The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, represented by the General Secretariat of Sharjah Excellence Award, recently organized a virtual meeting titled “COVID-19 repercussions on entrepreneurs and SMEs”.

The meeting touched on the most important procedure taken by entrepreneurs and startups to face COVID-19 repercussions and challenges and the current and future changes to this vital sector due to the global pandemic.

Headed by Murtada Al Zaylaie, Excellence Advisor and Acting Director of Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority – SCCI’s Strategic Partner – the meeting was attended by Hussain Al Ghazal Al Shamsi, Vice Chairman of Injazat Group, and Sarmad Al-Zadjali, a partner and founder of the “Tawseel” Group, in addition to broad participation from entrepreneurs in the Emirate of Sharjah.

Supporting entrepreneurs

Nada Al Hajri, General Coordinator of the Sharjah Excellence Award, underlined the SCCI’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs through adopting and sponsoring innovative programs, tackling their challenges face, and equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure their projects’ sustainability.

“The recommendations and proposals of this meeting will be submitted to the concerned parties to come up with the programs and initiatives that help entrepreneurs and business owners overcome these challenges times,” she noted.

Such meetings clearly reflect the importance of the development program of the Sharjah Excellence Award in supporting sustainable economic development and enhancing the private sector competitiveness.

“This would help consolidate the reputation and status of the Award as one of the most prominent initiatives aimed at developing the competitiveness of the UAE and Gulf business communities by providing them with the ideal investment climate and empowering them to take advantage of the values of quality, leadership, and innovation to improve the performance of these communities and boosting the growth of their commercial and industrial business,” she pointed out.

Proposals & recommendations

The meeting concluded with a number of recommendations, including the need to develop an advanced mechanism for pensions in the private sector in light of the current circumstances, spreading job awareness and enhancing acquired skills, stressing the need to increase the share of SMEs in governmental procurements through a specialized digital platform.

Among other recommendations were reconsidering the government taxes and fees imposed on entrepreneurs, developing reliable digital platforms for promoting startups’ services with governmental supervision, and raising awareness of entrepreneurs about the management of strategic planning and risk assessment.