The Arab world region, rich in natural resources; with enormous oil and natural gas reserves (32 percent of the world's known natural gas reserves are in the region) and phosphate (Morocco alone has more than half of the world's reserves). It is still lagging in terms of international trade.
The Arab world has also huge human resources, with a very young population. Suffering from unemployment and socio-economic problems, they are the main factor of change of this region, once was the beacon of a flourishing civilization. (read also Emerging Arab world and business opportunities in spite of the political turmoil)
Despite the distorted image reflected by the media, this region is witnessing a new reality imposed by enthusiastic and thirsty young people for the entrepreneurship. These people, constitute the pillar of a new generation of entrepreneurs who have succeeded in carrying out remarkable projects as described by an American entrepreneur, Christopher Schroeder in his book «Startup rising, the entrepreneurial revolution remarking the Middle East ».
Digital economy
While the Arab world is the scene of a popular uprising, the world economy is undergoing major changes towards digitalization and the fourth industrial revolution. Companies that are mainly based on internet and software, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, Uber, Amazon, Alibaba…etc, have enabled unprecedented connectivity and access to information, thus opening up new horizons for economic models that did not exist before.
The Swiss economic model
On the other side, north of the Mediterranean Sea, behind the Alps, a small country in the heart of Europe, sits on the throne of global economic competitiveness. Switzerland, an industrial country, with export based economy and occupies a privileged place for world trade, thus serving as a trade hub.
RoAW: Rest of Arab World, GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council.
Bilateral trade relations
Trade between Switzerland and the Arab world increased in volume (exports + imports) from nearly 10 billion in 2010 to more than 23 billion in 2017 (most of it are exports) (figure 2) and this despite of the political on-going turmoil.
In view of these developments, partners of all kinds from both sides are looking to cross the walls in order to build bridges and increase their sales. However, the geographic, linguistic, cultural, regulatory and information asymmetry constitute obstacles to achieving the maximum potential of exchanges between the two parties.
Swiss Arab Entrepreneurs Platform
The Swiss Arab Entrepreneurs platform (SAE) was born from the experience of its founder, Ayman Abualkhair, having spent several years in the service of Arab-Swiss economic relations. Its mission is to reflect the tremendous investment opportunities in the Arab world, diffuse reliable information, promote business opportunities on both sides, and facilitate commercial links at the lowest cost, thanks to digital and innovative entrepreneurship models. Swiss Arab Entrepreneurs is the driving force for connecting entrepreneurs and businesses, in order to enable efficient exchange via an online platform.
