Increasing number of UAE residents becoming entrepreneurs

A new study highlights that an increasing number of UAE residents are becoming entrepreneurs thanks to new technology platforms.

These digital platforms, says the study by social networking website LinkedIn, help young people get their ideas off the ground and overcome traditional barriers to entry.

The Middle East is the top region from where the UAE is gaining entrepreneurship talent. This is followed by Switzerland, Egypt, South Africa and Spain.

The Middle East includes Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen.

Entrepreneurship, in fact, is the fastest-growing job function year-on-year in the UAE. The country is gaining the highest percentage of LinkedIn members identifying entrepreneurship as their job function from other countries within the Middle East.

The findings are based on the inputs of over 433 million members, examining the movement of individuals across job functions and industries. The research is based on an analysis of UAE profiles created and completed between March 2015 and March 2016.

The study reveals that the number of members on this website in the UAE who identify entrepreneurship as their job function increased by a remarkable year-on-year (y-o-y) growth rate of 98.3 per cent.

“This increase was most pronounced in the professional services industry. This refers to a range of different occupations that provide support to businesses of all sizes and in all sectors, including services such as tax advice, accounting consultancy, or business consultancy. This was followed by the technology (software sector) and then the retail and consumer product sector.”

Another interesting take from the study is the growth in the number of people now employed with so-called smaller sized companies.

“There has been an increase in the percentage of members in the UAE who have moved to work for smaller companies. The number of UAE members who indicated that they worked for a company employing fewer than 200 employees has grown by a year-on-year growth rate of 10 per cent.

“For example, the number of UAE LinkedIn members who state that they work for a professional services company employing fewer than 200 employees has increased by over 20 per cent compared with this point last year.”

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