The second basket of initiatives which is considered as a positive reform move for the business community and professionals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be announced in September 2018. This is according to Mr. Raed Safadi, chief economic adviser at Department of Economic Development, when he spoke before participants in a seminar organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India - Dubai Chapter.
Everything, apparently, goes to right places, 'basket by basket'. Mr. Safadi is a a great strategist who spearheads the bright thinkers in bringing innovation to Dubai -- and the goal is transformation to knowledge-based economy. Indeed he is right.
From the 'first basket' we heard about reduction in business municipality fees, waiving penalties and fines for trade licenses that expired and must be renewed in 2018 to avail of such, and payment of license renewal in installments, among others.
We get delighted about the good news on 10-year residency visas for investors, professionals, creatives, and other categories. The final governing guidelines will be announced hopefully in the last quarter this year. Also there were will be 100% ownership of companies, unlike before that expatriate investors have 49% share, except for professional trade license 100% owned by expatriates and sponsors are agents.
The local government officials are doing their best to attract new and old investors / businessmen to establish their businesses, and renew such. This is by providing a paver of doing things quickly and easily. An increased number of businessmen means increased number of employment opportunities which is good for the economy.
The extension of length of residency visa which will be 10 years for investors and selected professionals, is a wise move, as there is longer time to plant seeds of ideas and put them to work for sustainability and innovation purposes. I hope that related costs will be affordable so many, many people will be interested in the historic reform and will commit themselves as strategic economic transformation partners.
So why knowledge economy? Because knowledge is power. Knowledge is from information every human brain filters from the things created and / or shared by knowledge workers. The more they are used or applied, the more they grow exponentially. This is extremely opposite to products or the traditional economy. The more products we consume, the less they get, the more scarce.
Knowledge economy can be best developed here in the UAE, with 200+ nationalities, from diverse backgrounds. It is the converging point where data gathered through a unified system can represent different clusters or groups of people across the globe, to study market buying behavior based on different values, so actions will be more responsive.
Knowledge economy requires less spaces. Knowledge workers can work in shared spaces or virtual offices. They can work at home. Money saved can be spent in business operation, business research and development, and innovative things.
We get amazed by tall buildings around but we know that there must be a balance. Not all lands should be converted to commercial and industrial zones. Other parts must be for agricultural purposes. "How can it be?" you may ask. To that I reply, "It is possible. It is happening." There are some areas being developed for such, despite the hot climate and type of soil. If moon can be reached and if in seas they could buildings by land reclamation like what they did for Palm Jumeirah, an artificial archipelago, they can grow plants and trees in the desert, too.
Are you a knowledge worker? According to Wikipedia, knowledge workers are workers whose main capital is knowledge. Same articles says they include software engineers, physicians, pharmacists, architects, engineers, scientists, design thinkers, public accountants, lawyers, academics and other white-collar workers whose line of work requires one "to think for a living."
If a knowledge worker decides to put up his own startup business, is it required that he has a big amount of money to start with? I think no parallel to authorities' 'ease of way' strategy to attract businessmen. Maybe with some landmark initiatives, the bank statement will not be required from them, and also from those whose trade license expired due to financial problems, too. By the generosity of the local government, as mentioned above, fines for late trade license renewal would be waived if renewal will be processed in 2018 -- and that's a big relief.
I read Kabayan Weekly's article about a Filipina who worked for five (5) years and saved money to set up her own business. She does not want to quit her job but the employer does not want to issue her a no-objection certificate as required for registration of business in Dubai mainland, so the legal adviser, Atty. Barney Almazar, advised her to set up the business in a freezone where NOC is not required.
What if employees will be allowed to set up own business in Dubai mainland and on the other side, it will be permissible for businessmen / investors to work? Everybody wants to have a sure source of money to pay bills by being productive to avoid trouble at the same, explore entrepreneurship, say, 'knowpreneurship'. Selling one's thoughts / knowledge by using the right digital tools and techniques can help him generate money like it were a commodity.
We can see some freelance platforms with many companies utilizing remotely based knowledge workers. They hire virtual assistants and other knowledge workers on per project basis. If knowledge workers / investors are physically based here and can have multiple streams of money-making opportunities with an easy access, it will benefit the host country because they will spend their money purchasing products and services from local merchants and services providers.
It will be worth considering if many activities can be put under one trade license for investors / entrepreneurs to save on costs and have diverse sources of revenues, and give them more avenues to think more and do more for a living.
I was invited by a friend to attend a free business orientation seminar. It was about Unified Products and Services Home Business / UPS Express Negosyo Online Dealer Packages - UPS Philippines. There is a single business but it covers a lot of products and services like
- bills payments
- remittances
- universal e-loading
- ticketing
- travel and hotel booking
- pawnshop (coming soon)*
- courier services (coming soon)
So the phrase is 'unified system'. I think that many more similar platforms with unified systems will emerge in the near future.
What if there will be such a unified system also in business setting up in the local setting? Is it permissible if trade licenses with marketing and management activities will be registered and this can cover as many products, services and ideas as possible?
Filinvest, a real estate company in the Philippines, has another unified system for its sales team members, mostly overseas Filipinos, too. Upon registration (free), the sales associates can access the system even without a successful sale yet so he can be knowledgeable on all properties being sold, the inventories, and computation. This is on top of in-house trainings. Then they will each have a debit card to which account their revenues will be deposited for deals closed and they can withdraw money from any bank accredited by the international network.
In Dubai I see another kind of unified activities where the government utilizes private businesses to do some of their jobs. For example, some private optical clinics are utilized for eye-testing activity required to obtain a driver's license. Private typing centers are here and there to help process visas, business setting up and renewal, etc. In some cases, private businesses merge for some related activities. I have observed that some event organizers collaborate with schools and volunteer mentors to conduct technology and livelihood trainings and seminars, with certification.
A car company organized a contest for participants to think what two or more products can be combined, in the name of innovation, to make one new whole thing. So it is another way of unified thing.
To 'unify' is 'make into a unit or a coherent whole'. To do so, it requires thinking or ideation in an unlimited space -- in our minds, which is free -- with endless possibilities, where one idea leads to another, and another, and another.
In the past, who would think that a car could fly? But amazingly it can now! >>
A car company organized a contest for participants to think what two or more products can be combined, in the name of innovation, to make one new whole thing. So it is another way of unified thing.
To 'unify' is 'make into a unit or a coherent whole'. To do so, it requires thinking or ideation in an unlimited space -- in our minds, which is free -- with endless possibilities, where one idea leads to another, and another, and another.
In the past, who would think that a car could fly? But amazingly it can now! >>
We want to put an end to unemployment problems but the root cause, if we are to analyze it, is due to job mismatch. Looking at the bud, I think the government must give a strong push and huge boost to schools, training centers, educators, volunteers, non-government organizations and other collaborators, to prepare the young generations and to help provide the old ones with life-long learning. This will give them knowledge to productively respond to the challenges of knowledge economy. The bottleneck normally is financial in nature, so acquiring the needed education must cost less, if not free. Another bottleneck is the permission to explore a wider range of activities and this can only be possible when some business activities can be unified for businessmen who are are authentic learners, to do their things without violating laws. Say, a passionate restaurant owner who is a chef will be allowed to conduct masterclasses for the real transfer of cooking skills in the real world, from master chefs to interested participants.
The "basket of incentives" seems to be full of surprises in September 2018. It sounds like a gift with fragrant flowers. Incentivizing knowledge workers who can turn to 'knowpreneurs' is a great attractor that will benefit all.
Per Wikipedia, "According to the Organization for Cooperation and Development by the beginning of the 1970s around 40% of the working population in the USA and Canada were classified to the information sector. " That was in 1981. And that covered USA and Canada. What more now and in the whole world?
The "basket of incentives" seems to be full of surprises in September 2018. It sounds like a gift with fragrant flowers. Incentivizing knowledge workers who can turn to 'knowpreneurs' is a great attractor that will benefit all.
Per Wikipedia, "According to the Organization for Cooperation and Development by the beginning of the 1970s around 40% of the working population in the USA and Canada were classified to the information sector. " That was in 1981. And that covered USA and Canada. What more now and in the whole world?
There is a strong linkage between information and innovation for people to thrive in a knowledge economy. The knowledge workers must be able to filter properly the information being fed to their brains. The information come from different sources, including databases, shared freely or by subscription.
Innovation takes shape in the mind and comes to life by processing with the hands of time. A French proverb says, "Rome wasn't built in a day". True, important work takes time. So the UAE government is really thinking strategically when a 10-year residency visa is announced, the details regarding related regulations will be discussed later perhaps in October 2018. This move will contribute greatly for our host country to score better in the world innovation index.
These days no other tools are better than internet-powered social media through which information / knowledge can be shared within a certain circle and beyond, and from there a collaboration takes place that eventually, for some people with common interests, lead to forming of networks of expertise and excellence -- no time gap, no place barrier.
Recently under the new regulations it became mandatory for all paid social media influencers** to obtain an e-media license from the government authority. The cost is AED15K per year. Khaleej Time says, "Individual and organizations that voluntarily promote work are not affected by the Electronic Media Regulations."
'Knowpreneurs' enjoy freedom as there are no structured processes and they are defined by their own individual gifted creativity and skills learned directly and indirectly online and offline. There is no big investment unlike in tangibles. The stock of their own 'commodity' is in the brains -- no warehouse needed. The storage is infinite. That is why it is very, very important to look after our mental health, and way to that is to have inner peace and happiness.
Big money does not come in big amount in the first few years. Many businessmen experience reaching only the break-even point or even less in the initial years of operation. We learn lessons from the story of the bamboo trees. They will not grow for some time, but when they start to grow they really grow fast and tall! There is no sign of life for five (5) years, and after that in 6 weeks bamboo trees are 90 feet tall!
Since the internet was introduced in the 80's I have been fascinated by what it can do. What inspired me to explore e-commerce was when I read an article about Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, TIME's Person of the Year 1999 awardee, and now the world's richest man. I was one of the University of the Philippines Online University's (UPOU's) first batch of e-commerce course graduates, with distinction. I initiated organizing some e-commerce events and became a contractor of one of the top telecommunications companies in the Philippines, penetrating the market to get plugged in in the digital age. Here in Dubai, I obtained a diploma in professional digital marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute - Middle East in 2012.
I feel very, very thirsty and craving for something that will make me who I am supposed to be. I am most of the nights sleepless thinking how I can passionately move to next step, continue what I have started, survive and thrive, along with those who have been with me all those years, patiently waiting for the bamboos to grow, so to speak. There are barriers and obstacles -- but yes, these are all part of the process.
Knowledge and innovation are the best buddies in the knowledge-based economy. Knowledge fuels innovation, and innovation propels subtantial economic growth.
Many coffee shops, hotels and restaurants function halls, food courts, parks, web highways, office meeting rooms, and somebody else's somewhere, in addition to traditional schools and colleges, will be crowded with people, sharing knowledge.
There will be more baskets of incentives that will benefit all. Inshallah.
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*I think pawnshop business is not permissible here. Instead of this, they can consider adding online course on jewelry appraisal and sale of gold as this is the City of Gold.
** This is my personal blog and if I mention some business names I am not paid for that.
** This is my personal blog and if I mention some business names I am not paid for that.
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Photo credits: Pixabay
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