We are going through a period of unprecedented change in the Arab world. A deficit in economic opportunity for tens of millions of young Arabs has exacerbated a youth unemployment figure of close to 40 per cent. Compounding this problem is a bulging population, 65 per cent of which is under the age of 30.
The population of the Middle East and North Africa has grown by about 50 per cent since the 1990s and is set to grow the same percentage again by 2030.
Research has exposed that nearly all new net job creation in developed economies derives from new, small businesses, which make up more than 70 per cent of economies in these countries.
By contrast, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up less than 20 per cent of the economy of the GCC countries on average. This makes the imperative for investing in the SME sector paramount, especially when we consider that just to stop unemployment figures from rising, we need to create in excess of 120 million new jobs during the next 20 years, more than were created in total over the past 100 years.
Social responsibility is a multi-stakeholder process, which must be promoted from the home to the school and from the government to the business community.
Through socially responsible investment, we can begin to tackle our region's socio-economic challenges head-on. This is social entrepreneurship, and it can be achieved by one and all.
Public-private partnerships have proven that the transfer of skills and knowledge to youth can be systematic, institutionalised and successful when led by the private sector and enabled by the public sector.
When this is combined with a triple bottom line - profits, people and planet - approach to business then we potentially have the recipe for a truly successful long-term and sustainable economy.
So what is social entrepreneurship? It is about utilising the private sector, through incentive-based partnerships with the public sector, global agencies and the non-profit sector, to embrace the many issues that face our increasingly globalised society and integrating this approach into the fabric of our business models.
The days of defining successful businesses as simply being profitable are coming to an end. Across the global business community we are reconstructing our business models into ones that are incentivised by profitability in addition to generating a positive and measurable net effect on society as well as our environment.
This means that the days of "either or" thinking, or the belief that there is a zero-sum calculation to be made while investing in business, are over. We are in a world now where businesses can do good while doing well at the same time. Impact investing, which is key to driving social entrepreneurship, means that the two can coexist within a shared value framework of returns and effect of the projects in which a company invests. The model that is steadfastly evolving is one where community benefit and sustainability are what drives the value creation required by investors to achieve their profit demands.
This is the repackaging of capitalism into what is being referred to as creative capitalism - the reorganisation of our marketplace of ideas and egos to reconcile our financial interests with the need to deliver on our responsibilities to our societies and our environment.
Already the opportunities for this model are growing rapidly. A recent report from the Monitor Group estimates a potential growth of the impact investing industry from its present US$50 billion (Dh183.63bn) in assets to more than $500bn in assets within the next decade.
Founded in 1981, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, promotes global social entrepreneurship; a term first coined by the organisation's founder, Bill Drayton.
Ashoka has been one of the leading facilitators of business-led innovation focused on social impact across the globe. Ashoka Arab World, which was launched in 2003, has nurtured social enterprises ranging from microfinance institutions and online education platforms for the poor to low-cost sewerage systems in congested rural communities and job placement platforms for the disabled.
It has directly affected the lives of more than 10 million people across seven countries in the Arab world through sustainable and scalable business models.
So what does this mean for the Gulf region?
Business leaders across the Gulf have worked hard to ensure that our region's markets have an increasingly important role to play in the global economy.
The cornerstones of our vision must embrace the values that from time immemorial have been part of the collective consciousness: respect for life, human dignity and worth, responsibility towards future generations and protection of our habitat.
The time is now ideal for our uniquely placed markets to lead this new business culture across the Arab world on account of the domestic talent pool, the exposure to international standards of best practice and the vision of our leadership to drive positive change from within our business communities.
Badr Jafar is the managing director of the Crescent Group and co-initiator of the Pearl Initiative, the GCC-based not-for-profit organisation set up in collaboration with the UN Office for Partnerships to foster a culture of corporate accountability and transparency in the Arab world
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Book%20Details
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
