Year of Innovation: biz-group and Dubai SME to help foster innovation within the SME sector

Dubai, UAE, 25 May 2015: In line with the UAE’s vision to become the most innovative nation by 2021, biz-group, a leading UAE-based business consultancy specialising in corporate training, teambuilding and business strategy, has partnered with Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, to facilitate creative thinking among the emirate’s top small and medium enterprises.

To mark the Year of Innovation – as declared by the UAE government – biz-group conducted an energising workshop, titled Design Thinker, at the Dubai SME headquarters. The workshop was attended by 30 participants and challenged them to think differently about solutions to specific business challenges.

With the UAE steadily transitioning towards a knowledge-based economy, the National Innovation Strategy, announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, is a primary tool for the realisation of the government’s Vision 2021. One of its aims is to encourage innovation in the private sector through the adoption of pioneering technology and the development of innovative products and services.

Commenting on Dubai SME’s collaboration with biz-group, Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, said: “The continuous development of the SME sector is critical to the country’s economic dynamism. In Dubai, SMEs constitute 95 per cent of the total companies operating in the Emirate, employ 42 per cent of the workforce, and contribute 40 per cent to the emirate’s GDP. In the UAE, this GDP contribution stands at 60 per cent”.

“To strengthen our position as a competitive economy, we are constantly developing new strategies and spearheading initiatives that will fuel innovation within the SME sector. Through our collaboration with forward-thinking companies like biz-group, we strive to inject creativity and originality into the SME sector, helping companies uncover inventive ideas and approaches to today’s business challenges,” added Al Janahi.  

“Success, be it that of a team, a company, or even a nation, can be ultimately attributed to its people, and at biz-group we believe that the key to building a high-performing culture is by inspiring your people to learn, grow and innovate,” commented Hazel Jackson, CEO and founder of biz-group.

“Ranked 35^th in the Global Innovation Index in 2013, the UAE aspires to be among the top 20 countries within the next six years. Our long-standing history in the region has allowed us to witness the UAE’s rapid changes and continuous developments and we are honoured, through our collaboration with Dubai SME, to be able to give back to the local SME community and play our part in supporting the government’s innovation drive.”  

Providing people with the techniques to accelerate innovation in unpredictable business circumstances, Design Thinker is an expert-guided simulation workshop suitable for employees across all levels of an organisation. Its innovation methodology can be applied to processes, products and services, facilitating a business’ adaptability to change, its evolution to remain competitive and the achievement of its targets and growth plans.