Ramy Jallad, CEO, RAKEZ  in an exclusive conversation with The Wealth Today speaks on the overall achievements of RAKEZ, its contribution to the wider economy, future growth plans and vision.

The Wealth Today: The world geopolitics has witnessed great dynamism in the recent past which created ripple across all businesses, and free zones are not insulated from that impact. With trade wars, protectionist policies, new emerging industries, and other factors, how do you see the future of free zones globally and Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, in particular, look like?

Ramy Jallad: 2020 was indeed challenging because of what the world faced. However, as with any challenge, opportunities arise. New industries arose from the pandemic that are continuously booming – Free zones have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Hence, the future looks bright for RAKEZ. It’s all about shifting focus to be able to adapt and respond to the market situation.

We have launched new products and services based on the conditions and they have exceeded our expectations. We are working hard to cater all the needs of investors and to support all of our clients.  Work is also in progress to develop our specialised zones and increase their capacity to accommodate more investors.

The Wealth Today: What are the top 3 challenges faced by Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone and are there any different set of challenges you are facing post-pandemic?

Ramy Jallad:

Aggressive competition from competitors, especially online, unlike before the pandemic.
To overcome this, we focused on adding more value for our clients – more services and incentives to support their business in challenging times

Being forced to adapt to major innovation in a short period of time.
We are blessed to have some of the greatest talents in our organisation allowing us to be quick on our feet and implement new strategies, innovations and contingency plans.

Huge demand from clients
RAKEZ services and facilities are receiving high demand due to the packages we’ve recently launched to support investors. We are continuously enhancing our services and constructing new facilities

Post-pandemic plans will include key areas in enhancing the experience of our clients. We aim to create a balance between offering an excellent digital and face-to-face experience.

The Wealth Today: What do you consider your top priorities as Group CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone? Do you see any shift in your priorities post-pandemic and how are you preparing yourself for that?

Ramy Jallad: Every role in RAKEZ is aligned to a common goal. Although we have different jobs, at the end of the day, each one at RAKEZ is committed to make the life of our clients easy. Hence, this is my top priority as the Group CEO of RAKEZ.

It is my responsibility that each day, we are making progress and enhancements towards the experience that we provide within our zones. Our service delivery matters most and how we make our clients feel supported. All of the ideas and concepts that we come up are all rooted from our dedication to provide solutions to investors for their every need. As I stay on top of making this happen, it naturally impacts the company’s overall performance, ensures sustainable growth, attracts more investors and retain our existing clients.

For the post-pandemic effect, we are ready for it. We have the measures and policies in place to keep our community healthy and safe. We have also embraced digital transformation fully – with all our processes available online while keeping our one-stop-shop physical locations for investors who are keener on face-to-face interactions. We have achieved balance in terms of the way we deal with our clients and will continue seeking innovation to adapt with market shifts.

The Wealth Today: What do you consider as the major achievements and milestones of Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone?

Ramy Jallad: Over the past 10 years, we have seen our ecosystem changing from a family of startups and medium-sized industrial companies, to a second-to-none SME and a proud full-scale ‘make, manage, move’ hub for entrepreneurs and manufacturers. The achievements in the last 10 years were countless. What stands out the most is the transformation that has taken place in how we make life easy for the investors to live, work and play in Ras Al Khaimah.

We have become a powerhouse entity of more than 15,000 businesses, including SMEs and 770 global leading manufacturers and brands. And there are definitely more to come under the vision of His Highness. We have digitalised our services to the extent that the physical presence of clients is no longer necessary. RAKEZ Portal 360 acts as an online portal that caters all requirements of clients. From setting up their business to submitting service requests and making the payment online, clients can access a wide range of services online.

RAKEZ was recognised as “the SME Free Zone of the Year” by fDi Global Free Zones of the Year 2020 with five other awards. RAKEZ also won other 6 awards from fDi Global Free Zone of the Year Awards 2020 after competing with 61 global free zones.

The Wealth Today: How do you see Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone as a contributor to the regional economy and job creation?

Ramy Jallad: Ras Al Khaimah is around 50% lower in terms of cost of living and conducting business. It offers easy access to markets across Europe, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa via five major seaports and airports. RAKEZ promotes Ras Al Khaimah emirates as an ideal destination to work, live and play.
We listen to what investors want and react positively to their needs and enhance their experience. RAKEZ also strives to be the employer of choice for most graduates and job seekers in the UAE in order to utilise their potentials and skills. Also, our goal is to increase manufacturing jobs and boost the manufacturing sector’s contribution to Ras Al Khaimah’s economy by 2030.

The Wealth Today: Are there any specific industries you are focusing on to attract to your free zone?

Ramy Jallad: Manufacturing, SME, Tourism, Real Estate & Supply chain

The Wealth Today: How are you aligning Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone’s vision with UAE’s overall vision and strategy?

Ramy Jallad: RAKEZ is a major contributor to the development of Ras Al Khaimah emirate’s economy with a vision to become a leading global investment destination. We support the UAE vision and strategy to make the country among the best countries in the world. We have launched initiatives to realize the UAE’s strategy in area such as manufacturing, health and education.

The Wealth Today: How are you positioning your free zone as an attractive investment destination for foreign investors?

Ramy Jallad: Our packages are attractive and cost-effective for investors and businesses from any size. More product incentive packages are in development to attract more investors to RAKEZ. RAKEZ is currently a powerhouse business and industrial hub in the region. We support the infrastructure development to have a stronger industrial base to attract more industrial companies.

About Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone

Situated in the heart of Ras Al Khaimah, RAKEZ is a powerhouse business and industrial hub in the UAE that uniquely offers customisable solutions to free zone and non-free zone businesses. From freelancers and startups to SMEs and industrialists, our multinational community is flourishing in over 50 industries