Guest Articles

When I started my PR and marketing business, I lacked senior leadership experience and the confidence of having built a successful company. What I had in abundance was passion, curiosity, energy, a willingness to learn and the belief that I could create something of my own.

That experience shaped how I think about youth engagement today. Young people don’t need to wait years before contributing. Often, their value comes from seeing opportunities, markets and problems differently. Youth engagement is becoming more central to the UAE and GCC business conversation. Around 23.5 million people aged 15–34 live across the GCC, representing 38.2% of the region’s population. (gulfnews.com⁠) These are not simply future employees, but today’s founders, family-business successors, investors, creatives, technologists and consumers.

When you start a business as a young entrepreneur, there is inevitably a question hanging over you: “What does someone your age really know?” Sometimes that question is fair. Experience matters, however age and capability are not the same thing. I know firsthand how important it is to have someone take you seriously.

Young entrepreneurs bring a different perspective because they are close to emerging consumer behaviours, technology and cultural change. They are prepared to experiment, challenge assumptions and move quickly.

The UAE has recognised this potential. Its Youth Councils and related initiatives enable young people to contribute to policy, entrepreneurship, employment and national development. Business can build on that model.

An encouraging example is Abu Dhabi Chamber. By August 2025, it reported more than 21,240 members aged 18–35, with registered capital exceeding AED14.9 billion. Youth membership had risen 97.8% in a year. Almost half were Emirati; the remainder represented the international business community. (abudhabichamber.ae⁠)

This tells us something important: young people are not standing outside the business ecosystem waiting to be invited in, they are already participating.

The question is how can we give that participation greater influence?

I have seen the difference access makes. A conversation with an experienced leader can save an entrepreneur months of mistakes. An introduction can open a door. A mentor can provide a boost when confidence is fragile.

But this relationship should work both ways. Experienced leaders bring knowledge, relationships and institutional understanding. Younger leaders bring fresh thinking, digital fluency and an instinct for emerging trends. These are not competing forms of leadership, they are complementary.

Working in PR and marketing, I have always been interested in how businesses build trust across cultures and markets. The UK and UAE share a deep commercial relationship, and I believe the next generation can take it somewhere new. British businesses operating in the UAE can listen to young Emirati and GCC entrepreneurs and not just sell to them.

What are they seeing in their markets? Which technologies are they adopting? What do they expect from brands? How are family businesses changing? What prevents promising companies from scaling internationally?

These conversations can create commercial opportunities for both sides and is where I see an important role for the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai. A Chamber can be more than a place for established businesses to network. It can connect generations, challenge ideas and help emerging leaders build relationships with people who have already navigated the journey ahead.

I would like our young members to contribute directly to sector discussions, working groups and policy conversations—not simply attend events designed for them. There is a subtle but important difference between engaging young people and empowering them. Engagement asks for their participation whereas empowerment gives their participation consequence.

This is why I feel strongly about this distinction. When I started out, I needed people prepared to listen, challenge me, make introductions and give me an opportunity to prove myself. I learned that leadership is not about knowing everything. It is about asking questions, learning quickly and taking responsibility.

Those qualities are particularly valuable in the UAE, where the pace of economic transformation is extraordinary. Artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, sustainability, digital commerce and international investment are reshaping business. The new generation entering the workforce and starting companies today will live with these changes for decades. They deserve more than a seat at the youth table, they deserve a seat at the business table.

My journey from starting a PR and marketing business to working with leaders across markets has reinforced one belief: you need not wait to become experienced before contributing; however, you need people willing to give you the opportunity.

The UAE has created an impressive foundation for youth participation. The next step is to make youth co-creation an integrated part of business leadership.

For British businesses in Dubai, that is both a responsibility and an opportunity. If we connect established leaders’ experience with the next generation’s ambition, we do more than support young people. We strengthen the business community. Most importantly, we ensure that the next generation does not simply inherit the future of the UAE and GCC. They help build it.

Author: Christine Warren, Strategic Communications and PR and BCCD Board Candidate