Hussein Shobokshi
The Arab world has a deep and rich history of merchandising. The Arabian Peninsula, the Levant and Yemen have known great successful trade routes from the earliest recorded history.
These were stories based on courage, trust and the adventurous spirit that carried their heroes to mysterious and exotic lands all in the name of free trade and exploration.
That was the first model of “globalization” known to mankind. It was always a source of pride and joy for someone to be a merchant or a trader that was the entrepreneur of the ages.
Things slowly changed towards job security and the only perceived source of job security became government jobs.
With the continuous disappointments to develop a better welcoming climate for the small and medium enterprises, money and dreams continued to either immigrate abroad or be shelved indefinitely. How sad and most depressing!
There is a clear drought in new innovations and great shortage in the entrepreneurial spirit.
This no doubt reflects in the complete reversal of the traditional culture of merchandising which is a result of poor policies to support and advocate venture capital and breaking down the bureaucratic barriers, which are suffocating its progress.
Small and medium businesses are the engines of growth of most successful economies; the failure to realize that in practical terms will result in disappointing results.
Break the barriers and give the entrepreneurs a real fighting chance!
