The Dubai-based Pearl Initiative launched a three-year program to accelerate the business resilience of the GCC small and medium-sized enterprises. The program features workshops, training sessions, and discussion roundtables to serve as educational platforms for companies across the regions. SME’s, incubators, and regulators would team up to exchange best practices and know-hows in the field of corporate governance.
During the first phase of the program, the Pearl Initiative conducted a public YouGov survey across the Gulf to identify the key governance issues the SMEs had experienced. Over 1,000 respondents took part in the study. Among the main issues they named were the shortage of skilled labor, long-term funding, and setting-up a competitive company.
Carla Koffel, the Executive Director of the Pearl Initiative, commented that the results of the report would serve as a base of the program. It would assist SMEs to build and develop a resilient organization using the means of corporate governance. It would also provide up-to-date data on management structures. The information gained from the survey would also help the Pearl team to come up with additional tools and resources to ensure accountability and transparency.
BMB Group, Crescent Enterprises, Dubai SME, Zubair SEC, Boubyan Bank were among the many sponsors of the Pearl Initiative. BMB Group’s Bilal Ballout commented that when he started his business a decade ago, the concept of corporate governance was vague and disregarded by many. Now, he has realized how much it could have helped its business.
If you want to join the initiative, you may do so online.