How difficult is it set up a company in the MENA region? What challenges do entrepreneurs face and how do they overcome them? What about the most appealing industries for entrepreneurship?

Bayt.com has recently conducted a survey to identify the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship, in order to help entrepreneurs maximize impact and drive growth and innovation in the economy.

Key Findings:

• Two-thirds (66%) of MENA respondents would like to be self-employed or have their own business if given the choice.
• 7 in 10 entrepreneurs are planning to hire for their business in the next year.
• Personal fulfilment (52%) and freedom to choose work-life balance (43%) emerge as the top reasons for preferring to be self-employed.
• The most appealing industries for entrepreneurship are considered to be IT/ Internet/ E-commerce (12%) and Commerce/ Trade/ Retail (10%).
• Over a quarter of respondents (30%) believe that innovation is the key to success as an entrepreneur, followed by employing the right people (24%).

Data for the Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa 2022 was collected online from June 22 to July 19, 2022. Results are based on a sample of 2,727 respondents from the following countries: UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Sudan among others.