Sharjah24: It was a day of rich insights and key learnings for the UAE’s and the wider region's founders and entrepreneurs as they heard all about using data in supporting growth of enterprises on the final day of the two-day inaugural Regional Data Community Development Forum (DCDF 2024) in Sharjah on Thursday.
Former Head of Europe at Alibaba James Hardy, Dr Hala Elsaid, Economic Advisor to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Andrej Kiska, former President of Slovakia and Chris Barton, Founder of Shazam were part of a diverse panel that discussed challenges Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face in today’s competitive markets and how to overcome them.
Moderated by Amira Mohamed, the session explored how data can serve as a critical tool for businesses, especially SMEs and startups, in overcoming obstacles related to market analysis, customer insights and operational efficiency.
Dr Elsaid emphasised that partnerships between the public and private sectors are key to ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises have access to the data they need to thrive. "Governments have a duty to create an environment where data is accessible, reliable and actionable for SMEs," she stated, referencing Egypt’s ongoing efforts to promote a data-driven economy as part of its Vision 2030 programme”.
Drawing from his personal journey as both an entrepreneur and head of a state, Kiska reflected on the importance of understanding market needs. “When you align your business goals with the needs of your community, success naturally follows. In Slovakia, a country of 5 million, data is crucial because there are over 1 million consumers for most things. What you can’t measure, you can’t control”.
Hardy highlighted two distinct paths for business success: “There are the ones that are once-in-a-generation ideas - the unicorns, ones with exceptional staying power, but you won’t see them often. Then there's the other route that most successful businesses follow - start narrow and then go wide. Look at how Facebook grew from Harvard College or PayPal from eBay. They began in focused spaces and then grew.”
Barton, who conceived the idea of Shazam - the music recognition app that is the most used mass used AI in human history, recalled early challenges. “You’d be surprised to know that our biggest challenge was data. Everything came down to finding the right algorithm. In those early days, there were no smartphones, we used phone calls and text messages to send recorded songs after identifying them. Our focus was on getting the input data right.”
From predictive analytics to understanding customer behaviour, the discussion offered practical tips for startup owners and aspiring founders to thrive in both local and international markets.
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