Dubai International Chamber (DIC), one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has announced details of its upcoming strategy to support the global expansion of local private sector companies as part of its ‘New Horizons’ initiative, which was launched earlier this year.

The chamber updated representatives from member companies on the latest developments during a special meeting at Dubai Chambers’ headquarters, where it shared details of the initiative’s successful trade missions to Central Asia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa during the first half of 2023.

Plans were also revealed for upcoming roadshows to explore business opportunities in Asia, Europe, and East and West Africa later this year, as well as the Baltic region, Asean countries, Turkey, and other African markets during 2024.

Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, commented: “Dubai Chambers remains committed to supporting its members on their global expansion journeys in strategic markets around the world. The New Horizons initiative assists in driving the international growth of member companies and will play a vital role in achieving Dubai’s goal of increasing non-oil foreign trade to Dhs2 trillion by 2026, in line with the emirate’s five-year trade plan. Our target is to help 100 Dubai businesses to expand globally by the end of 2024.”

The first roadshow in the New Horizons initiative took place in March and targeted Central Asia, with visits to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This was followed by trade missions to the Retail Technology Show in London in April and SAITEX in Johannesburg in June, with a total of 38 companies participating in the three delegations. More than 550 business meetings were arranged during the three roadshows, with the goal of exploring potential partnerships and discussing opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation.

Designed to connect Dubai businesses with key stakeholders and potential partners in targeted countries, the New Horizons initiative enables companies to join international trade missions and gain first-hand knowledge of how to establish and operate their businesses in priority markets.

New Horizons builds on the success of the ‘In Focus’ initiative, a platform for Dubai businesses and member companies to boost engagement with public and private sector leaders and support their plans to expand into key strategic markets. The initiative offers comprehensive briefings on business opportunities, economic potential, and market-entry strategies in targeted countries.

Dubai International Chamber, one of three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, was established to promote Dubai as a global business hub, attract multinational companies and expand the emirate’s trade ties with promising markets. The Chamber has a mandate to meet His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s ambition to increase Dubai’s foreign trade from Dhs1.4 trillion to Dhs2 trillion by 2026.

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy (DCDE), one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has successfully concluded a week-long roadshow in five cities across China.

The visit brought together more than 200 digital companies at events in Shanghai and Shenzhen and featured over 55 business meetings aimed at attracting multinational companies (MNCs) to expand into Dubai.

Participants in the meetings included MNCs with a combined market capitalisation of more than $10 billion.

The roadshow was aimed at further strengthening cooperation between Dubai and China’s dynamic business communities, as well as encouraging participants to attend the upcoming Expand North Star event in the emirate.

Led by Saeed Al Gergawi, Vice President of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the visiting delegation arranged more than 55 meetings in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hainan, Jinan, and Beijing with the goal of introducing Chinese companies to Dubai’s digital ecosystem and facilitating their expansion into the emirate.

The group also met with representatives from Shanghai Caohejing Hi-Tech Park Innovation Centre, the city’s largest technology park that is home to over 16,000 tech companies.

Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, commented: “This highly successful roadshow created an effective platform to attract digital companies to Dubai and marks another important step on our journey to establish the emirate as the global capital of the digital economy, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Our delegation participated in productive meetings with government officials, incubators and accelerators, and investors to strengthen cooperation with Dubai, as well as startups seeking to leverage the emirate as a gateway for their global ambitions.”