ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Entrepreneurship in our society

Sidsel Dyrholm Holst Director of SME’s and Entrepreneurship, DI

Both established businesses and society as a whole need to take care of the entrepreneurial minds. It is from these minds new life improving products and services emerge. DI is as an employers’ and business organization committed to advocate and support the development of a stronger entrepreneurial community. Entrepreneurship is the engine of creative destruction and walks hand in hand with economic and technological development. An entrepreneur is a person who add economic value to the creative mind and has the insight to see the commercially viable opportunities and solutions. The entrepreneur is however also a person, an individual who is affected by norms and culture in society. Most of us have experienced the situation where we get a brilliant idea, but never act on it. It is the mandate of a business organization to support and strengthen the mechanisms that trigger entrepreneurship in order to create a more dynamic society and stimulate economic growth. The perception of entrepreneurship as career choice One of the central factors when talking about impediments of a sparkling entrepreneurial culture is whether the public consider entrepreneurship as a good career choice. As seen below, the perception of entrepreneurship as a wise career move varies greatly from 39 % in the UK to 85 % in Brazil. The main lesson learned here is that entrepreneurial culture is indeed local. DI works actively to promote the perception of entrepreneurship as a career choice in Denmark through several activities, both as direct services to members, as policy advocacy efforts and in society as a whole.

Content

01 Entrepreneurship in our society 03 Startup MENA: Sparking entrepreneurship in the MENA Region 05 Rise Up Summit 06 The Voice of Startups in MENA: 4 Cases 09 What BMOs do for Startups 11 Case: Startup in Egypt 13 The Three Biggest Challenges facing startups in MENA 14 MECC as an important partner to the AE-Network 16 3rd AE-Network working group meeting 2014 17 News and Events 18 About the Arab-EU Business Facilitation Network

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 2

How we in DI work for entrepreneurship Working with cultural transition towards accepting and honoring entrepreneurial risk taking and individual successes is one of the most basic and fundamental areas of policy advocacy DI is engaged in. A good example of this work is DI’s participation in the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). The week is founded by the Kauffmann Foundation to pay tribute to the positive effects entrepreneurs have on society, but also for the official society to back up the entrepreneurial culture. This year more than 150 countries participated in celebrating the week and altogether there were more than 25,000 events and competitions worldwide.

As an employers’ and business organization DI supports a wide range of initiatives going on during the week. The biggest event in Denmark is the Danish Entrepreneurship Award where about 5,000 pupils and students come together to compete in various competitions. It is via

competitions like this where the public get involved in the entrepreneurial mind set. Not only will the pupils who have participated in the competition get a grip of entrepreneurial thoughts. Their parents will even more so be involved as potential customers, test groups and maybe even investors in the projects. Bringing entrepreneurship into everyday life demystifies the process and makes it less of a barrier to start a business. It is by taking these small steps that we as business organizations in common can support a growing entrepreneurial mind set and pave the road for economically sustainable growth.

85

85

81

79

70

69

69

67

66

66

64

61

61

61

61

60

58

57

55

55

54

54

53

52

50

49

49

46

44

41

39

PER

CEN

T

P E R C E N T A G E O F 1 8 - 6 4 P O P U L A T I O N W H O A G R E E W I T H T H E S T A T E M E N T T H A T I N T H E I R C O U N T R Y M O S T P E O P L E C O N S I D E R S T A R T I N G A B U S I N E S S A S A D E S I R A B L E C A R E E R C H O I C E ( G E M ,

2 0 1 4 )

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 3

Startup MENA: Sparking Entrepreneur-ship in the MENA region

The vast youth unemployment across the MENA region constitutes an important challenge to the AE members. Entrepreneurship is often cited as an instrumental remedy to this challenge. The large young talent mass and the increasing technological development in the region provides a unique platform for sparking entrepreneurship and fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem. These conditions were the facts on the ground that lead to the establishment of Startup MENA in the beginning of 2014.

What is Startup MENA? Startup MENA is a program that consist of a series of premium entrepreneurial workshops and events for MENA startups and entrepreneurs, aimed directly at boosting the local startup ecosystem. It is a bottom-up initiative with local focus,

regional impact and international outlook, positioned alongside other startup initiatives. It contributes to the existing ecosystem by filling out the gaps, bridging connections to Europe and providing access to top-notch international mentors, investors and corporates. In practice, this is done in three different ways:

1) By providing premium learning workshops and events that leverages the knowledge and engagement of the local ecosystem;

2) By providing specialized knowledge, through inviting high-profile international mentors and investors to the region;

3) By building bridges between corporates and startups in the region.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 4

Achievements So Far Since the launch in February 2014 Startup MENA has held 14 successful events in Cairo, Egypt. The events have attracted +450 entrepreneurs from all over the country. Furthermore, over 63 valuable partnerships have been established. The initiative has, according to the rest of the ecosystem, become one of the most significant and valuable “Enablers” in Egypt, inspiring new formats and discussions around the development of entrepreneurs in the region. The events have attracted regional interest from investors and startup organizations such as MENA Apps and Oasis500, as well as international interest from investors in Europe such as Hoxton Ventures. The combination of offline and online engagement has furthermore provided Startup MENA with a credible, recognizable brand. Startup MENA has been covered by tech-magazines such as The Next Web and the regional entrepreneurial media platform Wamda. Furthermore, Startup MENA has appeared on live Television and acted in three panels at Arabnet in Dubai, Euromed and RISEUP Summit in Cairo.

Looking Ahead

In 2015 activities and presence will continue in Egypt. With objectives to stimulate more investment – and thereby boosting more parts of the ecosystem - efforts to raise funding to educate new angels in a so-called Angels Bootcamp have been initiated alongside a selection of local partners. The impact that Startup MENA has been able to create during 2014 has been highly valuable to the ecosystem in Egypt. Because of the successful entry to the region and the established relations with key partners, it is a natural step to take the initiative into more countries in the region. In 2015 the mission is to enter new startup ecosystems in the region with Startup MENA.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 5

RiseUp Summit

On 12-14th of October 2014 the RiseUpEgypt Summit was held in Cairo. The Summit had the overall objective of showcasing the vitality and opportunity in Egypt’s entrepreneurs, but also shedding light upon challenges of the country’s startup ecosystem. The event was in other words organized by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.

The event was an exciting mix of panel discussions, talks by world famous entrepreneurs, trade fair, founders matchmaking, fireside chats, investor lounges and much more. As always, the networking element was central. Potential entrepreneurs had the chance of getting a firsthand feeling for the

startup scene while experienced startups got concrete advice and tools to advance to the next step. At the same time, investors were introduced to a wide range of startups who also got the chance to ask questions to their future investors. Altogether, more than 3,000 visitors found their way to the Greek campus in the midst of Cairo. The numerous back-to-back events, startup booths, food stalls, and concerts at night ensured a buzzing atmosphere and the visitors must have left with an optimistic impression about the opportunities that the country – and region – holds for entrepreneurs. You can read about the event on: www.riseupsummit.com

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 6

The Voice of Startups in

MENA: 4 Cases

In order to highlight how business organizations in the MENA region may empower startups we have asked four local entrepreneurs to share with us their experiences and thoughts on the topic. Hopefully this can inspire the AE network members when developing services for startups.

CultArk & ZEX (EGYPT)

- How long have you been an entrepreneur?

10 years

- Is your company member of a business association? If

yes, why? If no, why not?

Yes, the American chamber of commerce. This is Egypt's

largest business association containing over 580 members

of Egypt’s business community. Exposure to this network

helps me acquire knowledge and connections that would

otherwise be unavailable to me.

- What do you regard as the three major challenges in the

business environment for entrepreneurs and startups?

1. Funding

2. Egypt's Bankruptcy law

3. Unqualified Workforce

- How do you think business organizations could to help

entrepreneurs and startups like yourself?

Work on impact sourcing. If business organizations

instruct their members to alleviate 10 or 15 percent of their

business to startups, Egypt’s startups would be able to

build the necessary portfolios needed for them to scale up

and grow.

- Can you mention any examples of a concrete challenge

that you have faced which a business organization in your

country may help to overcome?

A major challenge is to acquire big clients. Through being

part of a business organization, you would be able to meet

decision makers in various multinationals as well as

reputable Egyptian home grown businesses. This sort of

interaction paves the way towards establishing a solid

business relationship with them.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 7

ENGEZNI (EGYPT/JORDAN) - How long have you been an entrepreneur?

2 years.

- Is your company member of a business association? If

yes, why? If no, why not?

No. I do not believe they are helpful in my country in terms

of offering networking opportunities or support services.

- What do you regard as the three major challenges in the

business environment for entrepreneurs and startups?

Team building, funding, and cash flow management (in

mentioned order) are three major traps every

entrepreneur faces. It takes good people, proper funding,

and good financial management to sustain and monetize

startups. I have been through struggles over the past year

with finding the right team for my startup. This is partly

because Egypt has a culture that does not encourage

working in startups given their risk factor and instability.

In addition, the back-and-forth with investors to close a

proper investment has been a challenge.

- How do you think business organizations could to help

entrepreneurs and startups like yourself?

I believe the role of business organizations should be to

create a networking environment that enables

entrepreneurs to exceed their grasp and get to key

stakeholders that would support them if they listen and

get convinced. This would be the most valuable service as

it opens gates to funding and marketing opportunities.

- Can you mention any examples of a concrete challenge

that you have faced which a business organization in your

country may help to overcome?

I have found it helpless to participate in training or

mentorship sessions organized by business organizations

in Cairo, Egypt as they do not understand the nature of

technology startups and do not have solid experience to

mentor tech entrepreneurs to scale their ventures.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 8

Elle Boss (UAE) - How long have you been an entrepreneur?

4 months.

- Is your company member of a business association?

If yes, why? If no, why not?

No. I have not found one.

- What do you regard as the three major challenges in

the business environment for entrepreneurs and

startups?

Costs to register company. Funding investment.

Managing the business.

- How do you think business organizations could to

help entrepreneurs and startups like yourself?

Networking. Business opportunities. Mentorship.

Ta3rifah (UAE) - How long have you been an entrepreneur?

1.5 Years.

- Is your company member of a business association? If

yes, why? If no, why not?

Not yet, did not find an association that is

valuable enough and adds real value to our startup.

- What do you regard as the three major challenges in

the business environment for entrepreneurs and

startups?

Fundraising in Seed/Post-Seed rounds & Business

Development for large/mega clients and enterprises.

- How do you think business organizations could to help

entrepreneurs and startups like yourself?

1) Matching events with investors, big clients, and

other entrepreneurs.

2) Direct connections one-to-one meetings with investors

and big clients.

3) Perks for media, PR and marketing or special

agreement with big corporations.

- Can you mention any examples of a concrete challenge

that you have faced which a business organization in

your country may help to overcome?

In Dubai, there are not many business organizations. If

there are, they are not visible at

startups/entrepreneurship events.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 9

What BMOs do for Startups

In order to get a better understanding of what role BMOs can play in supporting startups in the MENA Region we asked two BMOs to share with us some of the challenges they find to be the largest facing startups in their local environment and what role BMOs can play to overcome them. Below you can see the questions we asked them and their answers.

Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc (CGEM)

- What do you regard as the three major challenges in the business environment of Morocco for local entrepreneurs? Despite Morocco’s continuous efforts to promote entrepreneurship, local entrepreneurs are still facing several challenges:

1. Difficult access to funding 2. Time consuming administrative paperwork (red tape) 3. Lack of training and support

- How do you believe you as a business organization can help ameliorate those challenges? First and foremost, the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), as a business organization, aims at informing its members about the available funds for innovation through the elaboration of thematic guides and seminars. Moreover, CGEM’s SMEs Committee has been committed to informing CGEM members about the available funds to encourage the creation of new enterprises such as “Imtiaz” and “Moussanada.” In collaboration with the public sector, this Committee is working towards the establishment of a “Charter for SMEs” (Charte de la PME) as well as a “the entrepreneurs Status.” (Statut de l’auto-entrepreneur.) Being aware of the urge of providing training and support to local entrepreneurs, CGEM, is working towards the creation of an “Academy for Entrepreneurs”. Furthermore, through its Committee “Research and Development, E-enterprise and Relations with the Universities”, CGEM aims at promoting measures to develop startups as well as to spread an “Entrepreneurship Culture” among University students.

- Do you have services in the CGEM, which are targeted entrepreneurs and startups? These services are in the process of being established. They will be starting soon. In that perspective, it is worth nothing that CGEM is creating a website aiming at connecting University students with

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 10

enterprises. Hence, this website will facilitate access to internships for these students. - Do you in the CGEM actively try to influence the political environment in favor of entrepreneurs? Yes, CGEM has been working hand in hand with the Government in order to create an adequate political environment and legal framework in favor of local entrepreneurs. Within that context, CGEM is an active part of the National Committee of the Business Environment, which is a public – private initiative that aims at enhancing the business climate in Morocco for entrepreneurs. Furthermore, CGEM contributes actively to the elaboration and implementation of several law projects that directly affects the entrepreneurs. - If yes, please mention a concrete focus area. In an effort to bolster entrepreneurship in Morocco, CGEM has been working with the Government to encourage the simplification of the conditions to create and set up a small business and assistance provided on quality / training / innovation issues as well as to launch of incubators. Besides, CGEM has initiated and contributed to the implementation of the law project aiming at reducing payment deadlines in Morocco.

Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) - What do you regard as the three major challenges in the business environment of Egypt for local entrepreneurs? 1: Licensing 2: Permits

The challenges above are due to incompliance with the lengthy & sophisticated procedures, which incur excessive cost in time and money & may leads to corruption.

3: Land Allocation & Registration Ensuring formal property rights is fundamental. If formal property transfer is too costly or complicated, formal titles might go informal again. Therefore, it will have little chance of being accepted as collateral for loans thus limiting access to finance.

- How do you believe you as a business organization can help ameliorate those challenges? FEI being a BMO, we are represented in the decision making process & in the economical regulatory reform community. We provide our arguments based on evidence & research. We voice all investment barriers to the related authorities. Meanwhile, and as a positive message from the Government of Egypt, the name of the Ministry of Industry & Trade became, Ministry of Industry, Trade & SME’s to reflect the interest of the government.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 11

- Do you have services in FEI which are targeted entrepreneurs and startups? If yes, please mention one concrete example. One example of this can be seen in Merghem city in Alexandria which was an inefficient industrial area. FEI succeeded through the Ministry of Industry, Trade & SME’s and on behalf of the plastic industries (SME’s & Entrepreneurship) to obtain the necessary permits to transfer this area to an organized zone as a cluster for the plastic industries in the area. The implementation is in process & is expected to end in a medium term. FEI held and still high-level negotiation in this respect with the related authorities & cooperate with ILO & UNIDO and will include the Social Fund for Development (SFD) in the process as well in order to reach best practices. - Do you in FEI actively try to influence the political environment in favor or entrepreneurs? If yes, please mention a concrete focus area. Yes we do:

We helped changing the mandate of the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC) in order to address its services to the SME's that are representing about 80% of FEI members.

We will be allocated land from GoE for the SME's

We are working very closely with the Ministry of Industry, Trade & SMS’s in reforming the laws & regulations

Case: Startup in Egypt FIKRA is a Business Development Think Tank that is determined to catch new business ideas and provide professional support to develop the idea and make it a successful reality. We take the idea from the conceptual phase; do all the research and development until a fresh new idea is ready to enter the market. Our portfolio comprises new products and services in many business sectors including Food and Beverage and modern industrial and agricultural products. We have developed our privately owned registered trademarks in the F&B sector – Gasabo, Snow Cone and Candy Cloud. At FIKRA, we believe in the power of people. Our hard-working, friendly enthusiastic team provides a wide range of experience and skills in order to deliver the highest quality of products and services.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 12

GASABO: Bringing Back a Celebrated Traditional Egyptian Drink The name of our product GASABO is driven from the word “Gasab” which means Sugar Cane in the Egyptian local language. GASABO franchise is your golden opportunity to build your own business at your own pace, by providing the consumer with a natural, healthy and cooling drink.

What we Bring to our Business Partners?

A Franchise that will allow you to grow at your own pace

A simple and easy to apply business plan

A profitable and controlled investment

Low inventory needs with minimum overheads

Easily operated business

A versatile set-up that can be easily located (in sporting clubs, universities, schools, beaches, factories, gas stations, large companies, promenades, shopping malls,..etc)

Kiosk and Equipment: We supply the kiosks equipped with all needed machines. Sugarcane: We supply the sugarcane inside vacuumed bags ready for extracting. Employees and Training: We train the key personnel and supply all operations manuals. Menu:

Sugarcane Juices and Sugarcane Flavored Juices

Sugarcane Smoothies

Sugarcane Granitas

Peeled Sugarcane in Sealed Cups

Vacuumed Bags of Sugarcane

Sugarcane Soft Ice-cream

Sugarcane Cotton Candy

Sugarcane Snow Cone

Collection of Coffee Cups Mixed with Sugarcane as Natural Sugar

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 13

The three biggest challenges facing startups in MENA Two new studies, from Wamda Research Lab and Dubai Silicon Oasis, have provided fresh insights into the challenges faced by entrepreneurs across the MENA region.

Funding

As with most regions, issues related to investment and cash flow can be key challenges for MENA startups. The Dubai Silicon Oasis's study noted, "the top two predominant financial challenges are access to capital and lack of financial support from banks". As a solution, 70 percent of entrepreneurs claim to self-fund; and many startups -- especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) -- admit to often relying on financial support from family and friends.

Red tape

Interlinked with the challenge of attracting funding, many Middle Eastern entrepreneurs find their efforts further hampered by legal and logistical roadblocks. Issues clearly identified in Oasis's report include high fees for business registration and licensing, ownership structures, and unclear legal frameworks. Eighty-one percent of their survey respondents said they found it hard to understand governmental and legal regulation, whilst 62 percent acknowledged bureaucracy and red tape as a major barrier to progressing their ideas. As a result, the experience described by one Lebanon-based entrepreneur in Oasis's study remains all too common: "…no proper information is available online. If you need answers, you need to go down to the institutions who ping pong you from one person to another."

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 14

Skills and talent

Although more funding and less red tape would help Middle Eastern startups, both entrepreneurs and investors have recognized additional areas, which -- if addressed -- could potentially aid the development of this nascent sector.

Of particular note was the fact that over half of the 65 investors interviewed for Wamda's study felt that MENA's entrepreneurs lacked strategic planning and decision-making skills. For entrepreneurs, 30 percent of those interviewed by Wamda expressed the view that they would like to see investors offer value "beyond cash". Oasis' study meanwhile highlighted more logistical complications, such as securing visa and work permits (65 percent), the availability of technical staff (66 percent), and the cost of acquiring qualified personnel (76 percent)."Convincing talented developers to leave corporate jobs and join a startup" is a major problem, said one Egyptian entrepreneur, never mind "retaining the talents with the low salary budget we have".

Summarized from article by Damian Radcliff. See full article here: http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-three-biggest-challenges-facing-startups-in-the-middle-east/

MECC as an important partner to the AE Network

With overlapping focus areas and similar approaches to economic reform and growth in the MENA region, the newly launched Middle East Commercial Center (MECC) represents an important partner to the AE Network. The MECC was formally launched in February 2014 by U.S. Chamber of Commerce in an ambitious attempt to gather business organizations from across the MENA region in order to spark private sector led growth in the region. More than 350 business leaders and government officials from nearly 20 countries met by the Dead Sea in Jordan in order to set the agenda. The following task forces were created:

- Movement of Good and Market Access Task Force - Entrepreneurship Development Task Force - Natural Resource Cooperation Task Force

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 15

- Women in Business Task Force - Special Economic Zones Task Force

Besides these additional focus areas are on the MECC’s radar, including Tourism and Business Education. Since February, MECC has grown considerably with active participants from over a dozen countries across the region working together to advance policy, programs, and projects to build a stronger economic future for the region. All task force groups have worked to develop concept papers, which outline concrete objectives as well as work plans, thereby expanding the coalition of business leaders committed to working together in real, practical ways. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined a recent forum and spoke about the importance of the MECC as a unique sustaining architecture to promote economic growth that will benefit people throughout the region. The impressive cooperative efforts of MECC have come a long way in short time and we see great potential for creating synergies between the AE Network and the MECC, not only since this will entail both a European and American dimension. We therefore hope that the strong ties of the AE network as well as the ground covered by the network may feed into the MECC to further its agenda and vice versa. While we hope that a MECC representative will join us in our Network Meeting on 19th-20th of January, we encourage that you participate in the next MECC forum, the MECC Spring Forum, which will take place in Cairo on March 1-3rd 2015. You can read more and sign up here. Read more about MECC, its partners, task forces, reports etc. on: www.mecc.uschamber.com

Gasabo Kiosk

Packed Sugarcane

Sticks

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 16

Report: 3rd AE-Network Working Group Meeting 2014

Copenhagen, Denmark, 29.09.2014 In connection with the DI Annual Business Summit on 30th of September 2014.

The third AE Network working group meeting of 2014 took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 29th, 2014 and was hosted at the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) in conjunction with the DI Annual Business Summit. Delegations from Algeria, Denmark, Egypt, GCC, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Tunisia and UAE participated.

The working group meeting was the third and last in the 2014 project circle. The discussions were focused on SME policies, strategies for policy advocacy, and cross border co-operation. The agenda included items such as a discussion of the output of the SME conference in Jordan in April as well as a presentation on

the upcoming MENA Benchmark Report. Following a presentation on DI’s efforts for SMEs, a workshop facilitated the discussion on how the members can utilize the MENA Benchmark Report in their respective evidence based policy advocacy efforts. Moreover, the meeting included a presentation from the Danish Business Authority on how to make public bureaucracy in Denmark more efficient, a presentation on EU-GCC Trade Relations and a presentation on a Vocational Training Gap Analysis in Egypt based on the pilot gap analysis undertaken. Lastly, the work plan for 2015 was presented, which included information about the new AE-Network Secretariat to be opened in Amman, Jordan in January 2015. On the following day the delegations first of all participated in the DI Annual Summit, where the main topic was attraction of international labor. On the last day visits to several large Danish companies was arranged.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 17

News & Events

JCI will be hosting the AE-Network Secretariat from January 1st 2015

The agreement between DI and JCI for JCI to host the AE Secretariat was signed by Niels Tanderup Kristensen and Dr. Maher Al-Mahrouq on 16th of December in Amman in the presence of JCI Chairman Mr. Hatahet. Ms. Hiba Abu Taleb has been appointed as be the Head of Secretariat, organizing network working group meetings and ensuring follow up between meetings. More information about the new secretariat will be provided at the next working group meeting 19th-20th of January at the Dead Sea, Jordan.

PPD Conference in Copenhagen, March 10-12th 2015 We are pleased to invite the AE-Network to apply for the International Workshop on Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) to be held at the Confederation of Danish Industry Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, from March 10 to March 12, 2015. This 8th PPD Global Workshop is organized by Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), the World Bank Group and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The event aims at sharing and exchanging knowledge and supporting PPD practitioners on the ground. It will explore how the government, private sector and civil society organizations can effectively use PPD platforms to coordinate efforts and support the private sector to adapt to private sector growth challenges. We encourage you to participate in this event and join the discussions to exchange views on engaging diverse stakeholders in constructive policy dialogue with the government. The workshop will gather about 300 representatives from governments, private enterprises, PPD coordination units, business

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 18

forums, investors’ councils, competitiveness partnerships, community-based organizations, civil society and business organizations and various development partners. Please note that you or your institution will be responsible for covering your travel cost to and from Copenhagen, as well as for your accommodation and subsistence during the workshop. The application should be done by completing the registration before January 16, 2015. This includes a four page description of a PPD initiative your are engaged in. The organizing team will review registration applications based on relevance of participation and space availability. Accepted participants will receive a confirmation of registration. Please contact Karen Panum in DI on kapt@di.dk if you wish more information.

About the Arab-EU Business Facilitation Network The Arab-EU Business Facilitation Network is an alliance of leading Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) from the MENA region. Through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, the BMOs have pledged to work strategically together, promoting relevant policy issues within and between their respective countries. The purpose of the Network is to create a platform from which business associations from the region can discuss the challenges for businesses and identify shared solutions and policy recommendations. A specific emphasis is on improving access to the EU market for businesses in the region. Thus, the Network will contribute to a more enabling business environment for the benefit of growth and development in general.

ARAB-EU Quarterly

Autumn 2014

Page 19

The participating BMOs are: Algeria: Forum des Chefs des Entreprises (FCE) Bahrain: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(BCCI) Denmark: The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) Egypt: Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) Jordan: Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) GCC Federation of GCC Chambers Kuwait: Kuwait Chamber of Commerce (KCCI) Lebanon: Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) Libya: Libyan Businessmen Council (LBC) Morocco: Confédération Générale des Entreprises du

Maroc (CGEM) Oman: Oman Chambers of Commerce and Industry

(OCCI) Palestine: Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce,

Industry & Agriculture (FPCCIA) Saudi Arabia: Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) Syria: Damascus Chamber of Industry (DCI) Tunisia: Union Tunisienne de l’Industrie, du Commerce et

de l’Artisanat (UTICA) UAE: Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry Qatar: Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry Meetings and reports Several times a year – on working group meetings and on the Annual Meeting - the participants meet to discuss the outcomes and prospects of the projects in the AE-Network. All summaries of the meetings as well as Annual Reports can be found on the AE-network’s webpage. Contact information Confederation of Danish Industry Industriens Hus H.C. Andersens Boulevard 18 DK – 1787 Copenhagen V Denmark www.di.dk