The Department of Economic Development – Ajman (DED-Ajman) has signed a strategic co-operation agreement with Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) to help bolster and promote a culture of entrepreneurship in the UAE. 

 

The agreement looks towards identifying objectives and areas of cooperation between the two parties to serve public interest and provide much needed support to entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs in the UAE - helping facilitate their work and contribute to promoting the culture of self-employment and developing vital sectors within the UAE, said the statement from DED Ajman.

 

It is aimed at enhancing co-operation to support Emirati entrepreneurs and SME owners, remarked Ali Issa Al Nuaimi, the director general of DED-Ajman, after signing the deal with Abdullah Saeed Al Darmaki, the chief executive of KFED.

 

"The agreement represents an advanced step towards promoting entrepreneurship--fully encouraging young Emirati people to engage in entrepreneurship and establish SMEs, which have become the backbone of advanced economies around the world," noted Al Nuaimi. 

 

"Our co-operation agreement with Khalifa Fund will further enhance our efforts towards strengthening Ajman’s position as a destination for SMEs in line with Ajman Vision 2021, which aims to create a competitive environment to attract local, regional and global investments," he stated.

 

Al Darmaki stressed on the importance of the agreement, which serves as a required step to joining hands to develop a joint mechanism designed to implement programs intended for SME owners. 

 

He also highlighted the Fund's keenness to promote cooperation with government and federal entities, including DED-Ajman, in order to enhance entrepreneurship and support the UAE youth in their efforts to achieve their dreams and ambitions.

 

"As a supportive and encouraging way of doing business, we will exempt the Fund’s members from the fees needed to issue and renew the commercial licenses in the Emirate of Ajman, as well as exempting them from the bank guarantees of workers," noted Al Darmaki. 

 

"The Fund’s members shall also be exempted from the fees needed to issue and renew commercial licenses from DED-Ajman, and benefit from support and recommendation letters addressed to the various entities with the possibility of obtaining discounts and business networks guide, in addition to the exemption from bank guarantees of workers, while DED-Ajman will allocate 10 per cent of its annual purchases  and contracts for the members of Khalifa Fund," he added.-TradeArabia News Service