as more and more employees bring personal devices into their corporate IT ecosystem,” said Eric. “By offering a way to securely connect iOS devices

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Technology for business WatchGuard

Probably the biggest technology development over the last year is related to how social media is making an impact in the region. Social media applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, are extremely powerful, but also present a major risk to businesses for both security reasons, as well as for employee productivity.

with WatchGuard security appliances, administrators can say ‘yes’ to their employees, while knowing their corporate networks, applications and data are safe and secure,” he added.

Mobile users often need to connect to corporate resources from high-risk locations, such as a free public Wi-Fi hot spots or hotel networks. By creating a mobile virtual private network (VPN) connection via IPSEC, WatchGuard customers with iOS devices will be able to create fast and easy VPN connections from anywhere to their WatchGuard XTM firewall appliance. By doing so, an encrypted tunnel is created, which secures data traffic from an iOS device to the corporate network and other behind-the-firewall resources.

Furthermore, this allows firewall policies

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and protections to be applied to authorised mobile users, which means WatchGuard customers with iOS devices will gain the benefits of gateway antivirus, intrusion prevention and other security services to keep out hackers, spyware, malware and more.

The unprecedented increase in cybercrime around the world is forcing companies to prioritise their security investments. “We see the Middle East to be an exceptionally strong market for vendors like WatchGuard, as mainstream businesses look to boost their security position. The IT spend for security is constantly increasing, and the integrated security appliance market (UTMs) has grown around 14%,” added Eric.

WatchGuard’s line of extensible threat management (XTM) security

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

solutions consolidates essential security functions, such as, VPN, anti-spam, anti-spyware, anti-virus, content filtering and intrusion prevention in one easy to manage appliance. The consolidation of these requisite security functions simplifies the security and compliance goals by reducing costs and time to deploy and manage. Due to their extensible and customisable design, customers can select security functions that best meet their network and IT environment.

WatchGuard develops nextgeneration firewall capabilities that are essential to protect against new forms of attack. Probably the biggest technology development over the last year is related to how social media is making an impact in the region. Social media applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, are extremely powerful, but also present a major risk to businesses for both security reasons, as well as for employee productivity. “One of our recent technology developments, Application Control, allows businesses to harness the power of social media, without having to sacrifice security or productivity,” concluded Eric.

Securing data is of prime importance to businesses, especially SMEs. Therefore, the solutions being offered by WatchGuard can go a long way in ensuring we protect what’s important to us.

About Tim Helming is the Director of Product Management.

He has over eight years of experience in the network security industry. Drawing on direct hands-on experience as a support engineer, as well as extensive customer interaction and market research as a product manager, Tim has worked with IT administrators, Managed Security Services providers, and security resellers all over the world to drive WatchGuard’s product development process.

Eric Aarrestad, Vice President of Marketing, brings 20 years of business and executive leadership experience to WatchGuard. Prior to joining WatchGuard, Aarrestad served as Director of Worldwide Marketing for Microsoft in the Mobile Communications Business.

Technology for Business SmartPhones

GOING MOBILE With new technologies being launched everyday we are constantly reminded about just how vast the SmartPhone empire has become, barely four years after the introduction of the iconic iPhone in 2007. Today, multi-purpose SmartPhones are pulling in more usage rates than personal computers.

I

T market intelligence firm, IDC reported that global SmartPhone sales overtook PC sales for the first time in history in Q4 2010, shipping at 100.9 million units compared to around 92.1 million for computers.

This is reflective of how the line between the functionality and appeal of SmartPhones and mini hand-held computers is rapidly blurring.

The idea of owning a device that combines the functions of a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA) has definitely taken the world by storm. IDC predicts that 472 million SmartPhones were shipped in 2011, representing a phenomenal year-on-year annual growth as more consumers embrace the technology.

In the Middle East, a region with a predominantly young, affluent and tech-savvy population, SmartPhones represent the fastest growing and most lucrative segment of the mobile handset market. Sale of SmartPhones is believed to have grown by more than 40% last year and the

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momentum is expected to continue due to vendor price dips influenced by improving economies of scale. SmartPhone penetration is poised to grow by a solid 11% over the next years in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular.

are seeing a steady stream of the top devices due to the country’s advanced commercial and logistics capabilities. On the other hand we see eager consumers, who are always hungry for the latest and best gadgets and want applications that fit their lifestyle, culture and tastes,” said Bashar Dahabra, Founder and CEO, Info2cell.com.

The demand for advanced SmartPhone technologies complemented by high-quality services will continue to exponentially grow in the UAE and across the region. “The diversity of SmartPhone use in the region has kept us quite busy developing applications ranging from audio and video streaming to social networking and prayer timings. Nowadays users expect these to be standard features in their phones, so there’s a lot of pressure on vendors to provide them, which means more business for software and service developers. Moreover, the market is not limited to a few platforms, such as iOS and BlackBerry OS. Other brands such as Nokia, HTC and Samsung have a strong following too. We also have to cater to a broad spectrum of users from various age groups, with different spending levels,” added Dahabra.

In 1994, The IBM Simon Personal Communicator, the precursor to the modern SmartPhone, made its global debut as a device that acted as a mobile phone, pager, PDA and fax machine. It even had a touch screen for dialing phone numbers. The Simon measured 8 x 2.5 x 1.5 inches, weighed a heavy 510 grams, and had an introductory

The demand for advanced SmartPhone technologies complemented by high-quality services will continue to exponentially grow in the UAE and across the region.

The UAE is currently the hotbed for mobile phone applications development in the Middle East, controlling a commanding 60% share of the regional market. The country’s well-developed information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and its status as consumer electronics hub, has made it a preferred destination for ICT investors, developers, and manufacturers.

“The UAE’s SmartPhone ecosystem is growing by leaps and bounds. On one hand we

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price of USD 900. In comparison, the iPhone 4S measures at 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm and weighs 140 grams, and at a cost of USD 300, for the basic unit, offers a slew of hi-tech features, including an 8-megapixel camera, digital GPS and a voice-controlled assistant.

The SmartPhone has come a long way from being a novelty device for enterprise-specific use to a must-have entertainment, productivity and communication package.

TheMeat o

SME about town Book launch

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS It is always fascinating to know what makes certain companies more successful and popular than others. SME Advisor attended a roundtable organised by Bain & Co, to launch its new book, The

Ultimate Question 2.0: How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer-Driven World, and to understand from the author, Rob Markey, what processes companies can put in place to ensure the loyalty of their customers and the growth of their business.

R

ob Markey, the co-author of the book highlighted that the book recounts the s u c c e s s stories of companies that h a v e adopted the N et Promoter s c o r e , a customer loyalty metric.

“I t d e f ines the fundamental c o n c e pts of Net Promoter, and h ow leading companies a r e w i nning over le gions of p r o f i t able customers with a s y s t e m of new rules that favour t h e c u stomer,” he said.

The book also explains the closed-loop feedback process and tells stories of companies that dramatically turned their fortunes around by embracing this metric. It shows how loyalty-focused companies turn customers and employees into promoters, who accelerate profits, drive value and enhance productivity.

A number of companies, such as LG, Samsung, Canon and Sony, use the Net Promoter score to measure and improve the customer experience. In addition to discovering inspiring stories and examples from customer experience, readers will

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Rob Markey also learn the fundamentals of creating a successful Net Promoter system in their own companies. According to Rob, effective use of this system requires three components to be in place: A simple and reliable metric for gauging how well you have earned your customers’ loyalty.

Operational processes to support closedloop feedback, action and learning by front-line employees.

Making customer and employee loyalty, your company’s number one priority.

“This is no longer about simply taking your customer’s pulse, it is about creating a culture through a systematic approach to fostering enthusiastic loyalty,” said Rob. He also pointed out that these loyalty leaders outgrow their competition by 2:1, as loyal customers buy more, stay longer and get new customers as well.

Three things, according to Rob, that successful companies have been doing are, sorting out customers into promoters and detractors; paying attention to feedback, learning and recovery; and making

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

customer loyalty top priority for the top management.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated by deducting the detractors from the promoters, and thus providing an indication of customer loyalty and satisfaction, something that other accounting systems are not able to.

Rob also highlighted that there are zero incremental costs, if the company replaces traditional feedback methods with the NPS. It is also very simple, time-saving and affordable, which means even SMEs can make use of it and get know if they are building their customer loyalty.

NPS works better in a competitive market, rather than a monopoly and is more relevant for the service industry, such as retail, banking and hospitality. All these sectors are gaining prominence in the UAE and therefore there is a lot of scope for implementing this system and promoting customer loyalty, which will go a long way in ensuring how successful a business becomes.

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SME about town

CSR programme

GETTING A HEAD START Al Tamimi Investments (ATI) hosted “The Big Talk”, a meet-up for UAE-based university students at The Shelter, Dubai. SME Advisor was there to gain insight into this initiative and find out what opportunities await the youth in the UAE.

T

he event was held in support of Al Tamimi’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. The Big Start is an annual student entrepreneur competition that aims to identify and support budding entrepreneurial talent in the UAE. The programme is open to all final year undergraduate and postgraduate students, under the age of 30, who are studying in the UAE.

restaurateur, Wild Peeta; social sports organiser, DUPLAYS; adventure travel company, Wild Guanabana; nutritional pizza brand N_K_D Pizza; the Middle East’s first local commerce portal, Living Social (previously GoNabit); as well as Season One Big Start winner, Yahya Stapic, with his recently launched fashion incubator concept store, United Designers.

Presentations echoed a common theme throughout the evening, with guest speakers encouraging students to be passionate about

It provides the winners with the chance to start their own business after they graduate, with full funding and support from Al Tamimi Investments.

The Big Talk hosted some of UAE’s most successful entrepreneurs, who shared stories of their start up journeys and provided invaluable advice to attending students, eager to follow in their entrepreneurial footsteps.

Featured “Big Talks” included presentations by gourmet shawarma

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SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

their business idea, believing in what they are doing, and putting 100% effort to achieve their goal.

Founder of Wild Guanabana, Omar Samra said, “The biggest challenge in starting a business is taking the plunge. People will always tell you this is not the right time to start. The truth is there is never a right time to start a business. Whenever you start, that is the right time.”

Ian Ohan, Owner of N_K_D Pizza, urged students to find a purpose in their ideas. He said, “Doing something that is meaningful is the key to successful entrepreneurship.”

The Big Talk meet-up attracted a full house with over 80 students from 15 universities in attendance. Varun Vashishth, a final year MBA student at the S.P. Jain Center of Management said, “The Big Talk was an enlightening experience and we really gained a lot of knowledge from the quality speakers at the event. They provided us with remarkable insights on entrepreneurship and exposure to the real business world. We are all buzzing about this event on campus.”

Rachael Wunsch, CEO of Al Tamimi Investments said, “The Big Talk was organised to add more value to The Big Start programme. We recognise the importance and value of knowledge transfer from businesses to students to help bridge the gap between theory and real world business practice. The Big Talk was one such forum to provide students with much needed inspiration and guidance from successful entrepreneurs who started out with just an idea. We were really happy to see such positive interest from so many students, representing different UAE universities.”

Launched in 2009, The Big Start competition forms the cornerstone of Al Tamimi’s CSR programme.

The Big Start competition is now in its third year and runs in three stages over a period of nine months. Students submit their business ideas for evaluation and selection by Al Tamimi Investments, before progressing to an intensive and practical programme to conduct feasibility studies, prepare a business plan and make a final presentation. The winning student(s) enjoys full funding and support of their business idea from Al Tamimi Investments to see their dream company come to life.

A day in the life of...

Jonathan Khan

With the growing concerns about the environment, what Wild Planet Productions is undertaking, is commendable. Jonathan Khan, Managing Director, tells us what a day in his life is like.

Wild Wild West!

At a time when many are looking to switch industries or try something different, we bring you first person accounts of the lives of entrepreneurs or senior executives, outlining a typical day in their business. Who knows, maybe the perfect idea is waiting for you. Read on and get inspired.

I get up and wake up my son Lucas for school. Then I step into my home-office to check e-mails, catch up on my three project-related Facebook pages and crack a few e-mails in time to drive Lucas to school (if it’s my turn)!

6:30 am

Get ready and re-work one of our Sharkquest Arabia PowerPoint presentations for a Zayed University talk that I have been invited to.

8:30 am

10:00 am On days when I need to venture away from the creative cave, 10:30 am is usually the time I set for my first meeting of the day and rush to get to Dubai Media City.

It’s time for the next meeting 11:30 am at the Lime Tree Café, where my wife, Jody joins me for a late breakfast. We go over the production budgets we are sending to our joint venture partners in the UK for Sharkquest Arabia. We receive a call from Mark Wild in the UK to let us know that we’ve just been given a letter of interest and intent from National Geographic Television International for global distribution of the magazine.

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Drive back to the house and get back to my computers to finish the destination film edits we are completing for Le Meridien.

12:30 pm

My turn to pick up Lucas from 3:00 pm school and I welcome the break and the chance to spend time with him.

Back to the e-mails, edits, designs, phone calls and chase up for answers from the previous day.

Trying to confirm sponsorship for content creation these days is not easy.

3:40 pm

Make a phone call to the PR team, following up on their e-mails about the various Wild Planet Twitter and social media campaigns. We are stepping up the offensive, and they’ve set up another magazine interview and want to know when I am available.

4:30 pm

Arrive at Zayed University men’s 5:15 pm campus in Academic City in order to set up my PowerPoint and video presentation. I’m talking about the Sharkquest Arabia documentary and the role of UAE as a

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

major distribution hub for shark fins destined for Asia. Around 130 students show up and not only sit through the whole show, but even ask questions.

By the time I get home, I’m ready for down-time after a quick check for any new e-mails. I spend a few minutes checking our Facebook pages and Tweets and do a final sit down with Jody about the day’s correspondence, accounts and so forth.

7:00 pm

Dinnertime! I’m the cook in the house (one of my passions in life, stemming from a childhood growing up in Italy)!

After dinner it’s time to sit down and lounge in front of the TV.

7:30 pm

I have somehow mysteriously found my way back into the AV cave and depending on the job, I usually put in another three to four hours!

10:30 pm

I crawl quietly into bed feeling excited that in less than a month, I will be out in the field on a five month expedition shooting for Sharkquest Arabia again!

For me the field, whether underwater or terrestrial, is where I thrive and feel the ultimate creative challenge of filmmaking!

2:00 pm

Eduserve FZ LLC PO Box 211027 | Dubai | UAE t: +971 55 4646 685 e: info@eduserve.com w: www.eduserve.com

Eduserve is pleased to announce the return of Roger Harrop, the award winning motivational business growth expert and opening speaker at the SME Summit & Awards 2011 in Dubai.

CEO MasterClass: The Key to Profitable Growth in Good Times or Bad

Regain your Focus - Hone your Strategy - Propel your Organization Forward Who Is It For? CEOs, Business Audiences, Boards, Trustees, Directors, Senior Managers.

What Are The Benefits?

This program, which is centred on two main themes of “Staying in the Helicopter” and “Keeping it Simple”, will show you how you can: ● Explore every aspect of your business and yet maintain a laser beam focus on the ‘big picture’ ● Identify and concentrate on the really important business issues; ● Achieve significant growth in sales and profits; ● Take away practical action learning that will successfully impact your business and your own personal life when implemented;

About Roger Roger Harrop BSc(Hons), CEng, FIMechE, FCIM, FInstIB, FPSA, PSAE ● Former Vice-President and Fellow of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers ● Accredited SME business advisor and Fellow of The Institute for Independent Business ● Speaker of the Year with The Academy for Chief Executives ● Winner of the Professional Speaking Award of Excellence Over 10,000 CEOs, business leaders and others have achieved transformational change through his thought provoking and entertaining talks laced with real-life stories, anecdotes and humour.

Doha – Qatar 26 Feb 2012 Dubai – UAE 28 Feb 2012 SME Special Special Offer Offer SME Mention promotional promotional Mention code SME2011 for code SME2011 for 10% discount off your 10% discount off your next MasterClass MasterClass with with next Roger Harrop Roger Harrop “Roger’s huge experience, combined with a direct, engaging style makes him a great business speaker and coach. He made a huge impact on our management team and helped us address several serious business issues."

Andrew Shaw, CEO, Dubai Cable Company

Also available for in-company training throughout the region For booking information, contact Lyn on +971 55 4646 685 or email lyn@eduserve.com

Sign off

Drawing inspiration

Many hands make light work SME Advisor Editor, Mike Byrne, looks to the year ahead and to the role the entire business community can play.

T

here used to be a commercial on British television advertising performance DIY products and more specifically wood varnish products. It became instantly recognisable and simultaneously a hit because of its tagline “Ronseal – it does exactly what is says on the tin!”

And here at SME Advisor we do exactly what we say on the cover – we give good advice for better business. We endeavour to provide solid guidance on as many of the key business logistical elements as possible.

And it’s not just the magazine content that we drive – there is online, social media and of course our events.

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Through constant feedback from you all, we tweaked, trimmed and fine tuned all our platforms in order to accommodate as much as possible and provide as much value as we could cram in!

With these modifications it was apparent that you, as business owners, seek not only knowledge from subject matter experts, but also from everyday business owners – people who have battled against the hardships and have taken their SME to new heights.

And so what better way to conclude our event calendar for 2011 than to invite three winners from the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards along for a morning of interaction with attendees. Shabana Karim, Managing Director of The Nail Spa, Rabea Ataya; CEO and Founder of Bayt.com; and Dr. Ata Atmar, Managing Director, Bateel International, were kind enough to present their business success stories, detailing not only their eventual success, but the tough trials they all went through to get there.

Attendee reactions were very positive with constant interaction through questions and answers, discussions over coffee and lunch and even one-on-one consultations. (Coverage of this event is on pages 48- 52).

As Ketaki very aptly requested in her Editorial this month, it is you we want to hear from – call us, write to us, email us – just

SME ADVISOR MIDDLE EAST JANUARY 2012

get in contact, share your story and we will do our very best to feature as many as we can. In order to best serve the needs of the SME community, we need to have constant interaction with it. With the introduction of 2012 we are starting as we mean to go on – we want even more communication between business minds than we saw in 2011.

We can, of course, act as the facilitator or middle man but what it is going to take is a meaningful and continuous effort from you all – it is as important to bring like minded business enthusiasts together through advice, guidance and shared endeavours, as it is to bring you the best value-driven advice from subject matter experts.

Also, this month’s edition of SME Advisor we talk about one young man’s “go get it” spirit – at the tender age of 17 Uday Singh has manifested an online platform advertising restaurant deals and reduced rates for eating out. (Page 56 & 57).

Uday is of Indian origin, has a Dubai upbringing, and more recently, a Western education. He has taken the best from all that has influenced him, which further highlights how inspiration is everything. So none of us should underestimate the ability to draw inspiration from our surroundings and from our fellow business piers!

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