The Value of External Communications for Start Ups...Read below:

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/the-value-of-external-communications-529273.html?page=0

Telling it like it is!

In an interview with the Arab Business Club's monthly magazine, I was delighted to share some of my thoughts about my company and my humble experience in the field of PR. I don't claim to be a guru, as I am constantly learning new things each and every day, but I know of one thing that I possess and that is PASSION for this discipline. 

http://issuu.com/arabbusinessclub/docs/arab_business_club_magazine_issue_12_march_2013

Seven shopping secrets retailers won t tell you

Seven shopping secrets retailers won t tell you

RENNO Communications Group

Social media used by nearly all ME journalists target=

Social media used by nearly all ME journalists target=

Adaptation Vs. Innovation

When will the Arab World move toward innovation in place of adaptation? A question I often ask myself and dwell in the answer and the reasoning of why we, the people of the Arab World, prefer the shortcut and easy route instead of actually burning few brain cells to come up with some ingenious ideas to call our own.

When I watch the TV, I can't help think that the game shows are adaptations of popular Western programs - e.g. Arabs Got Talent! Who wants to be a millionaire! Star Academy! Talk of the Town! and the list goes on and on and on. When I scan the various media, all I can see is Western print titles that are translated to Arabic! Not to mention that enjoying an afternoon out with friends or family should or most often is at a Western franchise.


We must admit that the Arab World has become used to import; we import food, cars, movies, clothes, essentials, and most importantly ideas. I was appalled to read a report that mentions clearly that the entire Arab World's registered patents in one year equals the patents registered in one small state in the US in one month!

So where am I going with this? I believe the Arab World has a lot to offer but has gotten used to paying for comfort, rather than earn it. When I decided to launch the first magazine in the Arab World that focuses on the Transport industry, I was asked by many in the media field why I would not make my life easier and buy the rights of an already existing Western magazine! It would be easier to advertise in such magazines, they advised! But where is the challenge in going with this easy route? We should start thinking that our inventions or ideas should be exported and the title that I created for the magazine can and should be bought by someone in a different language. Nothing is impossible and innovation is key to taking this part of the world to a higher level.

What is the matter with our region? Why can't we admit that we have talent that is worthy of nourishing and developing? Why can't we have more inventions and patents registered that can make the world a better place? Is the region void of talent? I honestly refute that premise and strongly reject the notion that the only thing the Arab World is capable of exporting is "terrorism", as perpetuated by the Western media, not to mention Hollywood, whose movies we graciously purchase and subtitle!

I believe what we are in dire need of is a talent academy; an enterprise that is well funded by entrepreneurs and whose main objective is to attract and nourish regional innovation. The history books in the Arab World need to contain a fresh and newer version of accomplishments, besides Jubran Khalil Jubran, Ibn Sinna, Alfarabbi, etc.

The Arab World's "Got Talent" for sure, and it should not be limited to a TV program!

Food for Thought, as usual.

Population change and purchasing power dynamics

Population profile change to affect purchasing power

Report highlights impact on Mideast economic growth

• By Deena Kamel Yousef, Staff Reporter
• Published: 00:00 January 25, 2011

• A report says the Middle East’s falling fertility rate and rapid ageing will affect the country’s economic output necessitating changes in labour rules. Picture for illustrative purposes only.
• Image Credit: Megan Hirons Mahon/Gulf News

Dubai: Changing demographics in the Middle East are expected to reduce the public's purchasing power and increase an ageing population's dependency on the working class in the next decade, according to a recent report by a top fin-ancial audit and consulting firm.

A "dramatically" decreasing fertility rate and quickly improving life expectancy in the region will impact its growth rate, says the report titled Consumer 2020: Reading the Signs by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

"The shrinking of a population in the Middle East consequently results in a similar diminishing of the labour force and national consumption power," said Nasser Sagga, Audit Partner at Deloitte. "As a result the growth potential of the country's economic output becomes weakened."

In the UAE, the fertility rate has dropped from an average of seven children per woman in the 1950s to less than two in 2010, the report showed.

The country's old age dependency ratio — the number of people over the age of 64 dependent on working people — is expected to reach almost 20 per cent by 2050, up from one per cent in 2000, the report predicted.

Long-term issue

"Conceptually, growth is a function of a growth in inputs such as labour and productivity. An older population profile suggests slower growth and, therefore, slower economic growth," said Dr Giyas Gokkent, Chief Economist with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

But given the GCC countries' relatively young population, oil-based economies and investment in infrastructure, this is a "long-term issue" rather than an immediate one, he added.

The UAE and the Gulf countries are not affected by these changing demographics in the same way as other countries because of the nature of their labour force, analysts say.

"Demographic dynamics at play in the Middle East and specifically in the Gulf are different from a mere observation of the local fertility rate and life expectancy as it is done in most countries," said Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, senior economist at Standard Chartered. In countries where migrant workers represent up to 85 per cent of the population, the economic and population growth are not related to the traditional analysis of the local demographic pyramid, he said.

The UAE has been able to use the elastic supply of labour available in neighbouring countries in its drive for economic diversification and growth, Gokkent added.

"Dependency on expat labour is a phenomenon that is already an issue for the UAE, but this is also a strength because it provides flexibility and an edge in terms of competitiveness. I do not see an impact beyond current trends," he said.

In future, the government may have to "ease" labour laws to accommodate a greater number of expatriates into the labour market to make up for dependency, said Samer Renno of Echo Trends, the consumer research arm of Renno Communications Group.

Restrictive rules

Restrictive labour rules are now the biggest obstacle facing the business community in the UAE, according to a recent poll by management consultancy Oliver Wyman and market research firm Zogby International. They were a problem for 43 per cent of senior executives in the UAE, according to the poll of C-level executives in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.