According to reports, funding is at a nine-year low, and the number of startups getting investors is on a downward trend along with the investment amount.
But there’s one city where it’s always sunny: Dubai, Progressive Policies, A Growth Mindset, Global Talent, Long-Term
efficiency, and ease of doing business Keep Dubai on global map venture capital Funding and Incubators.
VC funding in Dubai has evolved a lot over the years. In 2019, Dubai-based startups raised $1.3 billion in funding across 263 deals, up from $210 million in 2016, according to data and analytics firm MAGNiTT.
In 2020, the total funding amount decreased to $704 million, but the number of deals increased to 338. Recently, several international VC firms and tech companies have set foot in Dubai, including Arbor Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Excel Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Mark Chahawan, co-founder and CEO of Sarva, a leading investment platform, said his VC experience in the city has been positive, such as access to supportive initiatives. Capital and talent. “You now have government bodies providing funding for startups, and Dubai’s reputation as a global hub for business is attracting international talent,” Chavan said. Positive changes in laws and regulations have helped make it easier to do business. Let’s help.” venturesookVCs in Dubai offer quality of experience, execution capabilities and add value Department companies. “It is a function of many things; likely more VCs are organically popping up and moving to Dubai and the wider MENA region because the quality of founders is getting better, the number of
Investable companies thrive and the availability of capital and the evolving regulatory framework make it easier for startups to form and scale.”
way up
“These are exciting times,” said Craig Moore, founder and CEO of peer-to-peer lending platform Beehive.
agenciesDubai’s infrastructure and regulatory environment make it an ideal place to develop as a financial hub.
“From a peer-to-peer lending perspective, startups can position themselves here and secure seed funding from investors looking for year-on-year growth and the ability to repay debt finance. While risk is always a factor happens to be digital
Innovation and B2B propositions attract interest. Investors are cautious citing the state of the broader global economy but are upbeat on regional growth projections.”
Dubai’s infrastructure and regulatory environment make it an ideal place to develop as a financial hub. Sharif Al-Badawi, CEO of Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), shared that the city is positioning itself as a leading hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. “The UAE was the only country in the MENA region to maintain its
Leading in funding and set to cross the $1 billion mark in 2022. The VC market raised a total of $1,190 million, down 20 percent from its 2021 value, to 153 deals, registering an 11 percent drop in transactions. Ecosystem mirrored global performance Market absorbed the effects of geopolitical and macroeconomic
Challenges.
It is worth noting that international VCs investing in the UAE increased from around 33 per cent to 48 per cent in 2019.
in 2022,” he said. DFDF, being a government-backed fund, aims to support deep technologies that impact
people’s lives and the future of Dubai’s economy.
addressing the challenges
With such a nascent ecosystem in emerging market sectors, founders are constantly faced with challenges and find creative ways to overcome them.
“As regional VC investors and LPs investing in our funds, we also face market-related challenges (maturation of talent, strong deal flow, private sector participation, competitiveness) or financial and regulatory challenges. One of the things that drew attention, Al-Badawi said, was the government’s eagerness to listen to its constituents in Dubai and implement changes to address challenges.
The entrepreneurial energy is still high and rising. “DIFC is a big push to support the startup ecosystem from incubators and accelerators like Fintech Hive, Astrolabs and In5. There are many organizations that help you set up a business, and free zones to suit your business needs. Current high-projected growth in the GCC compared to the rest of the world is also attracting entrepreneurs,” Moore said.