Dubai Chamber Highlights Achievements Of GBF Mentorship Programme

Dubai Chamber highlights achievements of GBF Mentorship Programme

DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2019) The first cycle of the Global business Forum, GBF, Mentorship Programme created far-reaching benefits for participating UAE and African start-ups and mentors, while bringing entrepreneurial communities together and identifying synergies which can be built upon in the future, said Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He was highlighting the key achievements of the GBF Mentorship Programme during an interactive session today at GBF Africa 2019 in Dubai.

"We were very encouraged by the overwhelming response and successful results of the first cycle this year, which is why we are delighted to announce our plans to launch the second cycle of the programme in 2020. Through this unique programme, we are expanding the GBF platform and building an entrepreneurial legacy that encourages more start-ups from the UAE and Africa to go beyond borders and scale their businesses," said Buamim.

Taking centre-stage at GBF Africa 2019, Dubai Chamber’s GBF Mentorship Programme is a first-of-its-kind initiative pairing start-ups and mentors from the UAE and Africa. Earlier this year, Dubai Chamber hosted its first-ever Chamberthon event in Kigali, Rwanda, where UAE and African start-ups collaborated and developed the structure and features of the mentorship programme.

In the first cycle, several high-potential start-ups from the UAE and Africa were selected to participate in the programme, each offering cutting-edge solutions in key sectors and fields of mutual interest, such as agriculture, e-commerce, technology, fintech and Artificial Intelligence.

Participating start-ups were paired with mentors who offered the valuable expertise needed to help businesses develop and expand to new markets.

Another session on the first day of GBF Africa 2019 introduced attendees to the finalist start-ups and mentors who took part in the GBF Mentorship Programme. During the session, participants shared their experiences, biggest achievements and plans for the future.

Mentor Chris Folayan, Founder and CEO, Mall for Africa, South, said, "As CEOs we spend most of the time thinking about our balance sheets but at the end of the day, we should care about what is going to happen to the next generation. It has been an amazing ride."

Mentee Nadim Habr, Founder and CEO, Designhubz, UAE, said, "As a mentee, you simply need encouragement and connectivity. As a tech company, there is always a sense of urgency in expanding and Chris [my mentor] helped with how I was going to expand from Dubai globally."

Habr and fellow mentee, Kenneth Obiajulu, Founder and Managing Director, Farmgate Africa, said the valuable lessons learned from their respective mentors were among the biggest benefits associated with their participation.

Mentor Nader Amiri, Founder and CEO, el Grocer, UAE, said, "It is all about being more digital; you can connect from both sides anytime, anywhere, any day, anyhow, the structure is there. It is just about putting it out there."