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Kuwait needs to nurture young entrepreneurs amid challenges
🇰🇼 Kuwait /Economy & Trade

Kuwait needs to nurture young entrepreneurs amid challenges

From Arab Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Kuwait faces a growing challenge with an annual influx of 4,000 to 6,000 university graduates competing for limited public sector jobs.
  • The National Fund for Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises aims to foster entrepreneurship, but many young businesses struggled, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some entrepreneurs facing legal issues or relocating.
  • Neighboring countries offer more robust support for young entrepreneurs, including financial aid, guidance, mentorship, and access to state properties, highlighting a need for Kuwait to enhance its own support systems.

Kuwait's government faces a persistent challenge in absorbing its annual university graduates, numbering between 4,000 and 6,000, into the public sector. This situation strains the state budget with rising salary allocations each year.

The youths who benefited from this support faced many obstacles, particularly during the COVID- 19 pandemic, which forced many of them to cease operations. Some young business owners ended up behind bars, while others relocated their businesses to neighboring countries as a result of restrictions imposed on their activities.

— Article textDescribes the difficulties faced by young entrepreneurs in Kuwait.

The National Fund for Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises was established to steer young Kuwaitis toward private sector careers, aiming to diversify income sources. While some beneficiaries have launched innovative enterprises, others have pursued traditional roles. The pandemic severely impacted many young businesses, forcing some to close, leading to legal troubles for entrepreneurs, and prompting others to move their operations to neighboring countries.

Some young Kuwaitis have turned to self-employment, bypassing government support and subsidies for private sector work. Decisions made by authorities have hindered enterprise development, leaving some business owners at a disadvantage. This raises questions about the government's capacity to employ all graduates, especially with increasing automation.

Neighboring countries, especially those whose economic and social structures are similar ours supported individual initiatives and facilitated every avenue for young people to succeed in the fields of technological innovation or entrepreneurship. Government support went beyond financial assistance to include guidance and mentorship. Some countries even granted these young people access to state-owned properties, free of charge.

— Article textHighlights the more robust support systems available in neighboring countries for young entrepreneurs.

In contrast, neighboring countries with similar economic and social structures provide more comprehensive support. This includes financial aid, guidance, mentorship, and even free access to state-owned properties for entrepreneurs. Saudi Arabia, for instance, offers five years of free use of state properties to entrepreneurs and investors. Kuwait has taken some steps, like the Anti-Commercial Concealment Law, which aims to protect citizens' rights in their businesses and prevent expatriates from exploiting licenses. However, more comprehensive support is needed to truly nurture young entrepreneurs.

For example, Saudi Arabia allowed entrepreneurs, and even established investors, to benefit from the free use of state properties for five years.

— Article textProvides a specific example of support offered by Saudi Arabia.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Arab Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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