2015’s Dubai SME100 Announced

• Dubai SME announces third cycle of Dubai SME100 ranking
• SMEs engines of growth and backbone of Dubai’s economy
• 88% of ranked SMEs grew by double digits over last 3 years

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation and President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, honoured last week the owners and executives of small and medium businesses in the emirate that made into the Dubai SME100 ranking in its third cycle at a ceremony held at the Madinat Jumeirah.

An initiative launched in 2011 by Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, Dubai SME100 identifies the top-performing SMEs in Dubai to help them grow into bigger, internationally-oriented and more sustainable and enterprises, and support them through their growth.

The 2015 ranking saw a substantial rise in SME enrollments and Dubai SME restructured the ranking criteria by adding Corporate Social Responsibility as one of the themes and increasing the weightage for Innovation in classifying the companies.

“Today, Dubai – because of its global reputation as an entrepreneurial hub – is increasingly becoming a launch-pad for SMEs in vital sectors such as health, education, information technology, logistics, tourism, hospitality and others. Many of the enterprises thus launched have also successfully expanded to neighbouring markets in the region. Dubai SME100 continue to inspire many of these emerging companies and their innovations as well as growth,” His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED, said at the ceremony.

Al Qamzi added that the Department of Economic Development, and particularly Dubai SME, maintain a strong focus on SMEs as it’s a vital sector and the backbone of Dubai’s economy.

“Micro enterprises account for 72% of the total business population in Dubai, small enterprises constitute 18% and mid-sized businesses, another five per cent. Mid-sized businesses contribute to about 17% of the total value added to the economy of Dubai, while the respective share of small enterprises is 14% and that of micro-enterprises is about 8%. In the trade sector alone, SMEs account for 47% of the total value added while the respective share in the service sector is 41% and 13% in the manufacturing sector,” said Al Qamzi.