54 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / August 2019Telecom breakthroughs are the key to transforming
SME futures by HANY ALY
Cove Beach in Dubai‘TREPONOMICS PRO
THE NEW WAVE
T
he UAE’s rise as a global incubator for entrepreneurs, startups,
and future innovation has created a rich landscape for
businesses of all sizes to thrive in. Backed by the leadership’s
vision for creating a vibrant platform of opportunity, small-
to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are being touted as key
contributors towards the country’s economic diversification.It’s pleasing to see that the
wheels are already set in
motion. Contributions from
the SME sector towards GDP
are estimated to be at around
53% in 2019, up from 49%
in 2018, according to the
Federal Competitiveness and
Statistics Authority’s latestreport. Backed by a range of
public sector initiatives –such
as plans to expedite payments
to SMEs within 30 days
instead of 90, and the growth
of supportive institutions
like Khalifa Fund, StartAD,
and Dubai SME– the federal
government is targeting totalSME contributions to reach
60% by 2021.
The UAE leadership has
made supporting SMEs a key
priority. This sets an inspir-
ing example for other sectors,
including the telecommuni-
cations industry, to make a
mark on the SME ecosystemin order to drive the future
progress of the nation. ICT
(information and communica-
tions technology) players are
digitally transforming the sta-
tus quo of business environ-
ments across the world. In the
UAE, this transformation is
coming to life with the rollout
of 5G networks. With faster
speeds of up to 1 Gbps, higher
network capacity enabling up
to 100 times more connected
devices per square kilom-
eter, and 1 ms latency, 5G
is creating a new chapter in
connectivity for individuals,
businesses, and government
entities. 5G is also giving way
to the realization of inter-
net of things (IoT) network
and artificial intelligence
use cases, which harness the
potential to digitally trans-
form the social and economic
futures of the country.