Raphael Amit: “If we are to train tomorrow’s business leaders we must be where tomorrow’s businesses will be.”
Raphael Amit: “If we are to train tomorrow’s business leaders we must be where tomorrow’s businesses will be.”

Capital hailed as Middle East centre of entrepreneurship



Abu Dhabi is the capital of entrepreneurship and family businesses of the Middle East, according to a prestigious American business school that has a campus here.

"In the 21st century, we can no longer just focus on the US," said Raffi Amit, a professor of Entrepreneurship and Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the most highly regarded business learning institutions in the US.

"If we are to train the leaders of tomorrow's businesses, we have to be where tomorrow's businesses will be."

Abu Dhabi was "the very first branch [of the school] set up outside the United States", Mr Amit said, and it will remain the only one representing the Middle East.

However, the professor admitted that his biggest challenge in the region was finding reliable data. The school has had a campus in the capital for a little more than a year.

"We believe that if we are able to accumulate reliable data, we can help the public policy," he said. "I think our research can be very powerful to help boost the Abu Dhabi Government and help the UAE Government foster the development of a knowledge-based economy, not just based on resources."

The school offers classroom knowledge linked to practice.

This helps foster entrepreneurship through outreach activities, research and teaching programmes, such as the Venture Initiation programme, a business incubator for Wharton students.

"Wharton has now embarked on a globalisation strategy, and we see the region here as growing and impacting globally," Mr Amit said.

Through classes, mentors and grants, students get an opportunity to start their own ventures. The institution helps students realise their entrepreneurial ideas and aspirations.

"Abu Dhabi is a new and growing culture, and personally I think this is a much more viable and strategically better approach for the local population," said Pankaj Paul, the managing editor and general manager of the Wharton Entrepreneurship and Family Business Research centre in Abu Dhabi.

"Every geography and culture is different, so it's always better to have on-the-ground knowledge," said Mr Paul, who edits the centre's business journal, Arabic Knowledge@Wharton, which publishes twice a month, in English and Arabic.

The school has helped 20 local projects since it opened, and is now working with 20 more, seeking to create and disseminate knowledge on entrepreneurship and family businesses.

Mr Amit said he believed that family businesses are “the cornerstone of the economy of this region.”

cmalek@thenational.ae

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty. 

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of  Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million. 

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees. 

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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

Changing visa rules

For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.

Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.

It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.

The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.

The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.

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Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5