THE POWER OF SMALL
TBY talks to Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan, Chairman & President of The National Fund for Small & Medium Enterprise Development (National Fund), on increasing support for SMEs, technology overhaul, and sectors with potential.
BIOGRAPHY
Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan is the Chairman & President of The National Fund for Small & Medium Enterprise Development. Prior to assuming this role, he was the Deputy General Manager for AlJouan Investment Company and the Managing Partner for Finance & Operations at Gusto Food Services Group of Companies. His career in finance and strategic investments allowed him to serve at the Capital Markets Authority, Markaz, and Boubyan Bank. Also, he served in the Steering Committee for First Bahrain Real Estate Development Company, where he represented major shareholders including a sovereign fund and family offices. Al-Jouan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, Colorado.How does the National Fund support the economic grid of SMEs and help increase SME participation in the economy?
In 2013, Kuwait's parliament enacted a law that created the National Fund to broaden the scope of promoting and supporting entrepreneurship and SMEs in Kuwait. The National Fund's mandate focuses on access to funds and markets, and on providing training and building capacity, as well as providing land. In addition, the National Fund provides other logistical support, such as operational enhancement, gap analysis, and different kinds of training. It also covers various subsidies that allow entrepreneurs to interact within the economy. All these resources and packages aim to transform Kuwaitis from being public sector employees into either business owners or private-sector employees. The second goal is to find ways to help entrepreneurs and SMEs contribute to the diversification of Kuwait's economy. The third issue is to transfer the necessary knowledge and experience from outside Kuwait into the country. The role of the National Fund within those general terms is to provide the packages that allow entrepreneurs to thrive. For example, the National Fund has had four types of pilot incubation programs. In 2017, we issued bylaws to enable private incubators in Kuwait and we are in the midst of introducing the first cohort program that will be supported by the National Fund, though operated by the private sector.
What is the importance of bringing modern technology to Kuwait?
Technology itself is becoming a huge industry that is overtaking traditional industries. The pillars of those disruptions currently are trends in artificial intelligence and its subsets, which are machine learning and deep learning. These are concepts such as autonomous driving and blockchain, which are disrupting many industries, not just finance. As an international fund, we intend to focus on offering high-quality training programs conducted by the right international providers who can bring their talents to Kuwait and develop the mindset here. We also work with other government agencies in Kuwait to achieve this change. We want to help improve Kuwait's creative and innovation sector, especially in the field of R&D.
In which industries do you see potential for SMEs to claim a larger role?
Different sectors of the country offer excellent prospects for SMEs. One area is agriculture, and our Board of Directors recently approved the National Agriculture Program. We focus on the business side of the equation and are looking at how farms in Kuwait can generate enough income for farmers to be interested in investing further in their operations. We have talked to other agencies, such as the Municipality of Kuwait and the Public Authority of Farms, and they agree with our approach. The National Fund enables every single farm in Kuwait that qualifies to enter the program and give each farm a small workshop space amounting to 1-3% of their farm size while also providing the financing to purchase equipment and set it up. The workshop will be used to convert raw materials into by-products that have a longer shelf life and better positioning in the market. Through one of our linkage programs, these small enterprises could be linked with larger companies that specialize in packaging and distribution to overseas markets under international standards. This program will help create local food security and self-sustainability to some degree, as well as exports. We are doing this program with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) as it possesses the necessary technical know-how. Besides agriculture, we are exploring how we can get SMEs into the petrochemicals value chain. A third area is the National Development Program led by the Supreme Council that is focused on the development of Kuwait, for example new buildings, roads, the metro, and other infrastructure. We are working to engage SMEs across different sectors in the development of the national economy.
THE POWER OF SMALL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Guest Speaker
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Turkey
TBY talks to Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, on further developing relations in a variety of fields, strengthening economic cooperation with Kuwait, and working together on the refugee crisis.
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Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA)
TBY talks to Sheikh Dr. Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Director General of Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), on progress thus far, as well as continuing efforts for the year ahead.
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Dr. Khaled A. Mahdi, Secretary General , Supreme Council for Planning and Development
TBY talks to Dr. Khaled A. Mahdi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, on progress in Kuwait's National Development Plan, investing in human capital, and supporting SMEs.
read articleFocus: New Kuwait 2035 Development Plan
Potential for Revolution
The "New Kuwait" 2035 Development Plan was announced in January 2017 with the goal of revolutionizing Kuwait's economy in the next 20 years, diversifying it and making it competitive on the world stage. But revolutions do not come easy.
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Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan, Chairman & President, The National Fund for Small & Medium Enterprise Development (National Fund)
TBY talks to Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan, Chairman & President of The National Fund for Small & Medium Enterprise Development (National Fund), on increasing support for SMEs, technology overhaul, and sectors with potential.
read articleInterview
Dr. Osamah A. Alsayegh, Executive Director , Energy and Building Research Center (EBRC)
TBY talks to Dr. Osamah A. Alsayegh, Executive Director of the Energy and Building Research Center (EBRC), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), on increasing renewable energy generation capacity, improving energy security, and striving to align KISR with national development plans.
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Bakheet Al-Rashid, former President & CEO , Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI)
TBY talks to Bakheet Al-Rashidi, former President & CEO of Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), on the company's successful operations in the past year, its investment plans, and opportunities in the sector.
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Ibrahim Al-Musaiteer, Deputy CEO, Administration and Finance at Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC)
TBY talks to Ibrahim Al-Musaiteer, Deputy CEO of Administration and Finance at Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), on its contributions to add value to Kuwait's hydrocarbons.
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Qusai Al Shatti, Deputy Director General, Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT)
TBY talks to Qusai Al Shatti, Deputy Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), on implementing e-government initiatives, measuring progress, maintaining security.
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Sheikh Yousef Abdullah Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, Director General, Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA)
TBY talks to Sheikh Yousef Abdullah Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, Director General of the Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA), on the Kuwait Logistics City Project, plans to increase capacity, and digitalization.
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The Costs of Living
Kuwait's health infrastructure and workforce is relatively small, while major health problems have arisen over the past decades. The state is still the dominant force in health expenditure, but private-sector participation is the key to expanding the healthcare sector.
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Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari, Vice Chairman & CEO , United Facilities Management (UFM)
TBY talks to Ahmad Yousef Al Kandari, Vice Chairman & CEO of United Facilities Management (UFM), on weathering the storm, freeing up client potential, and laying the groundwork for successful organizational structure.
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Ali Hussein Al-Yoha, Secretary General, National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL)
TBY talks to Ali Hussein Al-Yoha, Secretary General of National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters (NCCAL), on protecting Kuwaiti folklore, encouraging investment in cultural tourism, and bringing the benefits of culture to every Kuwaiti's doorstep.
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Rana A. Al Nibari, General Manager, The Scientific Center Kuwait (TSCK)
TBY talks to Rana A. Al Nibari, General Manager of The Scientific Center Kuwait (TSCK), on rousing people's curiosity for science and technology, connecting with students and their families, and encouraging sustainability.
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