They can also add $5.3bln to country's GDP, says Bain & Company

Saudi Arabia stands to gain from municipal investments, which are projected to contribute 20 billion Saudi riyals ($5.33 billion) every year to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), a global management consulting firm said.

At the recent Municipal Investment Forum in Riyadh, Bain & Company highlighted the positive impact of municipal investments, citing that they are “pegged to achieve 5 billion riyals to government revenues” annually and also create 125,000 jobs for residents.

“Given the immense economic impact of municipal investments, it is critical to entice more investors into supporting initiatives in various municipalities and governorates,” Samer Bohsali, a Middle East-based partner at Bain & Company said.

 “Investments such as these are key to building competitive cities in Saudi Arabia in support of the goals and objectives of Vision 2030,” Bohsali added.

Municipal investments can support the 35 objectives of Vision 2030 and its six main programs, namely privatisation, housing, quality of life, hajj, national transformation and fiscal balance, according to the global management consulting firm.

“It is significant for governments worldwide, not just in Saudi Arabia, to focus on building competitive cities because of their many economic benefits,” he said.

“A competitive city’s GDP growth stands at 5 times compared with average cities. Job growth stands at 4.5 time relative to average cities. In terms of income growth, competitive cities experience a 10 times increase compared with average cities,” Bohsali said.

source: zawya

GCC MAJOR SOURCE MARKET FOR OUTBOUND MICE TRAVEL SAYS REGIONAL EXPERT MICEMINDS   

WINS ‘BEST INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN AN INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION’ ACCOLADE AT

THE MALT EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The global MICE industry is anticipated to reach over $1.4 billion in the next five years and the Middle East remains at the forefront as one of the fastest-growing tourism generators globally and an important source market for any destination.

According to the team at MiceMinds, the UAE is the second biggest source market for outbound travel from the Middle East, surpassed only by Saudi Arabia. This growth has been buoyed by the growth of the regional airlines as well as the game-changing mindset of companies like MiceMinds who create bespoke incentive travel experiences that are personalized and designed to lead positive business results.

An ITL World Company, MiceMinds was lauded for their ‘out of the box’ thinking where they won the ‘Best Incentive program in an International Destination’ award at the MALT Excellence Awards last night. The official award show of the renowned Mice Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress (MALT), the MALT Excellence Awards highlight, honor and celebrate path-breaking achievements of top organizations and individuals, who have demonstrated exemplary initiatives in the field of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events (Mice), Business and Luxury Travel from the GCC.

This particular award recognized this unique organization within the ITL World portfolio that uses incentive trips as a tool to stimulate and motivate employees and partners and reward those who have achieved certain goals in the company.

“When we won the TMC of the Year award last year we didn’t rest on our laurels so to be rewarded for a 2^nd year in a row is a real honor especially for a part of our business that usually goes unrecognized. The core objective of MiceMinds is to help organizations strengthen their team and overall performance through one-of-a-kind travel and event experiences, and this unique accolade underscores our steadfast commitment to excellence in making the MICE industry bigger, better with more customization and innovation across the board,” said Rafeeq Mohammed, CEO of ITL World.

“Awards such as this are a wonderful endorsement of our unique approach to delivering exceptional experiences to our MICE clients and the resolute commitment and expertise of our team,” he added.

Since its official launch in 1998, ITL World has been assisting companies across the globe to make the most of what they spend on business and incentive travel.

source: uaenews247

The Egyptian government is working to move its entities to the new capital, and wants to provide adequate transportation services to the public sector employees

The Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El Said, has discussed with the General Manager of Uber Egypt, Ahmed Khalil, expanding the services of the ride-hailing application to the New Administrative Capital.

The Egyptian government is working to move its entities to the new capital, and wants to provide adequate transportation services to the public sector employees, the minister further noted.

El Said vowed to provide a suitable environment for Uber’s expansion plan, referring to the success of the Uber Bus services that launched for the first time in the world from Cairo.

The minister further stressed the need for creating a feature for frequent passengers to cater to the needs of students and employees.

Uber launched in Egypt in 2014, according to Khalil, who noted that the company now has more than 130,000 drivers.

The company is planning an Uber for Government service for public sector employees in the new capital, he further indicated, with studies to introduce the Uber Intercity programme across all governorates.

soruce: zawya

It’s no secret that your people are the beating heart of your company.

Whether you’re a two-person pre-seed startup, or a 50-person strong Series B, a focus on people is vital.

With record-breaking FDI and increasing levels of M&As in the MENA region, there’s never been a more pertinent time to invest in your talent strategy. With that in mind, here are a few tips to get your talent strategy heading in the right direction:

1-BUILD A TEAM TODAY THAT’S FIT FOR TOMORROW

The team you put together now will be executing your key objectives for the next two, six, and 12 months.

Who you hire now dictates what your company is capable of achieving between now and its next significant phase of growth.

If you begin to hire incredible talent, you’re sending a signal out that you’re ready for growth.

2- BUILD A HIGH-SPEED, HIGH-QUALITY RECRUITMENT OPERATION
Top talent will have offers coming from multiple companies. Interesting startups with strong ideas can miss out on the best talent by making the recruitment process too long.

Build a process that will test the capability and compatibility of your candidates without making it tedious for them.

In the time you are deciding after your fourth-round interview, your candidate could be tempted elsewhere.

3- LOOK BEYOND INCREASING CAPACITY
When facing the need to hit growth targets, companies can go on a hiring spree to increase capacity. This can help you achieve your targets no doubt; however, you face a battle to maintain the growth that warrants these hires, and the potential disruption of having to part ways with recent hires once you achieve your desired growth- a real demotivator internally.

Being transparent with hires from the start is one way to alleviate the potential effects of such a strategy; however, looking further than the short-term and investing in talent to take you beyond this is a healthier option.

4- LOOK BEYOND THE SKILLS GAP
Look for people who will add value to your culture. Be honest if your team is lacking in a certain area that you might want to improve- for example, if you’re naturally risk-averse, look to bring someone who will challenge this.

Look to add value in areas important to you and your leadership team.

5- UP-SKILL WHERE POSSIBLE
Your business will turn from needing generalists to specialists. There will be tough conversations to have with people who have got you to a certain stage, but can’t take you to the next level.

Where one person may have been wearing multiple hats before, you will be looking to bring in experts in these separate areas that may make that original person unfit fit for a role.

If you see potential in these generalists, look to upskill them where possible so that they can remain in your company.

These founding people offer much more than their skills, contributing hugely to your culture, if you can lift them up to the level you need, it’s a win for everyone.

6- CREATE CLEAR PROGRESSION FRAMEWORKS
People join high-growth businesses because they want growth too– as such, design scalable roles for people capable of growing.

To avoid increasing attrition rates, make it clear where people could get to in your company. Making these roles visible is a big motivator, and it will help you retain current staff and attract new talent.

The rewards of investing in hiring and managing talent as you scale are vast. With both funding and exits on the rise in the MENA region, the impetus to invest in talent is clear.

These little tips outlined are part of a larger exercise to consider your talent strategy, and be thoughtful when you’re looking to scale.

source: entrepreneur

Predicting the future of social media is always fun. Product managers make sure that their customers engage a lot more on their products than they did the previous day.

Hence the product’s features and tools are rolled out in a way that it offers more ways to connect, track and maximize a product’s online marketing performance.

Though there are lot of products being launched, only the best will endure.

I make my own predictions every coming year, then look back at them to see if I was spot on or way off. These are my trend predictions for social media marketing in 2020 and where things seem to be heading as we begin the next decade, based on my subject expertise and experience in 2019.

Influencer Marketing

According to the latest research, influencer marketing will skyrocket, with 59% of marketers planning to increase their influencer budgets in 2020.

Consumers always get confused when multiple ads are targeted towards them hence an influencer marketer builds that trust by reviewing the product and convincing them in their purchase decisions. These people can be friends and family, but the circle of trust has now grown to people they follow on social media, ranging from celebrities to niche artists and experts in specific fields.

Social media has always been great for small and medium sized business and startups, because it allows small brands with less budget to compete with brands on the same stage.

Many small and medium sized business don’t have the budgets to go after the “named” influencers, so we see a rise in the growth of micro-influencers in the coming ages.

Shopping on Social Media

Shopping on social media is a trend that began this year and is predicted to grow.

Through your fingertips you get to see the things you need without even making an effort to visit the ecommerce website. Now, with just a few clicks, you can go from seeing something you like while scrolling Instagram or Facebook.

Within a few seconds you can acquire a product by COD or via borderless transactions.

Many startups sell their products online since this platform reduces storage space and helps cut down the budget.

Stories Will Become the Marketers’ Darling For a while, Stories were exclusive to Snapchat, but then Instagram and Facebook Stories came out, and recently YouTube also started to show Stories.

Stories portray reality and consumers are more eager to see what are the latest and most interesting things that are happening with their brands.

Videos can be captured on the spot and Stories can be easily created which gives traction to authentic insights.

Stories offer a sense of urgency since they have a time limit of no more than 24 hours to boost sales and offer discounts.

Chatbots

When chatbots first came into the picture, customers only received pre-recorded answers to questions. Algorithms are improving chatbots’ effectiveness by “understanding” what users are writing to them. Brands no longer have to stock the bots with canned answers, as chatbots finds accurate answers online very quickly.

Chatbots can interact with multiple audiences at the same time. Multitasking is where humans do multiple things at the same time to save huge chunks of time. Soon, chatbots will take the jobs away from humans.

Improved Customer Service

This second part is dedicated to chatbots. Every day, the duration of the time that elapses from the moment a consumer initiates a call and until he establishes contact and expect an answer is indeed shortening.

We know that having a live 24/7 customer service team for every single business is a waste of resources.

Utilizing chatbot technology, in combination with your live staff, enables a type of round the clock coverage.

Although bots do not answer every single question, nor do they allow the personalization of talking to an actual human lots of time can be saved for the customer service workers by handing over the same repetitive questions, changes to addresses and passwords to the chatbots.

There are lots of improvements needed for an effective chatbots to run.

They will be the major game changers in the automation industry in 2020; offering time, cost and savings efficiency, and enabling wise use of company resources.

Hence these are the main technology pivots in social media. A lot of new tools and shifts will take place in 2020, but in terms of actionable marketing potential, these are the areas where I predict to see the more relevant shifts.

Hopefully these notes will help you make your strategic approach.

source: bentrepreneur.biz

Here's what entrepreneurs need to do to avoid costly mistakes down the line.

Many people aspire to start their own business, but succeeding in the commercial marketplace is easier said than done.

Companies led by inexperienced people unfamiliar with the legal requirements they need to fulfill are particularly susceptible to failure. Nevertheless, many business owners jump into the competitive marketplace without doing enough research when it comes to covering their legal bases.

Don’t start a business without first thoroughly preparing yourself.

Here are eight legal requirements you need to fulfill when you start a business, and the costs associated with letting these important concerns fall by the wayside. 

1. Protect your personal assets

The most important thing to consider when launching your own business is how you intend to protect your personal assets. No budding business owner wants to think about failure, but the truth of the matter is that many new companies struggle to earn a profit and collapse.

Even those that are successful might find themselves the victim of an unjust lawsuit that eats up time, money and energy.

To avoid a lawsuit being the end of not only your business but also your personal financial security, it’s imperative to protect your assets by forming an LLC. A limited liability company, as the name implies, limits the degree to which you as the business owner are liable for damages incurred by customers. Thus, a customer who sues your company after receiving a faulty product or inadequate service won’t be able to touch your personal finances or bank account.

Take plenty of time to research forming an LLC, as this is a lengthy process but an essential one that must be done by the books. 

2. Check if you must publicize your company 

Depending on where you live and where you intend to open your business, you may face extra hurdles when forming an LLC or similar legal entity.

Some states and cities require that you publicize news that you’ve formed a company by posting a statement in a local newspaper, for instance. Failing to take this step could result in a stiff fine or a refusal on behalf of state authorities to recognize your new business.

At least three states have newspaper publication requirements: Arizona, Nebraska and New York. Residents of those states should pay special attention to the rules. 

3. Understand you must insure your workers

In most states, business owners (particularly those with more than five employees) are legally required to insure their workers in a number of ways. Offering worker’s compensation insurance to those who are injured on the job and incapable of providing for themselves, for instance, is required in most of the United States.

Many amateur business owners attempt to cut down on the costs associated with running a company by mitigating their insurance rates, but understand that skimping out on worker’s comp could seriously backfire and cost you dearly. 

can have, as it keeps you safe from generic claims of wrongdoing and will ensure you can keep the lights on should you be sued. 

If a customer is walking between the aisles of your store before slipping and injuring their back, your general liability insurance is going to be what kicks in to protect you after they sue you for damages. Similarly, if one of your products is defective and harms the user, general liability insurance will guarantee that your business doesn’t have to close its doors while reworking its entire manufacturing and logistics process.

5. Ensure you’re not violating trademarks 

Trademark and copyright violations aren’t something that can or should be shrugged off, so every budding entrepreneur should take time to ensure that the name they’ve chosen for their business isn't already trademarked. If you launch a new company and begin advertising your operations without checking if your name is already taken, you could receive a cease and desist form or even a subpoena in the mail. 

Formally register your name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office if you want to sleep soundly at night, convinced that your business’ name is yours and yours alone. 

6. Don’t forget about taxes

Now that you’ve clarified that your name is permitted and you’ve purchased expensive insurance, it seems only natural that you should get down to business.

Before you can open your doors, however, you need to address the issue of how you’ll be paying federal taxes. Unless you want the IRS knocking on your door, you’ll need to apply for an Employer Identification Number online via a holding company, which will allow the U.S. government to differentiate between your business and others when collecting what it’s owed. 

Take some time to browse the EIN page on the IRS website if you’ve not taken care of this already. 

7. Check if your industry needs licensing

These days, there are few generic businesses left, as specialization is the key to success in the modern economy.

Certain industries require you to attain a license before opening your doors, however, so don’t think you can leap straight into a specialized area without doing your homework beforehand. 

Check out a list of professions that require licensing across the United States and ensure that your documents are up to date if you want to avoid legal trouble.

Medical professionals, legal experts and other professionals in important industries should take special precautions when checking their licensing requirements. Malpractice lawsuits can be ludicrously expensive, so don't skip this step.

8. Hire a good lawyer

Finally, every business needs a good lawyer to call upon when things inevitably go wrong. In this day and age, it’s only a matter of time until you're dealing with a lawsuit, and when the subpoenas arrive you’re going to want solid legal expertise to rely on. Thoroughly vet the lawyers in your area and don’t be afraid to ask them why they’re the best choice for your business. 

Always remember that lawyers who can’t answer your questions in a satisfactory manner won’t be capable of seriously defending your business. Invest plenty of time, energy and money in finding the right legal experts to help protect your business, and your new company will be up and running in no time.

 source: entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia has evolved over the years, and with the introduction of Vision 2030 the government has taken many steps to improve the market for foreign investors and open doors for startups and SMEs in the Kingdom.

As the value of entrepreneurship is realized and the benefits it provides to the economy and society, the government has initiated actions to boost the entrepreneurship ecosystem. 

Creating the right ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive in the Kingdom has been a key objective for the government.

This means creating enabling policies, providing appropriate opportunities for funding, creating a positive culture, support mechanisms and a venture-friendly market.

This requires support from other stakeholders such as corporations, risk capitals, universities, and other entrepreneurs, who help enable the growth of startups and SMEs in the Kingdom.

The government’s commitment to entrepreneurship has been further displayed through the fueling of the entrepreneurship and SME sector.

They have introduced initiatives and funding boosts to assist new entrepreneurs entering the market.

This includes a SAR 72 billion (US $19.2 billion) stimulus package to boost the private sector with a large focus on different programs and initiatives supporting SMEs, such as government fee reimbursements, a government VC fund, indirect financing to SMEs and export financing.

Continuing, the government launched the Meras program which provides all the public and private sector services required by an entrepreneur to set up a business in a day. Then, the General Authority for SMEs, also known as Monsha’at, was established which pledges to remove the barriers to entry, access to funding, supporting SMEs with marketing and exporting products and services.

These positive changes to improve the entrepreneurship ecosystem and create ease for those looking to enter the market has grown the Saudi Arabia entrepreneurship ecosystem rapidly.

The government is now focusing their efforts on increasing innovative and technologically advanced startups in the Kingdom to put Saudi ahead in the region. 

source:

Saudization is effectively changing the shape of the Saudi economy by tackling the unemployment issues the Kingdom has been dealing with.

The Saudi nationalization scheme is a key component of the Vision 2030, a plan to diversify the Saudi economy from its oil dependence.

By hiring more Saudi’s and allowing for business startups to set up more easily, the new plans are going to entirely make over the Saudi economy. 

The economy of the Kingdom is in the top twenty economies in the world, as part of the G20 (Group of 20). As the land with the second largest petroleum reserves in the world, Saudi Arabia relied on oil throughout most of its history.

In 2016, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced the Vision 2030.

In 2019, the Kingdom’s economy recorded its first surplus since 2014, indicating a notable change upon the implementation of Saudization. 

Saudi Arabia is currently in the process of making fast and unprecedented changes; in an attempt to attract new business ventures, a new entrepreneurial license was issued by SAGIA (Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority) in 2018. During the same year, foreign investments boomed with a 110% increase.

During the last quarter of 2019, Saudi government began to reduce spending when growth in the private sector was recorded.

Indicators point towards a fast and efficient Saudization process and a rapid execution of the Vision 2030 plans.

In order to make these changes happen, the Saudi government is also working on improving the business experience for small business owners; as the year began, a new regulatory change allowed businesses to open 24/7.

It became one of many threads meant to put together the ‘New Saudi.’ As the people of Saudi become its face to the world, the government also makes it easier for investors to visit and search for entrepreneurial opportunities; in 2020, a new visit visa rule allowed for UK, U.S. and Schengen visa holders to enter the Kingdom with a visa on arrival. 

The economy of Saudi Arabia was historically associated with the Kingdom’s oil riches, but the Vision 2030 along with Saudization are executive plans designed to involve Saudi nationals in the transformation of their country’s economy.

source: proven-sa

Advisers and investors said that the Foreign Capital Investment Law will contribute to establishing new investment entities and open up investment and employment opportunities in the Sultanate, directly or indirectly.

The new law will help combat illicit trade and regulate the labour market, said observers, noting that the Sultanate’s business infrastructure is now ready to attract investments, with penalties stated in the new law serving as a deterent against fraud.

Ahmed bin Abdulkareem al-Hooti, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) Board Member, said that the Foreign Capital Investment Law is an element among a set of laws that regulate commercial and economic activities, as well as investment in general.

 Al-Hooti pointed out that the Foreign Capital Investment Law also functions alongside the Law on Partnership Between Public and Private Sectors, Privatization Law, Investment Law and Bankruptcy Law. This is in addition to the establishment of the Commercial Arbitration Centre, which will help investors in decision making.

Meanwhile, Dr. Yousef bin Hamad al-Balushi, CEO of Investment Smart Portal, said that investment, in general, and foreign investment, in particular, assume great significance in any development process, and this prompts all countries to grab investment opportunities.

He added that there is currently an urgent need to speed up steps towards encouraging and attracting investments, locally and internationally, for a variety of realities dictated by the growing stage, which has almost attained its prime in infrastructure and legislations. 

This, in turn, dictates transformation into a new model that is capable of yielding fruits, in terms of major investments, and maximizing benefits from the Sultanate’s preparedness and high status among world countries.

 The Foreign Capital Investment Law enables the investor to exclusively own the land of a project or share it with another foreign investor or Omani investor, said Dr.

Adil al-Maqdadi, a former Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), an advocate and legal adviser at the Office of Dr.

Ahmed Said al-Jahwari Legal Consultants.  This law has not imposed any bottom-line capital for his company, unlike the previous law, which imposes a minimum of RO15,000 for approaching an investment venture.

source: omannews

Saudi Arabia’s startups attracted $67 million worth of investments in 2019, an increase of 35 percent from the previous year, a new report shows.

The stand-out year for entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia also saw 71 investment deals, which represents a rise of 92 percent since 2018, and a record number in comparison to any other year, according to startup platform MAGNITT.

There was also an increase of 58 percent in institutional investors in startups based in the kingdom to a total of 41 institutions. Around one-third of these institutions were based outside Saudi, mainly in the UAE. At the same time, accelerators accounted for nearly one-third of all deals.

“There are several factors that contribute to the growth of the Saudi startup ecosystem in general: the size of its economy and population, as well as a high income per capita and internet penetration,” Philip Bahoshy, MAGNiTT's Founder and CEO told Zawya.

“This, combined with the increased government focus on the entrepreneurship sector through Funds of Funds, capital matching programs, accelerator programs, licensing schemes and other initiatives, contribute to the growth of the startup sector as a whole,” he added.

The rise in venture capital funding and number of deals in Saudi placed it at the third highest spot for both categories in the Middle East and North Africa, following UAE and Egypt.

The kingdom accounted for 12 percent of the total deals in the region, and 9 percent of the total funding. It also recorded the region’s fastest year-on-year growth in venture funding deals in 2019. 

Rising Industries

In terms of industries, e-commerce and delivery & transport were the top two sectors in terms of the number of deals and amount of venture capital (VC) funding.

Data analytics has been a rising sector accounting for the third highest number of VC deals in the kingdom. Education was also gaining momentum and was the third highest recipient of amount of VC funding.

Historically, nascent and quickly growing ecosystems saw industries such as logistics, transport, and e-commerce rise as a first wave of startups and venture capital funding, Bahoshy said.

“To a certain extent, this is still the case in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. Hence, it is expected that these sectors remain prominent,” he said.

However, more high-tech sectors such as FinTech and IT Solutions / Data Analytics have seen a recent surge in the wider MENA region in terms of number of deals, with certain governments focusing specifically on FinTech as a sector, according to him.

“This trend is expected to become more prevalent in Saudi Arabia in 2020 as well, with government initiatives such as FinTech Saudi aiding the growth and adoption,” he added.

source: .zawya