Aerospace Innovation: From Vision to Reality
An Online Fireside Chat
On August 24th, 2023, Aerospace Xelerated hosted a virtual fireside chat to dive into the UAE aerospace industry and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The region has rapidly become a global epicentre for innovation in this industry, with impressive achievements such as the successful Mars mission, Hope Probe, launched by the UAE Space Agency.
We were honoured to have had two prominent guests join us to share their expertise, Ahmad Al Darwish, CEO of Falcon Robotics, and Hazel Sibanda, Startup Ecosystem Project Executive at Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park.
Hazel illuminated the critical role that supportive ecosystems play in fostering innovation and highlighted SRTIP’s commitment to providing entrepreneurs with the resources, mentorship, and infrastructure necessary to thrive in the fast-paced world of startups.
Ahmad also shared his insights into the UAE's cultural diversity and its impact on the startup scene and tells us about his experience with investors in the UAE:
How does the unique blend of cultures in the UAE contribute to a diverse and innovative start-up ecosystem? Are there any cultural aspects that set UAE start-ups apart?
In the UAE, we get a nice blend of expertise, innovations, and ideas from all over the world in one place. What’s nice is the mutual respect everyone has for each other. The UAE has always been open for everyone even before its initiation in 1971, where the population has always been diverse, vibrant, and welcoming. As a UAE national, our culture and parents raised us to welcome guests to our home and show them kindness. Start-ups that come from abroad will get nothing less than what any other guests receive.
What can you tell us about the investment climate for start-ups in the UAE? Are there specific trends or sectors that tend to attract the most attention from investors? How do you build relationships with the right UAE investors?
There are many different sources for investments in the UAE. The government has been pushing different initiatives to attract global talent to start their business here and hence worked on making it seamless to open a business in UAE. The UAE government has also mandated organizations to have a percentage of their procurement from start-ups and SMEs.
Sources of investment vary and to name a few, there are government programs like foundations, patent registration support, incubators/accelerators, VCs and angel investors. There are also loans provided by the Emirates Development Bank for start-ups and SMEs.
In my opinion, investors look to make more money, they would invest in the team before the product and that’s why we emphasized showing your discipline and dedication to make your business succeed. You need to work on the pitch — as a start-up founder, it took me 6 months to prepare my pitch and I’m still working on making it better.
The government focuses on advanced technology, Aerospace, ICT, AI, agritech, sustainability and fintech. Nevertheless, those are not the only sectors that attract attention/investment. Incubators, accelerator programs, and networking events are the best way to build relationships with investors, but you need to find the right program that fits your business, and the right investor who is interested, who will trust you, and most importantly the one that understands your product.
⬇️ You can watch the full conversation below
Aerospace Xelerated extends its gratitude to Ahmad Al Darwish and Hazel Sibanda for their invaluable contributions to this fireside chat 💫
If you’re looking for support for your startup, find out how AX can help by booking an office hour chat with our team.
Stay tuned for more exciting events and opportunities by signing up to our newsletter, and following us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
