A new survey conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East's #1 job site, and market research agency, YouGov, entitled ‘Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa2021’ has found that almost two-thirds (65%) of Kuwait residents prefer to be self-employed/have their own business if given the choice.
The survey found that freedom to choose work-life balance (54%) and personal fulfillment (48%) emerge as the top reasons for preferring to be self-employed. This is followed by building a business their children can inherit (48%) and higher monetary gains (41%).
Those who have already started their business seem to have similar reasoning. When asked about the reasons MENA professionals have for starting their own business, the top three reasons were: ‘wanted to do what I love’ (29%), ‘having a great business idea’ (28%) and ‘to achieve a better work-life balance’ (24%).
Of those who prefer to seek employment in a company in Kuwait, the main reasons for their preference are: regular income (44%), stability of employment/ job security (41%) and learning new skills (41%).
“Wealth creation is not the only driver for MENA entrepreneurs, who increasingly tend to be aspirational in other ways. Our survey aims to understand the views of entrepreneurs as a way to maximize impact and drive growth and innovation in the economy,” said Ola Haddad, Director of Human Resources at Bayt.com. “As part of our research strategy, Bayt.com will continue to research topics that provide professionals in the entrepreneurial ecosystem with credible data to make informed decisions.”
Kuwait Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Entrepreneurship continues to be a growing trend in Kuwait. Despite the given challenges of setting up a business, the survey indicates that entrepreneurship has become more popular than ever before. When it comes to those who are currently employed,62% are currently thinking of starting their own business,23% of respondents have tried to start their own business in the past, while only5% never thought of starting their own business.
Many entrepreneurs are looking to grow their startups and establish business. Over a third (37%) of MENA respondents have personal ambitions to grow their business further in their country of residence, followed by27% who aim to become a major international group. In fact, with growth in mind, almost6 in10 of Kuwait respondents are planning to hire for their business in the next year.
Out of those who are self-employed in the MENA region,38% are at the startup stage of the business, while another28% say that their business is established but not performing well. On the other hand,15% say their business is well established and performing well.
The top concern of Kuwait respondents while setting up their own business, would be procuring finances to start (59%) and uncertainty of profit/ income (40%).
The most appealing industries for entrepreneurship are considered to be IT/ Internet/ E-commerce (12%), Commerce/ Trade/ Retail (12%) and Consumer Goods/ FMCG (10%), followed by Real Estate/ Construction/ Property Development (8%).
Mentoring and Support
The survey shows even greater benefits of entrepreneurship for societies and the economy. The perceived image of entrepreneurs in the region is very positive – Kuwait respondents perceive entrepreneurs to be opportunity-driven (87%) and they help in creating new jobs (77%).
The best pieces of advice offered to budding entrepreneurs by respondents in the MENA region is to not be afraid of failure (45%). In addition,3 in10 respondents believe that innovation is the key to success as an entrepreneur, followed by employing the right people (25%) and access to funding (18%).
Zafar Shah, Research Director at YouGov said: “The positive attitudes about entrepreneurship that we see in the MENA region are an encouraging sign. It indicates that there is both a supply of potential entrepreneurs and those who may support their efforts. The ideas and innovations born in small companies and startups create a stronger economy, offering greater opportunities for upward mobility.”
Data for the Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa Survey was collected online from January13 to February3,2021. Results are based on a sample of1,763 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan among others.