Khalifa Fund to conduct foresight study aimed at exploring long term prospects of entrepreneurship

ABU DHABI: The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, KFED, has announced plans to conduct a foresight study aimed at providing a long term look at the prospective challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship in the UAE. The Fund has designated a team of experts to facilitate the research and identify the key factors to be focused on while conducting the study to yield credible results and practical recommendations.

The foresight study is being made to help establish a key outlook on the future for local entrepreneurs, including the promotion and move to empower Emirati-owned enterprises, which falls in line with the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership to support and promote a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in the country. The research to be conducted is also seen as an emerging driver in the efforts to encourage Emiratis in developing and rolling out projects that can help the country in its bid for continuous growth and development.

Mouza Al Nasri, Acting Chief Executive Officer, KFED, revealed that the planned study demonstrates KFED’s continuing efforts to promote a culture of entrepreneurship, particularly in its constant support for locally owned SMEs.

“KFED is proud to announce its plans to conduct a new study that will give us a glimpse of what lies ahead for entrepreneurship in the UAE, which in turn, will help us know how to further encourage local citizens, especially the youth segment, to engage in entrepreneurship and invest their energies and highly innovative ideas in successful projects that looks towards the future. This initiative will also contribute to defining expectations, opportunities, directions, challenges and other factors that may affect the future of entrepreneurship and SMEs in the country,” she said.

Al Nasri pointed out that the results of the study will serve as a baseline for better strategic planning in entrepreneurship. It will also help guide government polices related to SME development, identify priority sectors, develop future plans for the business community and promote self-employment among citizens.

According to KFED senior officials, the project, which is part of the leading studies and researches developed by the KFED’s Department of Strategic Affairs, will be conducted in cooperation with a consulting firm specialising in foresight research and some of the Fund’s local partners.

The study will contribute in determining drivers of entrepreneurship and anticipating the future trends. It will also assist in devising solutions to challenges being faced by Emirati entrepreneurs, encourage them to participate actively in building the future and maximise their contribution to the UAE national economy that would further enhance the country’s competitiveness and consolidate its regional and global leadership position.

In this context, KFED recently organised a workshop to train its employees on future foresight skills. More than 20 employees from the Fund’s different departments and divisions took part in the workshop where most important factors affecting entrepreneurship and the sustainability of emerging projects and start-ups were highlighted, including the setting of future action plans that contribute to drawing a road map for developing local SMEs.

Foresight studies are a multidisciplinary science that aims to determine the trends of future events and analyse various variables that may affect these trends. They are also aimed at seeing an alternative future, while looking ahead to an in-depth scientific intellectual effort based on selected quantitative and qualitative indicators, according to the nature of the study, as an introduction to formulating strategic plans that will keep pace with expected changes.