JEDDAH: Fifty one percent of Gulf residents across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain expressed a desire to start their own business, while 20 percent and 14 percent want to buy a house and spend on family respectively, a recent consumer survey conducted by Western Union revealed. Western Union's research also showed that 14 percent of the respondents would like to spend money on family, 11 percent would like to donate to charity whereas 10 percent 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,” Sobia Rahman, Western Union's Regional Vice President for the Gulf, Pakistan and Afghanistan, said. “We are currently running a promotion that gives our consumers the chance to win 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.” Romela Vestido, a Filipina sales representative working in the UAE, said “if I win, I will help my family and start a business back home. I will save the rest of the money for my future use.” 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. Anita Kamit who works as a sales representative in Kuwait, added that “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.”
