A survey found that in 2022, the number of startups in Dubai that expanded their operations saw a 26 percent increase.
According to a report from the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy titled “Dubai’s Venture Capital Ecosystem,” scale-ups in the emirate have raised over $11.7 billion in financing over the past decade. It was reported that 306 of the region’s fastest-growing businesses had set up shop in Dubai.
“The country’s proactive vision in developing legislation and initiatives in the digital field creates a favourable environment for startups and fast-growing companies,” said Omar Al-Olama, minister of state for artificial intelligence, digital economy, and remote work applications and chairman of the Digital Economy and Commerce Development Authority (DCDE).
Over 40 percent of MENA’s scale-ups are said to be headquartered in Dubai. More than 90% of the UAE’s 338 scale-ups are located in this emirate, according to the research.
Dubai’s startup culture has matured into a sustainable business
According to the report’s author, Al-Olama, “the results in the report reflect our long-term commitment to developing smart digital solutions and deploying these to build a new and future-facing model for the economic sector in the UAE, and Dubai in particular, and underline the emirate’s position as a global capital for the future economy.”
According to the report, scale-ups in the UAE raised 65% of the total capital raised in the region over the past decade. The city has become a model for how to use technology to raise living standards and attract international firms, with its cutting-edge fibre optic network, cloud-based services, and smart city development.
The current size of the country’s digital economy, estimated at roughly $38 billion, is expected to balloon to well over $140 billion by 2031.
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