Abu Dhabi Day!

We left early on Wednesday morning for the 1-1/2 hour drive to Abu Dhabi because we had an appointment to meet with representatives from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry.



Our guide through the government office was Noora Al Hashimi, who is a Business Consultant for the entreprenuers and business managers that frequent the facility. Noora was excited to meet us, as our KSU class has a lot of women who are majoring in business. Noora has a special place in her heart for helping women succeed, both in Abu Dhabi and in other places around the world.






Noora's kindness was evident in the way she treated us like visiting dignitaries. The official photographer appeared out of nowhere to commemorate our visit with a picture for their newsletter, and we were served Arabian coffee in the Director's office as Noora's team answered our questions on the requirements for doing business in Abu Dhabi.






We were even introduced to representatives from the Australian Chamber of Commerce who were visiting Abu Dhabi to establish trade connections and business relationships.









And, there are considerable incentives for businesses around the world to trade in Abu Dhabi. The city has established Free Zones like Dubai created several years ago. Free Zones are places where businesses can set up shop without paying taxes and in those areas, they often receive office space for FREE.






Two of Noora's team members who spoke with us are also college students. The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce frequently offers jobs to local business students to give them more access to real-world lessons while they complete their studies. The Chamber is a fantastic place for college students to work, because they are given flexible hours and also allowed to leave early for class, even skipping work during exams without any penalty. It's a very supportive environment for both promising students and opportunistic entreprenuers.


One of the most interesting programs that the Chamber has established is one that is meant to encourage women to set up their own businesses in Abu Dhabi. We met one of the program participants, a clothing designer who specializes in creating wonderfully unique embroidery for women's burkas. She showed us some of her wares, and they were striking. Equally amazing was that this lady was pregnant, and running a profitable business from her own home.





We asked Noora if it was common in Abu Dhabi for women to work after they were married or had children. The ladies around us laughed and said, "Of course, we are ALL married and have kids!" One stereotype bit the dust that morning, and I was glad to see it go.




Another stereotype that went up in flames was our closed-minded opinion that Americans are the only ones who understand and use social media. Noor and her peers had a great laugh with us as we talked about uploading pictures from the visit to Facebook, and Tweeting about each other after we left. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are all commonly used in Abu Dhabi. After working in Europe two years ago, I believe these social platforms are even more popular in the Middle East than they are in some parts of Switzerland, Italy and France.




We told Noora that we'd be blogging about our visit, and she asked us to share the link to their website in case you'd like to learn more about the programs available through the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Here it is: http://www.abudhabichamber.ae/English/Pages/Default.aspx