Facebook 'likes' might be valuable for Dubai SMEs

Dubai SME holds Facebook contest for small to medium businesses.
For small businesses in Dubai, it pays to get as many "likes" as possible on their Facebook pages.

Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in the emirate, will reward small and medium businesses that attract the most votes on Facebook with their creative brand pictures.

Winners will walk away with prizes worth Dh125,000.

The prize packages are designed to help winning small to medium firms improve their revenues and strengthen brand identity.

The Facebook pages of smeconnect.ae, a Dubai SME web portal that helps businesses to network, and the Business Village will host the contests.

Winners in the smeconnect.ae contest will get free consulting services to establish and maintain their social media presence, and learn auditing processes to build financial credibility. Entries for these two prizes are accepted at www.facebook.com/smeconnectae.

Prizes in the Business Village contest include support in brand identity creation and consulting on developing a sales plan. SMEs can enter the competition through www.facebook.com/bvdubai.

All small to medium businesses licensed by DED, or by any free zone in Dubai, as well as businesses operating under "Intelaq" licenses from Dubai SME, can participate. The Intelaq licenses are issued to Dubai-based Emiratis who want to set up and operate home-based businesses.

"Given the strong following social media enjoys in the UAE, SMEs (small to medium enterprises) and budding entrepreneurs can use it effectively for their marketing and business development," said Rafat Wahbeh, senior manager of community development at Business Village, in a statement.

The last date to apply for the contests is June 30.