Etisalat to support Abu Dhabi’s small and medium businesses’ in digital quest

UAE telecom operator Etisalat announced its value propositions that address the multiple requirements of Abu Dhabi’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) in a bid to boost their digital transformation journey.

Abu Dhabi’s startup community will have access to a dedicated platform with all the information of the initiatives. Registered e-Empower SMBs will gain access to Etisalat’s one-stop destination, ‘Hello Business Hub’.

The business hub offers telecommunications as well as value-added services to SMBs, while providing them with the ease and flexibility of kick-starting their operations in the UAE, whether it be registering their company, setting up a bank account, telecommunication services or another aspect of operational set-up.

Etisalat’s Hello Business Hub partners will provide exclusive trade license and banking offers for the startups to legalise their presence in Abu Dhabi.

Etisalat’s initiative follows Khalifa Fund for Medium Enterprise Development’s recent announcement of Etisalat and Microsoft being the latest organisations to come on board the e-Empower programme ecosystem with resources, such as webinars, workshops, preferential rates and digital support.

Esam Mahmoud, senior vice president, SMB, Etisalat, said “We are honoured to be a strategic partner of Khalifa Fund and be part of the e-Empower programme, enabling us to cater to the requirements of small enterprises and startups, while helping them to grow their business and accelerate their digital transformation.”

The UAE’s SMB sector represents more than 94 per cent of the total number of companies operating across the country. It employs over 86 per cent of the private sector workforce, according to the Ministry of Economy.

Etisalat Group’s consolidated net profit, after deduction of the federal royalty, amounted to Dhs2.3bn for Q1 2021, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.9 per cent and resulting in a net profit margin of 18 per cent.

Read: Etisalat Group reports Dhs2.3bn consolidated net profit for Q1 2021; up 7.9% y-on-y

The company said its aggregate subscriber base reached 156 million as of March 31, 2021, representing a year-on-year increase of 4 per cent.

In January, telecom operators Etisalat and du raised the permitted ownership limit of foreign nationals to 49 per cent.

Read: UAE operators Etisalat, du raise foreign ownership to 49%