Enterprise Agility Forum 2016: du emphasizes on putting enterprise support for SMEs

The Enterprise Agility Forum 2016 presented by du addressed how corporates can better support the MENA startup ecosystem.

du drove the conversation around how corporate entities in the Middle East and North Africa can engender a more supportive ecosystem during a panel session at the Entrepreneur Enterprise Agility Forum (presented by du), held recently at the Westin Mina Seyahi in Dubai.

du also presented two awards, to Nola Eatery & Social House and The Salad Jar under the respective categories of Leading Homegrown Restaurant Brand and Disruptor of the Year, underscoring its support to UAE SMEs. The Entrepreneur Enterprise Agility Forum 2016, now in its third year, is an open-forum session for SMEs to interact with both large enterprises and a diverse range of other start-ups in order to generate the exchange of peer-to-peer learning.

Hany Fahmy Aly, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Business, du, explains: “The SME segment and start-up scene is extremely dynamic and as such, corporate enterprises need to look at how their own solutions can support this important segment. At du, we believe in helping SMEs to grow by becoming their one-stop partner by tailoring our enterprise offerings to make them relevant for aspiring SMEs and start-ups.”

During a panel session entitled How corporates can better support the MENA startup ecosystem, AbdelRahim AbuSedira, Senior Director SME Marketing at du; Juan Jose De La Torre, Digital Transformation Leader for the Middle East and Africa at IBM; Eman Al Mahmoud, Programs Manager at Sheraa (Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre); and InternsME.com co-founder and CEO, Jean-Michel Gauthier had an engaging dialogue about the startup ecosystem in the MENA region.

Furthermore, the panellists discussed the various challenges for corporate enterprises looking to support the SME sector. Abdelrahim emphasised at this point that du has created tailored solutions for SMEs, providing services such as Business Mobile Plan, Business Connect and Office Devices.