Dubai Startup Hub, an entrepreneurship initiative from Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber), hosted an open data workshop in cooperation with Smart Dubai – the government department mandated to ensure Dubai becomes the world’s smartest and happiest city. Taking place at Dubai Chamber’s head office, the first in a series of three training workshops placed a focus on open data in relation to the tourism in the health sector.

The workshop was organised following the best practice advice of a whitepaper issued recently by Dubai Startup Hub on the necessity of start-ups investing in open data to help them gauge whether there is a need for their particular products or services in the market. The report recommends holding regular training and education workshops and running awareness campaigns related to data to help entrepreneurs and start-ups become fully competent.

The workshop was attended by Amna Al Suwaidi, Head of the Follow-up and Development Department at Dubai Health Authority (DHA)’s Medical Tourism Office; Osama El-Hassan from the eHealth Section at DHA; and Mariam Ahmed Al Shamsi, Senior Manager at Dubai Economy. The government department representatives provided open data information relating to their respective departments for the entrepreneurs.

Participants at the session were given a short introductory business model presentation and then they worked on two case studies under the topic ‘Medical Tourism’, using available sources and data platforms, including “Dubai Pulse” and “Bayanat.uae”, as well as data provided by Smart Dubai.

“This workshop represents the tangible implementation of the recommendations of the report, which we issued recently in collaboration with global strategy consulting firm Roland Berger. Entrepreneurs frequently face difficulties in accessing data to verify the appropriateness of their products in the marketplace. The aim of our workshops is to enhance cooperation between the government entities and private sectors to overcome this challenge to help entrepreneurs better understand the target market,” said Natalia Sycheva, Manager of Entrepreneurship, Dubai Chamber.

“Education and training is an essential part of our efforts to help entrepreneurs access datasets and exploit them for their projects. Dubai Startup Hub, in cooperation with its partners, is hosting a series of training workshops that will focus on how to access open data in strategic sectors and encourage entrepreneurs to make the best use of it,” she added.

Sara Al Zarooni, Data Management and Compliance Director at Smart Dubai said that one of the most important goals of the Dubai Data Initiative was to support the business sector – specifically startups – and leverage the power of city data to derive economic benefits for the leadership, businesses, residents and visitors of Dubai.

“We are very happy that the DubaiPulse platform has proven to be a reliable and rich open data provider to entrepreneurs and is supporting them in the decision making process when planning to market their products and services. The DubaiPulse platform reflects Smart Dubai’s strong support towards the growth of all business sectors in Dubai and the UAE. We encourage the local and global data ecosystem to take advantage of the DubaiPulse platform and enhance cooperation between the government and the private sector,” she said

Titled ‘Validating a Startup Business Idea,’ the whitepaper which was published last September made a  range of recommendations and best practice guidelines that highlighted the importance of conducting market research and due diligence for start-ups to ensure the viability of their offerings and to enhance their competitive edge.

The report recommended methods to develop the open data framework currently being used in the UAE. These included transferring datasets, formulating policies for open data in the private sector, developing an active data query service in government departments, enabling a regulatory environment, and inviting business incubators and accelerators to become involved in data exchange.

The recommendations also touched on market entry programmes and joint development models, the need to motivate companies and government entities to adopt joint development models, and the necessity of developing platforms that can verify whether products and services fit the needs of the market.

Established by Dubai Chamber in 2016, Dubai Startup Hub is the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region. The hub operates under the umbrella of Smart Dubai’s efforts to make Dubai the world’s smartest city and embodies the ethos of collaboration between government entities and private sectors in order to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dubai Startup Hub is a major online resource for entrepreneurs in Dubai, with visitors able to find new job opportunities through the platform and know   about forthcoming events, meetings and courses, as well as receive other important information relating to entrepreneurship. Dubai Startup Hub supports Dubai Chamber’s strategy of empowering entrepreneurs and promoting innovation.

In 2015, Dubai Chamber launched its innovation strategy aimed at representing, supporting and protecting the interests of Dubai’s business community. The Chamber is also continuing its efforts to support entrepreneurs through Tejar Dubai, a programme that provides support to young Emirati entrepreneurs through classroom learning, on-site training, mentoring and business advice. The initiative works to develop the ideas of Emirati entrepreneurs to benefit Dubai’s economy.