Founders Fireside Chat: How to Thrive in the UAE
At the end of April, Aerospace Xelerated hosted a founders’ fireside chat to exchange experiences and discuss how startups can thrive in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was a thrilling conversation where we got to learn more about the best practices for building and scaling a company in one of the world’s most exciting ecosystems.
We were joined by both international and local founders who shared their experiences and insights on effective pathways to building investor networks, considerations and timelines for fundraising. The event was moderated by Roberto Croci, an innovation and startup expert who is currently the Director of Value Creation & Transformation at Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Other panellists included Omar Abou Faraj, CEO and Co-founder of Dubz; Samer Sobh, COO and Co-founder of Dubz; Mustafa El Maghraby, CCO and Co-founder of Dubz; and Anastasia Pash, Founder of Globetrotter VR.
The Middle East tech startup scene is “sizzling”, according to Forbes, fuelled by rapid growth in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Dubai is fastly becoming a hub for startups, presenting a huge opportunity, which international investors are actively exploring. With its world-class physical and digital infrastructure, the city offers entrepreneurs and startups a platform for ease of set-up and scale. Alongside a vibrant financial environment, the UAE government is committed to educating and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs. The result is an environment that’s perfectly suited to the creation of innovative, forward-thinking businesses.
That was one of the reasons that attracted Anastasia, who first got to the city in 2020 to join an incubator. “This was a time when the whole world was in lockdown and when I got here I saw everything was open, people were living their lives,” she recalled. “It was not like what was going on in Europe and it made me think. I came down and spent time here to understand more about the market, about living here, and I fell in love with it. And so we decided to take advantage of the fact that we can set up a company and grow in this region.”
For Omar, who has been in the region since 2007, the UAE presents a very good opportunity for founders to start up their ventures because of its strategic qualities. “There’s no place better in terms of getting access to easy infrastructure of communication and connectivity to the world.” According to him, the regulations in place for startups also make the region more appealing to entrepreneurs. “Access to funding has become easier, there are a lot of venture capitalists and funds are growing, which means startups have more access to capital,” he said — Dubai accounted for over 60% of funding across the MENA region’s record-breaking 564 deals worth over US$700 million in investment in 2019.
Mustafa highlighted the level of risk investors are willing to take in the UAE is higher because of the mindset they have of embracing innovation — something that is instilled in Dubai’s DNA. “I remember when I pitched in my home country, and their first question was ‘where is it implemented in the world?’. They don’t want to be the first and don’t want to take the risk,” he said. “In Dubai it’s different, they want to be the first and everything relates to innovation. They don’t mind taking the risk and that’s why they have this ecosystem of innovation that’s helping startups to prosper and to collaborate together.” Roberto added: “This helps a lot to attract founders and entrepreneurs who really want to try new things and develop new engineering products.”
Samer also stressed how the business culture in the UAE is a differentiator from other regions. “People are very professional and business oriented. They are focused on what they want. The culture in general is competitive because they want to be the first,” he said. “But then they appreciate the personal edge and the personal investment you put into the relationship and this is what makes the biggest difference to us.”
All founders also praised the community of entrepreneurs in the UAE and the condition it offers to startups as a vibrant, welcoming and young ecosystem.
You can learn more insights by watching the full conversation on our YouTube channel.
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