"Abu Dhabi for family businesses" Signs a cooperation agreement with the Gulf Family Business Council

ABU DHABI, December 9 / WAM / The Abu Dhabi Family Business Council, affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, signed an agreement with the Gulf Family Business Council, a non-profit organization that aims to support the sustainability and success of family businesses in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The agreement aims to support the sustainability of family businesses and enhance their competitiveness regionally and globally, in a step that reflects the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s direction towards consolidating its position as a global center for family business and private sector leadership.

The agreement was signed by His Excellency Khalid Al Fahim, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Mr. Badr Al Ghurair, a member of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Family Business Council, on the sidelines of the activities of Abu Dhabi Financial Week (ADFW).

Areas of cooperation include capacity building programs, preparing new generation leaders, developing family governance initiatives, organizing introductory forums and workshops, and issuing benchmark studies and policy papers on the future challenges of family businesses in the region. It will also raise awareness of strategic planning and business continuity practices, and provide a leadership succession and family governance program.

The agreement stipulates the establishment of a joint framework based on developing specialized training programs for new generation leaders in family businesses, launching initiatives in family business governance, leadership succession planning, and business continuity, in addition to cooperating in preparing benchmark studies and political papers that contribute to enhancing understanding of the reality of family businesses in the region and anticipating their future.

It also provides for organizing high-level events, round tables, and dialogue groups that bring together family leaders, decision-makers, and international experts, and creating knowledge platforms for communication between the family business community locally and regionally. The participating entities are committed to implementing the programs and workshops held in Abu Dhabi in coordination with the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council to ensure their compatibility with the emirate’s economic and institutional priorities, and to enhance its position as a global center for sustainable business across generations.

His Excellency Khalid Abdul Karim Al Fahim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council, said that this agreement represents a pivotal step in the process of consolidating the role of family businesses as a strategic economic supporter. Investing in capacity building, knowledge transfer, and governance is considered the basic guarantee for the sustainability of companies across generations, and supporting economic diversification in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

He added that today we are facing a stage that requires a shift in management thinking within family companies, from a model based on inherited experience, to an institutional model based on governance, planning, asset management, and anticipating the future.

Hind Bahwan, Chairman of the Gulf Family Business Council, said: The Gulf region is going through a promising stage of economic growth, and family businesses are at the forefront of this transformation, and this partnership will provide qualitative opportunities for the future of family businesses in the region, and will also contribute to creating a sustainable impact and consolidating its role in shaping the features of the next stage.

Badr Al Ghurair, a member of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Family Business Council, said: “This cooperation is a promising step towards expanding our community in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as it contributes to linking the vital family business system in the Emirate with a global network that includes more than 20,000 members from 65 countries, creating new horizons for cooperation and growth. Abu Dhabi’s well-established position as a center for continuity, governance and cross-generational wealth makes it the ideal destination for global family businesses seeking to formulate… A more prosperous shared future.

This agreement comes at a time when there is increasing focus on the pivotal economic role of family businesses, as regional studies indicate that family businesses constitute approximately 90% of the total private companies in the Middle East region, contribute approximately 60% of the gross domestic product and provide approximately 80% of job opportunities in the private sector, making them the backbone of national economies and a major driver of growth and diversification of the production base.

Family businesses contribute 60% to the UAE’s gross domestic product, and employ 80% of the workforce. In addition, they constitute about 90% of private companies in the country. Family businesses operate in a wide range of vital economic sectors, including the new economy, hospitality, retail, real estate, and construction.

Family companies play a vital role in diversifying the national economy, as family companies in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi account for 50% of companies operating in the construction sector, 60% in the financial sector, 80% in the wholesale trade sector, and 70% in the transportation sector.

At the global level, family businesses contribute about 70% of the global GDP, which means that more than two-thirds of global economic activity emanates from these entities. They are also the largest employer of the global workforce, employing approximately 60% of the total number of workers around the world.

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