THE YEMENI ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM

SPECIAL REPORT
THE YEMENI
ENTREPRENEURIAL
ECOSYSTEM
Faisal Alshabi,
founder, Solar Ray
laptop,” notes Abdulbaqi.
Warafi, on the other hand,
counts resistance to anything
new, more so given the conditions
in Yemen, as his major
barrier. “Introducing a totally
new concept to such environment
and push it to get
involved is an achievement,”
he says. As a mentor, Alsharafi
remains positive. Without
denying the rocky journey, he
claims that new markets like
renewable energy, power storage
and manufacturing have
all opened up as a result of the
crisis, and for entrepreneurs
who are willing to listen and
adapt, growth is certain.
When prodded about what
change he would like to see in
Yemen, he says that the mindset
of Yemen’s people that
they cannot start businesses
until they have a big establishment,
capital and employees,
etc. needs to change. “The
most difficult concept to grasp
Tamween app
for a new entrepreneur is to
start small and grow from
profits,” he says.
Despite the onslaught of political
volatility, lack of financing
opportunities, unstable
infrastructure, and absence
of an overall supportive ecosystem,
Yemeni entrepreneurs
are relentless in their pursuit
of business success, and remain
optimists. “We have an
ambitious vision to be a pioneer
service provider in the
region by creating the biggest
virtual FMCG store that owns
no store,” says Warafi. “One of
our strategic goals is pushing
to make these transactions
[Yemen’s expat remittances]
flow through our gateway.”
And as Abdulbaqi puts it, no
amount of attending events
or going through literature
can prepare entrepreneurs
for a scenario of “surviving
sudden severe crisis like war,”
and all they can do is remain
steadfast in solving problems
around them.
“Many of the rich
companies have
closed or temporarily
suspended their
operations. These
used to provide
most of the business
funding for large
projects and local
Yemeni businesses.”
‘TREP TALK ME
Yemeni entrepreneurs on starting up
a business
1. ONLY ONE YES MATTERS
Bassem Warafi, CEO and
founder, Tamween
“We live in a region that’s full
of troubles. Define problems
very well and try to find out
innovative solutions that can
massively save resources.
Secondly, be ready. You don’t
know where and when the
next idea pops up! Jot it
down immediately on your
smartphone, there are many
apps can help you out with
this. Third, get noticed by
engaging with regional forums.
Follow market influencers and
ask the right questions to the
right experts. Get new skills
and improve the old ones.
Finally, remember, it doesn’t
really matter how many times
you hear no. Only one ‘Yes’
matters.”
2. INVESTORS WANT
TRACTION
Mohammed Abdulbaqi,
founder, Lumlim
“You carry the burden of taking
Yemen out of its misery and
we can do so together. Another
advice I have for all MENA
entrepreneurs is that you will
not know your product unless
you talk to your customers.
Don’t waste time in coding and
building your own perspective.
Your customers know your
product better than you do.
With respect to raising funds,
especially in MENA region,
don’t ever go to any investor
unless you have traction. Believe
me, most investors will not
understand a word about your
technology and innovative ideas.
They want only one thing -
traction.”
3. LEARN, LEARN, LEARN.
Tarik Alsharafi, Startup &
Business Growth Coach
“Find a customer that needs
something and start a business
around that need instead of
finding a product then building
a business around the product.
Start small even if you have
the money. Do not spend any
money on the establishment
of your business unless you
are willing to borrow it from
someone and you are sure
you will get positive ROI on
it. [Second] spend 80% of
your time on selling. Make
sure you spend most of your
time outside your office talking
to your customers. Only the
business owner can know
what the market needs and
can adapt to the customers’
demands. [Third] learn, learn,
learn. Learn about the lean
startup, sales, marketing,
finance, and accounting. Your
job as an entrepreneur is a
problem-solver so be ready to
solve problems every day. Seek
mentorship as early as possible.
Tarik Alsharafi,
Startup and
Business
Growth Coach
Try to find people who have
grown their businesses in the
same or similar markets that
you are operating in. A mentor
can help you grow your business
faster, can provide guidance,
and can help you avoid mistakes
that you don’t expect on the
way ahead. Finally, aim to serve
people with class. Do not start a
business for the profit, but do it
because you like to serve people
and want to help solve their
problems. Profit will come later.”
june 2016 Entrepreneur 25