Fourth edition of Dubai SME 100 programme launched

Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, launched the fourth cycle of its ‘Dubai SME 100’ programme on Monday.

The programme that ranks the top 100 SMEs in Dubai based on their performance and aims to identify distinguished SMEs based on certain financial and non-financial parameters and support their growth.

The fourth cycle of the programme will highlight SMEs in Dubai that have shown resilience and progress despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic.

The newly restructured programme now includes a new criteria to assess the rate of productivity and the extent of digital technology adoption among SMEs.

SMEs ranked under the programme can enjoy a series of benefits, including a capacity-building programme designed to meet the needs of executives, financial managers, human resources managers, information technology managers and quality managers. The programme includes the provision of advisory and guidance services and training sessions in partnership with international partners.

.@Dubai_SME , along with its partners in the government as well as public and private sectors, will continue to encourage the ‘Dubai SME 100’ companies through identifying areas for development and launching programmes and policies that support these enterprises to grow globally.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) September 27, 2021

Specialised financing solutions at low interest rates provided by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund, the financial arm of Dubai SME, in cooperation with the Beehive platform, are also part of the package of benefits offered under Dubai SME 100 programme.

SMEs contribute to 47 percent of the GDP and account for 51 percent of the workforce in Dubai.

“‘The’Dubai SME 100 has gone past a number of milestones since its launch and also played a major role in enhancing SME performance in Dubai. The ranking programme has also contributed to enhancing awareness on the importance of developing the SME sector and the significance of Dubai as an incubator for innovative ideas, in addition to supporting SMEs to grow and attract global investors,” said Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME.

Al Janahi added, “Results of the previous cycles have shown that 88 per cent of ranked SMEs managed to achieve more than 10 per cent growth in sales. In addition, high growth SMEs achieving more than 20 per cent sales growth accounted for 69 per cent. Overall, 98 per cent of ranked SMEs managed to improve [their] performance.”