SME sector role in UAE’s economic growth receives top recognition at the Century Financial 2nd SME Golden Frame Awards

In line with its contribution to the thriving landscape of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Century Financial, a renowned investment specialist in the region, has bestowed prestigious honors upon the finalists of the SME Golden Frame Awards.

Part of the Gulf Business Awards, the special segment of Century Financial SME Golden Frame Awards, stands as a testament to the integral role played by UAE-based SMEs in bolstering the economic performance and growth of the country and the wider GCC region.

The SME Golden Frame Awards represent a strategic, multi-faceted effort aimed at providing extended support to foster visionary leadership, creativity, responsibility, and ambition. The auspicious recognition was conferred on SMEs that are pioneers and leaders in innovation, business strategy, product delivery, sustainability, and customer service, among other crucial factors.

Launched in November 2022, the initiative attracted an overwhelming response from homegrown SMEs, receiving over 50 expertly and creatively crafted award entries across categories. Seven outstanding winners stood out from this pool of entries after weeks of careful evaluation by a seasoned judging panel comprising regional industry leaders.

The Showstoppers

· Retail Company of the Year – GMG

· Disruptive SME of the year – Polynome Events

· Social Innovation Excellence Award – Butterfly Social Technologies

· AgriBusiness Leader of the year – Export Trading Group

· Innovative SME of the year – Petrafos Energy & Downtown Reality Real Estate Brokerage

· Sustainable SME of the year – Healthy Pop foods

Presenting the awards, Bal Krishen, Chairman and CEO of Century Financial, expressed, “The Golden Frame Awards is a timely initiative that seeks to not just motivate and inspire homegrown businesses but to encourage them to continue developing people-driven solutions that ultimately make a difference. Our overall objective is to help the regional SME sector to scale up sustainably by recognizing these creative breakthrough innovators who are making disruptive moves in their respective fields.”

Sharad V K the Marketing Director of Century Financial, added, “As a pioneering investment services company in the UAE, Century Financial has always cherished the values of innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. The SME Golden Frame Awards is a unique celebration spotlighting the promising SMEs that drive our nation’s growth and prosperity. We introduced the Golden Frame Awards for SMEs in partnership with Gulf Business in 2022. It was a resounding success, setting the stage for this year’s equally triumphant 2nd edition.”

SME landscape

The Golden Frame Awards comes on the back of a burgeoning SME industry as the UAE targets to increase the number of SMES from 557,000 as at the end of 2022 to one million by the end of 2030. This, according to the Ministry of Economy, is part of the UAE’s strategy to boost the contribution of SMEs to the economy.

As the regional SME sector continues to demonstrate significant growth and impact over the last few years and further accounting for more than 94 percent of companies operating in the country, the Golden Frame Awards will serve as a boost to the UAE’s start-up ecosystem. This, according to Krishen, has risen in tandem with the increase in digitisation in key sectors such as retail, services, e-commerce, and government.