By ATIF ABDULMALIK, CEO of Arcapita, Bahrain
Published: Sep 12, 2011 23:50
The economic, social and political pressures building throughout the Middle East present a multitude of exciting challenges and opportunities. If there can be any certainty, it is that in a generation, the region will look conspicuously different, viewed from any of these perspectives.
As we’ve seen elsewhere in the world, economic considerations will contribute substantially to the path of progress, and will lay the foundations for large-scale job creation and to make the GCC a global competitor. This will necessitate building economies less dependent on oil-related industries and government employment, and the development of industries for the future.
We believe that one of the keystones of economic independence is entrepreneurship. In industrialized countries, 70 percent of all jobs are created in the private sector, and most of these jobs are generated by fast-growth companies that each year expands employment and wealth at many times the national rates of GDP growth. What’s more, further benefits arise from the contagiousness of entrepreneurial success. Statistics show that employees of fast-growth companies have a high propensity to leave and set up their own fast-growth enterprises. The importance of encouraging and promoting entrepreneurial endeavor is already widely recognized, and resources are available throughout the GCC that can advise and support individuals in the building of successful enterprises. So there are an increasing number of entrepreneurial and high-growth companies in the region. But virtually all of them are operating out of public view, and we think it’s important to highlight and encourage these success stories.
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