FEATURE: SMART CITIES
THE ECONOMIC,
POLITICAL, AND
SOCIAL DIVERSITY
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
HAS MEANT THAT
MARKET DYNAMICS
CAN VARY GREATLY
FROM COUNTRY
TO COUNTRY. THIS
MAKES IDENTIFYING
THE NEXT TERRITORY
FOR EXPANSION
SOMETHING OF A
CHALLENGE
How and when to expand
The economic, political, and social
diversity in the Middle East has meant
that market dynamics can vary greatly
from country to country. This makes
identifying the next territory for expansion
something of a challenge. At Help AG, we
have undertaken a slow but very strategic
expansion. After establishing our regional
headquarters in Dubai, we then opened
fully staffed hubs in Abu Dhabi, Doha and
most recently Riyadh.
With each new expansion, we first
take the time to get our operations
stable and up to the quality of our
brand before we begin to look at the
next market. This not only provides a
solid base to build upon, it also helps
gradually build a resource pool that
can then be deployed to a new office
location without impacting operations
at existing offices.
Our corporate vision is very clearly
defined to be the number one trusted
partner for information and cyber
security services and solutions in Middle
East and Africa. This outlines our
future strategy for further geographic
expansion always keeping in mind
quality service delivery and customer
excitement as the key priorities.
Incorporating these tips into your
business strategy will help you establish
a trusted brand that can sees not just
short term, but long term growth and
benefits not just your organisation but
your customers and partners alike!
WATCH THIS SPACE…
In March 2015, plans were
announced to introduce a law
in the UAE to allow full foreign
ownership of companies outside
free zones in strategic sectors.
At the Annual Investment Meeting in
Dubai Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister
for Economy, promised a new “law
of Foreign Direct Investment that
allows 100% ownership in some
sectors outside free zones”.
www.intelligentcio.com
The law is intended to encourage
innovation and technology
transfer. It will likely require foreign
companies that are granted 100%
ownership rights to provide support
or expertise to sectors identified
by the government as strategically
important. It would only apply to
some industry sectors.
The Ministry of Economy declined
to state which sectors would see
a relaxation of foreign ownership
restrictions, and did not say when
the law would be introduced.
A first draft of the law has been
approved by a Ministry of Justice
committee, and the Cabinet.
It will now be redrafted by the
Ministry of Justice, before it is
sent to the Federa