His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE the Ruler of Dubai, has issued a decree to establish a new centre in Dubai to help support family-owned businesses.
The decree to establish the new centre is in line with a federal law on family companies that aims to develop a comprehensive and seamless legal framework to regulate the ownership and governance of family companies in the UAE and ease their transfer from one generation to another.
A recent report by the APCO Worldwide and GCC Board Directors Institute (GCC BDI indicated that it has become increasingly evident that ESG strategies and programmes can enhance cross-sectoral collaboration to tackle urgent social and environmental challenges within the GCC region.
The public and private sector alike can maximise the benefits of deepening commitments to sustainability by engaging in ESG data collection, reporting and strategic planning to achieve regional net-zero goals.
Under the decree, the centre will be established within the organisational structure of Dubai Chambers. It will also have to draw up an inclusive strategy to boost and develop family-owned companies in the emirate and suggest creative options for dealing with such companies and enhance their growth opportunities.
The centre will also provide technical and administrative support to family businesses in a manner that ensures their smooth succession across generations.
According to media reports, citing the Ministry of Economy, around to 90 per cent of private companies in the UAE are family businesses. They employ around 70 per cent of the sector’s workforce and contributing about 40 per cent to the UAE’s gross domestic product.