Overwhelming majority of 51% of Gulf residents across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain expressed a desire to start their own business, whilst 20 per cent and 14 per cent want to buy a house and spend on family respectively, according to a recent consumer survey conducted by Western Union.
Results were based on the responses received, when respondents were questioned about how they would spend BHD 5,000 should they win the grand prize for Western Union’s ongoing ‘Send Money & Win Big’ promotion.
“Western Union helps people move money quickly, reliably and efficiently but more importantly helps bring to fruition a number of dreams. We are currently running a promotion that gives our consumers the chance to win BHD 5,000 in cash and achieve their goals. We wanted to share their dreams and see what they want to do with the money. The results really amazed us,” said Sobia Rahman, Western Union’s Regional Vice President for the Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“If I win 5,000 Dinars I will settle my loan and will use the rest of the money to start a business back home,” said Suresh De Silva, a Sri Lankan sales representative working in Bahrain.
Apart from starting a new business, the second most important thing people would do after winning the grand prize is buying a house, the survey pointed out. “I will go back home to India and start my own business but I will also build a house for my family with the cash prize,” added Anita Kamit who works as a sales representative in Kuwait.
Western Union’s research also showed that 14 per cent of the respondents would like to spend money on family, 11 per cent would like to donate to charity whereas 10 per cent would like to save the money for future use.
“The Western Union promotion was developed with the aim of creating an impact on the lives of the people in the Gulf, which is considered to be one of the most entrepreneurial regions in the world. The results of the Western Union survey corroborate this statement, illustrating that we are an enterprising, adventurous, risk taking and a business-minded lot,” added Sobia.
“If I win BHD 5,000 I will start my own business in Pakistan,” said Mohammed Naseer, a Pakistani tailor residing in Bahrain.