Business
Covid or recession cannot replace personal touch in networking, says BNI chief of UAE
Kumar Shyam
Dubai – A visit to the annual expo and members day of the Business Network International has revealed that the face to face meetings will still remain the preferred option for many.
While the world moved its business online wherever possible in the Covid-19 aftermath, the recessionary pressures that followed also meant people resorted to more networking.
“Not just this Covid, but four times in the past two decades that I have been associated with BNI, I have seen that membership figures have got the actual momentum only during times of recession,” said Bijay Shah, the national director of BNI for Qatar and UAE.
According to BNI, it is the world’s largest business networking and referral organisation. Shah put the member strength in the UAE to 800 members, who pay an annual subscription amount and then meet in person at a designated venue with a stipulated cover amount to cover for the costs of the venue and refreshments.
The annual day also provided businesses with an opportunity to explore mutual synergies through networking sessions while some also put up stalls to advertise their wares.
K Kalimuthu, Consul (Economic, Trade & Commerce) at the Consulate General of India also graced the event to mark 17 years of BNI in the UAE, which has mushroomed into 20 chapters and few about to start.
Bijay Shah, left, and K Kalimuthu chat on the sidelines of the BNI Expo Day at JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai. Courtesy BNI
Members also came together to share industry knowledge and trends while there was a panel discussion on the importance of integration of the metaverse in businesses.
While the businessmen and professionals have gone back to operating onsite, the era of Zoom and Teams meetings online ensured that networking can happen virtually too.
Ask Mr Shah and members from the BNI at the expo at JW Marriott Marquis hotel, Dubai, the unanimous verdict is that personal meetings have their own strengths.
In a recent PwC Consumer Intelligence Series survey, 75 percent of 15,000 consumer respondents confirmed the observation that when it comes to business, the human touch is still extremely important.
“In a world where automation and digitalisation are the way to generate new businesses, human relationships have been challenged since a long time and to greater degree post-pandemic. BNI significantly contributes that to business growth through the power of building interpersonal relationships.”
“We are growing in the UAE with close to 800 members and last year alone the members closed businesses worth over 336 Million AED,” Shah said. “Not just in the UAE, BNI has a proven growth track record globally and is a business model able to grow in any economic environment. BNI is now franchising across the Middle East (email information@bni.ae to know more).”
Shirish Jain, a member, gave a real-life example to explain this. “What happens in online meetings is that the personal touch is lacking. Even in BNI, sometimes the important connections are made around the coffee table. For instance, four-five members are casually chatting and during a talk on metaverse, some shares an anecdote citing a friend whom I would love to do business with. So many times it has happened that we mention our friends and family who the network could benefit from and vice versa. So I would say in-person meetings are still better than online.”
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The Expo and Members Day was loaded with a range of learning events, such as panel discussions with keynote speakers and members sharing their success stories. The event ended with a spectacular awards ceremony honoring and recognizing the members’ achievements.
“Networking is an important element of every business. BNI aspires to be a guiding light for companies and individuals seeking to connect and thrive,” Mr Shah added.
About BNI
It is a 37-year-old business and professional networking organization that allows only one person from each trade or profession to join a chapter. BNI has over 289K members worldwide, in over 75 different countries, from over 300 different types of professions. In each chapter, there is a long list of categories for businessmen and profession. Once a member signs up and fills up that category, the chapter blocks out others in the same providing monopoly to protect the member’s interests.
Businesses caught dealing in counterfeit, adulterated, or spoiled goods in the UAE now have just 24 hours to clear them off the shelves or face swift state intervention, under tough new commercial fraud regulations that have officially taken effect.
The new rules, outlined in Cabinet Resolution No. 107 of 2026 (the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2023), significantly ramp up consumer protections. They grant authorities sweeping powers to raid premises, seize stock at the violator’s expense, issue public alerts, and order rapid product destruction.
The 24-hour countdown
Once the Ministry of Economy and Tourism or local authorities flag a non-compliant item, the clock starts ticking immediately. Suppliers must halt sales on the spot and execute four mandatory steps within 24 hours:
- Clear shelves and warehouses: Remove every affected batch from inventory.
- Alert supply chains: Notify downstream retailers and distributors to pull the products within the same 24-hour window.
- Recall active stock: Initiate steps to recover items already in circulation.
- Provide proof: Submit verified evidence to authorities confirming total withdrawal.
Miss the deadline? Expect the bill
Suppliers dragging their feet won’t stall enforcement.
Under Article 8, if a business fails to clear offending stock within 24 hours, government authorities will step in and clear markets and warehouses themselves within the following 48 hours, billing the non-compliant supplier for the entire operation.
Seizures, storage fees, and public name and shame
Authorities now hold expanded legal teeth to intervene early:
- Impounding stock: Suspected goods can be seized, locked in designated storage facilities, and held during lab testing, with all warehousing fees charged directly to the offender.
- Public consumer alerts: Regulators can publicly broadcast warnings naming the product type, description, and trademark to warn shoppers against dangerous goods.
Heavy penalties for violators
Ignorance is no longer an easy defence. Administrative penalties will hit anyone caught knowingly trading fraudulent goods, or anyone who should have reasonably known based on their industry expertise that the product posed a health and safety risk.
Regulators are paying particularly close attention to:
- High-risk goods: Medicines, organic foods, and agricultural supplies.
- Recycled hazards: Goods previously declared unfit for use that were reintroduced into the market.
- Profiteering & tampering: Counterfeit items bought for alteration, repackaging, or unlawful resale.
- Deceptive advertising: Products promoted with false claims regarding origin, ingredients, or quality standards.
Fast-track destruction: 15-day limit
Once a competent court or the Supreme Committee issues a formal ruling, authorities won’t let fake items linger in storage. Under Article 18, confiscated counterfeit and spoiled products must be destroyed within 15 working days, closing the door on unlawful resale.
For consumers, the revamped framework delivers stronger market surveillance and faster removal of hazardous goods. For traders, retailers, and distributors across the UAE, it sends a clear signal: compliance is non-negotiable, and slow reaction times will come with steep financial and legal costs.
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