UAE most change-ready country in Mena
The UAE is the top "change-ready" country in the Middle East and North Africa region, a new survey has revealed. Globally, the UAE ranks third - behind Switzerland and Sweden - for its ability to respond and adapt to any significant change, according to the 2017 Change Readiness Index (CRI) released by KPMG International.
The UAE has jumped two places globally since the index was last compiled in 2015 and takes the top spot when measured just by the way private and state-owned organisations are able to change and grow by responding to what is happening in the global economy.
The CRI ranks 136 countries for their capacity to respond and adapt to significant change, resulting from short-term events such as natural disasters, and longer-term demographic, economic, social and technological trends.
The UAE scored first on enterprise capability, second on government capability and 17th on people and civil society capability.
In 2017, every top-10 country, with the exception of Singapore, increased its government and people and civil society capability scores over those in 2015. Just four of the top 20 ranked countries saw a decline in people and civil society scores, whereas 25 of the bottom 30 countries showed a decline in the rankings in this capability.
The 2017 index, like the 2015 index, indicated that countries dependent on natural resources and export incomes faced setbacks. However, the UAE and Norway broke the pattern and displayed strong performance in the CRI.
The study also provides sub-indicator rankings for each country. For the UAE, government strategic planning and horizon scanning, demographics and security were identified as strengths while enterprise sustainability, technology use and health were the opportunities.
"The CRI offers an eye-opening view of which countries are best positioned to weather and potentially benefit from inevitable change, and the factors behind their preparedness," said Vikas Papriwal, partner and head of markets, KPMG Lower Gulf.
"It is increasingly becoming evident that countries cannot only focus on GDP or business outputs to be considered as change ready. The CRI shows that improving capabilities in areas of government and people and civil society, as well as in enterprise or business environment, are often key to why some countries are able to climb up the rankings," said Papriwal.
The improvement in rankings sheds light on the efforts the UAE is taking to be among the best countries in the world by year 2021 as part of its National Agenda and broadly, the UAE Vision 2021. Some of the initiatives undertaken in the National Agenda include implementing the e-link project to enhance financial planning, appropriately allocate financial resources and support federal budget automation; developing health information systems and infrastructure in healthcare facilities; and reducing by half the time taken for processing residency permits.
Recently, the UAE also moved up six spots on the 2017 Global Innovation Index to number 35 and led the Arab nations in innovation.
"The countries that tend to be doing better are the ones who have a more inclusive approach to growth," said Trevor Davies, global head of KPMG's international development assistance services.
"There's increasing expectations by citizens who are better educated, better informed, more engaged. They want to see greater equity," said Davies.
"The existence of time, the fourth dimension of life on earth, means that surprise is in store with each new moment. And so our lives, and those of organisations, businesses and states are necessarily part of a dynamic of change and innovation. The refusal to acknowledge this perpetual leap forward - or conservatism in its purest sense - leads to obsolescence and uselessness," said Frédéric Lamotte, chief investment officer of Indosuez Wealth Management.
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