Viability, scalability, business autonomy, and growing from an organisation to an organism are the four bridges for entrepreneurs to cross, Suaad Sultan Al Shamsi, CEO of Dubai-based L2L Consultation, said at the Africa-Dubai Business Summit on Thursday.
Will this business work, how can it grow, can it run without the founder and can it thrive on its own, are the key questions entrepreneurs need to ask, Al Shamsi said.
These four things can help ensure a start-up survives beyond the first few critical years in which many fail. In years two to five, it is estimated that 70 percent of start-ups fail.
Navigating through the first five years is challenging. Shereen Hunter, CEO of brand management and consulting company the Hunter Group in South Africa, said that partnerships and patience are the keys to wading through the murky waters of entrepreneurship.
“People try to go it alone or onboard the wrong partners, and people fall by the wayside. They don’t see it through,” she said.
Even before launching a company though, entrepreneurs need to do their research.
“You need to understand the laws of foreign ownership, investment rules, minimum investment requirements, accounting rules, and repatriation of funds,” Sandi Saksena, the head of the family matters division at Echelon Advisors and Management Consultants.
More basically yet, those looking to start a business abroad need to consider their personal costs.
“Don’t forget personal expenses – food, housing, commuting, communicating and health insurance. People forget about these things, but if you don’t have them in place in a foreign country you’re going to struggle,” she said.
SMEs make up a core part of the UAE’s economy, contributing 40 percent to Dubai’s gross domestic product and account for 95 percent of all companies, employing 42 percent of the emirate’s labour force, according to UAE government data.
From visas, to low start-up costs and a friendly regulatory environment, Dubai has worked hard to attract global talent to its start-up ecosystem.
“The UAE has made an effort to master incubator programs,” Saksena said.
But even in the most supportive environments, most start-ups won’t make it, and Marlene Murphy, entrepreneur and social leader, president Philippines Partnership Circle said that “People fail to think deeper [about starting a business] and it goes beyond acquiring a business license.”
“Financial management is important, and so is access to capital. You need venture capitalists in your network. Most of all, if you want to start a business, you need to have a passion for it,” she said.
