Dubai SME Partners With Google To Enhance Digital Competitiveness Of Emirati Businesses

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME) has partnered with Google to boost the digital competitiveness of Emirati-owned SMEs. This collaboration aims to enhance the digital capabilities of these businesses, aligning with Dubai's economic goals.

Ahmad Alroom Almheiri, Acting CEO of Dubai SME, highlighted the importance of this initiative. He stated, "Under the visionary leadership guiding Dubai’s transformation, SMEs represent both the driving force and future of Dubai’s economy. This pioneering collaboration with Google exemplifies how strategic collaboration between government and the private sector can transform challenges into opportunities for Emirati entrepreneurs. By investing in genuine digital capability, we are ensuring Emirati businesses can scale with confidence, compete on the global stage, and play their vital role in achieving the ambitious goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33. This initiative reinforces our commitment to making Dubai the most attractive hub for entrepreneurship and innovation."

The pilot programme will support 10 promising Emirati businesses by providing them with advanced digital marketing tools, advertising credits, and expert mentorship. This phase is a proof of concept (POC) aimed at addressing common challenges faced by smaller enterprises such as limited budgets and lack of expertise in digital marketing.

Martin Roeske from Google MENA emphasised technology's role in levelling the playing field for businesses. He said, "Technology is the great equalizer. It allows a traditional family business to reach the same global customers as a high-tech unicorn. By teaming up with Dubai SME, we’re putting Google’s most advanced AI tools, together with ads credits and mentorship, directly into the hands of Emirati entrepreneurs – giving them the precision to make every dirham count and compete on a world stage."

This initiative features a co-funding model where investment is equally shared among Dubai SME, Google, and each participating business. This approach fosters ownership and accountability while building long-term capabilities within these enterprises.

Participants will gain access to Google's advertising platforms along with strategic guidance and creative support. The programme also taps into DET’s marketing expertise and its network of partners across various sectors to provide practical mentorship on optimising digital strategies.

Future Expansion Plans

The initial businesses were selected based on specific criteria to test and refine this programme's model. After evaluating its success, strategies will be scaled up to benefit more SMEs across different industries.

The pilot phase is set to begin later this year. Insights gained from this phase will inform future initiatives aimed at strengthening Dubai’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

This collaboration underscores Dubai SME's dedication to advancing its economic agenda by becoming an attractive hub for SMEs globally.

With inputs from WAM