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TRANSPARENCY KEY TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
London Business School brings together region’ s entrepreneurs as part of an inaugural conference
Transparency has been recognised as key for entrepreneurial success in the Middle East, especially during times of economic uncertainty. This and other topics related to small and medium business growth were discussed recently at the inaugural Middle East Entrepreneurship Conference, hosted by London Business School in Dubai.
The event, which took place at Conference Centre of the Madinat
Jumeirah Hotel, welcomed members and founders of well-known regional ventures such as Souqalmal. com, Ochre Brand and Fetchr to share their insights as well as the challenges and opportunities for business development.
According to Ambareen Musa, founder and CEO of Souqalmal. com, being transparent and recognising genuine investor interest in your market play a key role in fundraising for new business ideas – especially at times when securing capital can be more challenging.
“ As a founder, there is always going to be enough on your plate, so it’ s always good to filter who is and who isn’ t interested in your business. The key is to be really transparent, and the last six months have been really tough due to oil prices going down and companies slashing their budgets. We’ ve been very lucky but it hasn’ t been easy, and that’ s exactly what I tell my investors – and they still want to invest,” says Ambareen Musa.
“ The trick is to always fundraise when you don’ t necessarily need money, it’ s a good idea to be networking with investors, whether you’ re looking for money of not. There are a lot of investors out there who are just interested in the market.”
More than 109 students and alumni from London Business School met with experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and experts from across the region during the event.
During the discussions, attendees identified the Middle East to be a
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