Share a. Dr. Ashraf Elaraby, President of the Institute of National Planning, at the activities of the 12th session of the annual investment forum under the title “Entrepreneur Investment Summit 2023… Investing in Arab and African Entrepreneurs,” which will be held in Abu Dhabi from May 8 to 10, 2023.
During his speech, Prof. Dr. explained: Ashraf Al-Arabi said that the summit is an opportunity to meet with policy makers, financing institutions and investors from all countries of the world to support, motivate and promote the development of ecosystems conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation.
Al-Arabi pointed out that there is a difference and disparity in the levels of entrepreneurial activities between countries due to the difference in social and cultural standards and economic variables, noting that Arab countries are moving steadily towards building an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The President of the Institute of National Planning referred to the “fourth edition of the Arab Development Report 2019 under the title: “Small and Medium Enterprises in Arab Economies”, issued in cooperation between the National Planning Institute and the Arab Planning Institute, which dealt with presentation and analysis of the role of small and medium enterprises in promoting sustainable development in Arab economies. , highlighting the most important issues addressed in the report, which are consistent with the themes of the forum.
In his speech, Al-Arabi reviewed the most important financial challenges facing Arab countries, which include the lack of available information about small and medium-sized companies, which reduces their financial credibility and ability to obtain financing, and the low levels of financial inclusion in Arab economies, which led to the existence of most small and medium-sized Arab companies. in the informal sector.
Al-Arabi also stressed the need to strengthen the entrepreneurship and environmental innovation system by working to create an investment environment and focus on fiscal and monetary policy tools to promote small and medium enterprises, explaining that governments can play an important role in creating an ecosystem that is conducive to entrepreneurship and innovation by providing incentives such as tax exemptions. and grants for research and development and organizational support. He stressed the importance of infrastructure development and the use of modern technology applications as essential to the success of startups, such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
In his speech, the President of the Institute of National Planning touched on the role played by the institute in serving the entrepreneurship and innovation system through research, studies, reports, policy papers, workshops, and specialized training such as a diploma in entrepreneurship and digital innovation, in addition to the existence of a center specialized in data analysis and consultancy.
The forum is organized by the Union of Arab Chambers and sponsored by the League of Arab States, headed by the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and in cooperation with the Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the UNIDO in Bahrain and the Annual Investment Forum (AIM).
It is worth noting that the “Entrepreneur Investment Summit 2023” aims to create a platform dedicated to promoting bankable investment opportunities led by entrepreneurs or small and medium companies and macro investments from the Arab region and the African continent, in addition to exchanging best practices and experiences from Africa and the Arab region on means of stimulating entrepreneurship. And joint investments, as well as discussing the challenges, opportunities and risks facing the entrepreneurial community and the best way to move forward towards achieving Arab-African economic integration.