SME's
and Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia
From Ideation to Action
*Simon Wallace
Saudi Arabia presents a great opportunity for the local
SME and entrepreneur community but the challenge to turn
ideation into action remains a considerable one no matter
where you are located on the globe.
Market
Overview
The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been rated as the 13th most
economically competitive country in the world, "Doing
Business 2010", International Finance Corporation (IFC)-World
Bank. Saudi Arabia's Ninth Economic Plan (2010-2014) recognizes
the importance of SMEs and entrepreneurship and is implementing
many objectives to encourage private sector growth to lessen
the kingdom's dependence on oil and increase employment
opportunities for the swelling Saudi population.
A
report recently published by the World Bank states that
the small- and medium-enterprise (SME) sector currently
forms 90 per cent of all Saudi companies, yet the sector
only contributes a quarter of total employment and about
a third of the country's gross domestic product. With the
Ministry of Labour estimating unemployment around 10 per
cent among Saudis and youth unemployment being four times
higher than any other age bracket, drastic reforms are necessary
for the private sector to shoulder the burden of future
job creation, according to the report.
This
following article articulates our experience of the essential
skills required to move ideation to action and strategic
intent into sustainable results: viz. leader and leadership,
basic planning and personnel development.
Leader
and Leadership
Great businesses have great leaders with a clear direction
(Vision), purpose (Mission) and a well-defined set of behavioral
rules (Values).Great leaders work on communication and personnel
development as a priority. Mary Parker Follet said: “the
the most essential work of a leader is to create more leaders.”
Great
leadership creates the right environment and develops systems
to run their business so that top management are able to
work “on” rather than always “in”
their business; therefore, improving strategic perspective.The
SME and entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia are challenged by an
economy that has traditionally been based on inherited wealth
rather than to one based on innovation creating an environment
for entrepreneurship; this can stifle the development of
leader and leadership and so these skills are required to
move from ideation to action and strategic intent into sustainable
results.
Basic
Planning
Great businesses develop effective planning. Benjamin Franklin
said: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to
fail.” Great plans deliver thorough situation analysis
of the business landscape (highlighting strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats); take decisions; sets goals;
allocates resources; determines risk and evaluation and
describes key action.
Great
business moves quickly from planning into action as competition
will follow and overtake if they delay; continue to test
and measure for correction and control, remaining flexible
in their approach and structure to be fast rather than slow.
The SME and entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia are challenged
by a particularly complex changing landscape and so basic
planning skills are required to move from ideation to action
and strategic intent into sustainable results.
Personnel
Development
Great businesses practice effective personnel development.
Jack Welch said: “People first, strategy second; you
field the best team you win!”Great business employs
talent management and retention policy that effectively
manages and develops people to deliver sustained organizational
performance; focusing their training on the two or three
key activities and skills that have been identified as key
to driving strategic results.
The
SME and entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia are challenged by a
lack of skilled local labor in many sectors and personnel
development skills are required to move from ideation to
action and strategic intent into sustainable results. The
Saudi Conference for SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2011 offers
the forum for all local and international stakeholders to
determine how to overcome the many challenges that faces
the innovators searching for beyond business growth in Saudi
Arabia today. The writer is honoured to be Chairman of this
conference and looks forward to facilitating an interactive
event that drives progress in this important market sector.
*Mr.
Simon Wallace is the Founder and Chairman
of the Whole Thing World, UK, Chief Executive Officer- The
Whole Thing FZ-LLC, UAE. The Whole Thing is a global training
and consultancy organization.
