International Journal of Arts and Commerce Vol. 10 No. 1 January 2021 Cite this article: Ahmed, S. A. & Ahmed, I. E. (2021). THE FINANCIAL PROFILE OF SMALL BUSINESS: EXPERIENCE DERIVED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (MENA) REGION. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 10(1), 55-71. 55 THE FINANCIAL PROFILE OF SMALL BUSINESS: EXPERIENCE DERIVED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (MENA) REGION Sayed Abbas Ahmed 1 and Ibrahim Elsiddig Ahmed 2 1 Ajman University, UAE Email: s.abbas@ajman.ac.ae 2 Ajman University Email: i.alsiddiqe@ajman.ae Published: 28 January 2021 Copyright © Ahmed et al. ABSTRACT The study has been developed to the establishment of the financial profile of micro-enterprises in the Middle East. The objective of this paper is to provide a well documented answer to the debatable question on whether small business has outlived its usefulness or it forms an important facet of the economy, “Asset or liability”. Given the small amount of empirical work done in developing countries, and non-existent of any empirical research in this area in the Middle East, the findings were analyzed in relation to empirical research done in developed and developing countries. The criteria for inclusion were that the previous studies should involve substantial empirical work, including partial or comprehensive analysis of financial data. A concluding point for this study is that the financial profile exercise provides confirmation to the effects of the life-cycle, growth and size of the firm on its financial behavior and financial structure. Thus, there appears to be marked dissimilarity between the financial profile of small firms at inception and small growing firms in developing economies. Based on asset utilization concept, the empirical investigation questions the traditional economic theory with its emphasis on large scale economies. Keywords: Small Business Finance; Small Business Liquidity; Asset-Liability Management; MENA Small Business.