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The UAE is known to encourage entrepreneurs to unlock the potential that the nation has to offer them in fulfilling their business aspirations.
The recent reforms introduced by the wise leadership of the country to boost confidence among startups also proves that the ecosystem has matured, and is now expanding its reach in the region, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia complementing the growth.
The latest report from Magnitt indicates that the number of investments in Mena-based startups was up 31 per cent in 2019, with 564 investments and $704 million in total funding, up 13 per cent compared to 2018, excluding previous mega-deals in Souq and Careem.
"With exits at an all-time-high, including the Mena region's first unicorn exit, the region's founders, investors, and governments are seeing the returns on their efforts in the tech venture space," said Philip Bahoshy, founder and chief executive, Magnitt.
In 2019, Egypt, for the first time ever, accounted for the largest number of deals in Mena with a jump of 25 per cent, while the UAE accounted for the lion's share of total funding and a surge of 60 per cent.
Egypt is the largest and most promising startup hub of the Mena region. The government has been working very hard to open up opportunities for foreign investments. Rainmaking is working with Egyptian entrepreneurs and local ecosystem players since 2014 and has engaged more than 150 startups, provided support to almost 900 founders, and worked with nearly 70 local partners so far.
So how do Egypt and the UAE complement each other in the startup space? "Egypt provides an extensive pipeline of startups, entrepreneurs and talents, while the UAE offers significant availability of infrastructures and funding. Together, Egypt and the UAE could build an active alliance to drive innovation in the region and export innovation globally from the UAE," said Ahmed El Sherif, managing director at Rainmaking Innovation Egypt.
"We expect a big spurt of funds to support startups over the next three to four years.
In terms of industries, we are recording the greatest interest from local corporations into innovation investments in the fintech, insurtech, tourism, healthcare, industrial sectors, and impact industries."
Similarly, Saudi and the UAE complement each other a lot in the startup space. "The UAE has leapfrogged in innovations, bringing in international investors, and taking away the lead, but Saudi is already catching up," says Taha Sajid, chief technical consultant, Limar Global Tech.
"I have not come across any one business startup, who have started in either of these countries but not have their eyes on the other; Saudi for the investment perspective and the UAE for getting market exposure. It is due to the fact that in order for startups to grow, they need to have a proper ecosystem, have market adoption, get the investment for liquidity, loyal customers, all of these things are possible if you are not only restricted to one jurisdiction. Apart from less travelling distance, they share the same cultural/religious/traditional aspect and even the resources ethnicity, like most people belong to Mena, India, and Pakistan, they understand each other well, which makes them complement each other," added Sajid.
Saudi Arabia will emerge as a popular startup hub in the Mena region; the main reason is the cultural change through the national transformation drive of Vision 2030 and the ease of doing business with the direct involvement of the Saudi government through its proper structure.
"Any startups, whether local or international, if the idea is appealing and suits the local market, will get the proper guidance through different bodies. If there is a fintech startup, regulations have clarity in terms of business activities that need to be regulated or not and how SAMA and CMA are interrelated. Secondly, there is a separate framework for local and international entrepreneurs with the proper step and process flow. All this process is being driven by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, supported by incubators like Badir and facilitators like Fintech Saudi. On the other hand, if you are an IT startup, there is digital transformation hub driven by the Ministry of communication and IT, so all the bases are covered when it comes to supporting startups," said Sajid.
Innovation remains top of the agenda for many governments from across the region.
According to Magnitt, Hub71 in Abu Dhabi was created to spur innovation in the capital with $250 million in funds to support regional and international startups scale in the region.
Moreover, also Saudi Arabia has seen a shift in policy. Multiple initiatives have eased the ability of startups to enter the country, access education and scale within the Kingdom. Only recently, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a $1billion Fund of Funds (FoF) to spur venture investments.
Egypt, given its scale and educational system, remains a key hotbed of innovation, with many early- stage companies and founders solving big market issues that are local to them. "Dubai, with a first-mover advantage, continues to assess how best to encourage and foster the startup ecosystem with new legislation and support, including golden visas for founders to help develop its ever-evolving ecosystem," added Bahoshy.
source: menafn
Abu Dhabi Investment Office invests $16mln in new batch of startups
30 Jan 2020 Written by Admin AdminRecipients also include UAE-based Venture Capital firm Global Ventures
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has invested 60 million UAE dirhams ($16.3 million) in a new batch of startups and fund managers through its Ventures Fund.
The recipients, according to ADIO, include: Securrency, TruKKer, Sarwa, YACOB and Okadoc. These startups are innovation-focused companies that are either based in Abu Dhabi or expanding into the emirate.
ADIO also signed its first investment in a Venture Capital (VC) firm, UAE-based Global Ventures, it said in the statement.
The VC firm received funding through the Ventures Fund’s New Fund Manager Programme, which matches every dirham raised by the VC in the private market.
The company is a growth-focused VC investing in revenue-generating enterprise technology companies that can scale and create impact in emerging markets.
Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said: “The Ventures Fund was created to deepen Abu Dhabi’s innovation ecosystem and ensure big thinking is not constrained by limited capital.
Once a startup is operational, Abu Dhabi is safe ground for innovation and a place where entrepreneurs can confidently take commercial and creative risks. ADIO is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs, we want to give startups the opportunity to become the next regional, or perhaps even global, tech success story.”
Ventures Fund opened in May 2019 as an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Government’s Ghadan 21 accelerator programme.
The fund is supporting the growth of Abu Dhabi’s startup and venture capital ecosystem by increasing access to capital and stimulating the number of high skilled jobs in the UAE capital’s growing technology sector.
source: zawya
The UAE offers international business opportunities across numerous sectors– from tourism to technology
Over the last 40 years, the UAE has successfully diversified its economy to reduce its reliance on the energy industry. As a result, the nation now offers international business opportunities across numerous sectors– from tourism to technology.
The government continues with its positive efforts in this area, including an increasing number of incentives designed to attract professionals and independent business people from all over the world and support smaller enterprises.
These include:
- Allowing 100% foreign-owned businesses
- Offering extended visas for entrepreneurs
- Attracting tech businesses to the UAE
- Providing funding and support for smaller businesses
- Creating a favorable environment for living and working
So, let’s look in detail at these five ways the UAE government encourages entrepreneurs to open a company here.
Allowing 100% foreign-owned businesses
In May 2019, the UAE government announced it would soon be possible for foreign entrepreneurs to be 100% shareholders in a locally incorporated business. Total foreign ownership was previously only permitted in the UAE’s free zones, meaning businesses incorporated ‘onshore’ had to be 51% locally owned.
This change will now give anyone looking to start a business, or already operating businesses in other countries, the opportunity to get easier access to the UAE. As a result, the playing field for international entrepreneurs looks even more attractive, particularly when paired alongside other developments.
Offering extended visas for entrepreneurs
In November 2018, the UAE government began actively issuing five-year visas to entrepreneurs looking to set up in the country.
Eligible candidates for the five-year entrepreneur visa must have a business with a minimum capital of AED 500,000 or the approval of an accredited business incubator in the country (such as Hub 71 – more on that below).
In May 2019 the UAE brought in a new system for five- and ten-year residency visas, enabling outstanding non-UAE investors and specialists to live, work and study here without a national sponsor. The visa can be renewed if the holder’s circumstances remain positive. These five- and ten-year visas require investments of AED 5 million and AED 10 million respectively. There are currently 125 business areas that UAE-based expats can operate in without the requirement of a local sponsor.
With the introduction of the Gold Card visa in May 2019, the next best thing to permanent residency is now available to the top tier of investors, entrepreneurs, chief executives, scientists, and outstanding students. The visa is reviewed every ten years, and, unlike other visa holders, Gold Card residents can live outside the country for a period of more than six consecutive months.
These developments are seen as a way of making it even more attractive for the international business community to work in the UAE. For those looking to get started in the UAE, whether you’re already living and working here or coming from abroad, having a long-term visa offers both stability and opportunity.
Attracting tech businesses to the UAE
In many parts of the world, the terms ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘startup’ are synonymous with technology. While not traditionally a tech hub in the same way as San Francisco, the UAE is making some strategic moves to change this.
The UAE government announced the creation of a new technology space, Hub 71, earlier this year. Based in Abu Dhabi, Hub 71 is a joint partnership with Microsoft. The fact the government has also earmarked AED500 million in investment funds as part of the overall initiative is further evidence of the UAE’s commitment to attracting international tech talent.
Coupled with its ambitious Government Accelerators’ program which includes Ghadan 21, a three-year development plan worth AED50 billon, all of these efforts make it pretty clear that the UAE government wants to create an even more thriving tech scene here.
Providing funding and support for smaller businesses
Given the leaps and bounds being made in providing help and support to entrepreneurs and startups, it’s no surprise that the UAE ranks highly for online access to administrative and government services. To make things easier for businesses, it was recently announced that 5% of government capital projects will be allocated to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This comes as part of a drive to encourage them to enter into major projects contracts with government agencies and form alliances to compete for government projects.
Currently aimed at Dubai-based SMEs, this move will allow them to receive contracts for projects worth up to AED400 million. Also, in order to provide SMEs with greater liquidity, those working on UAE government projects will now be paid within 30 days, according to recent news. Previously, public sector project payments were paid within a 90 day period. In addition, in the run-up to next year’s Expo 2020, the Dubai government has earmarked 20% of all related contracts to SMEs.
Creating a favorable environment for living and working
Weather aside, there are so many reasons why the UAE is an attractive place for entrepreneurs to live and work. In many cases, it’s due to the tireless efforts of the government here to make it so.
According to an expat study, the UAE ranks 25th in the world for quality of life. It also takes the number nine spot for safety and security– making it an attractive location for entrepreneurs with families. It helps that visas for spouses and offspring are also easy to obtain once the main sponsor is accepted.
From a commercial perspective, the UAE is ranked 11th in the world for overall ease of doing business. Plus, there’s no personal tax, corporation tax, or any requirement to submit returns for the vast majority of businesses. This certainly reduces the operational burden of running a company here.
The UAE has a strong tradition of encouraging talented individuals to come here to live and work. However, looking at these recent developments, it’s increasingly evident that the government is now keen to attract independent entrepreneurs from a range of disciplines.
As a result, those with the drive and tenacity to grow a business from scratch here in the UAE are poised to benefit considerably. Entrepreneurs who are able to tap into these government-led initiatives, programs, and resources will have many options available to them. The growing support network provided by these new initiatives, and the communities they foster, will no doubt strengthen the overall startup ecosystem in the UAE and continue to attract entrepreneurs here for years to come.
Source:Entrepreneurntrepreneur
The pull of self-employment is as strong as ever in the region, according to a recent report by Middle East jobs site Bayt.com and global research firm YouGov.
In Bayt.com’s survey, Entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa 2019, in the UAE some 69 per cent of respondents said they want to quit their current job and be their own boss instead. 54 per cent cited freedom over their work-life balance as the reason behind their thinking, while 42 per cent of them said they aimed to find personal fulfillment.
What’s more, some 73 per cent admitted that they are currently thinking of starting a business, while only 7 per cent say they have never thought of start- ing their own business.
Looking at the wider MENA region, for those who had already made the leap into entrepreneurship, 33 per cent said they left their previous jobs in order to increase their income, while 27 per cent said they wanted to do something they loved, and 25 per cent said they had a great business idea or concept.
The most appealing industries for prospective entrepreneurs were found to be IT / internet / e-commerce (10 per cent), commerce / trade / retail (9 per cent), consumer goods / FMCG (8 per cent), and real estate/ construction/ property development (8 per cent).
The report was published shortly after recruitment firm Robert Walters shared their own new research, which showed 73 per cent of professionals in the Middle East have left a job because they disliked the company’s culture. Some 82 per cent said they have previously worked for a company where they disliked the company culture. Both statistics suggest a further reason the number of would-be entrepreneurs is so high.
Bayt.com’s report also shows that the main concern of respondents while setting up their own business would be procuring finances to start (61 per cent), and the uncertainty of profit or income (41 per cent).
These concerns haven’t stopped increased numbers of people opening businesses – at least in Dubai, where the number of new business licenses in the first four months of 2019 grew by 35 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. The emirate’s Department of Economic Development issued 9,489 new licenses between January and April.
Start-ups and SMEs have long been the backbone of GCC economies, with SMEs making up around 98 per cent of business in the UAE, contributing approximately 53 per cent of gross domestic product (GFP). Under the country’s Vision 2021 plans, the government is seeking to increase this contribution to 60 percent by 2021.
Earlier this year, as part of the UAE’s bid to improve ease of doing business, the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship started issuing five-year residency visas to entrepreneurs – a move that drew more than 6,000 applications. It’s one of a series of moves that aim to improve opportunities for the wider SME community.
Another is Dubai’s recent package of initiatives by the emirate’s Department of Finance, announced in March. These initiatives include paying the dues of SMEs that supply services and goods to government agencies sooner, reducing the value of primary insurance for SMEs, cutting ‘performance insurance’ rates, calling for 5 per cent of government capital projects to be allocated to SMEs, and seeing projects worth Dhs1bn allocated to public-private partnerships.
Saudi Arabia has also striven to lay more accommodating foundations for entrepreneurs, such as 2018’s launch of an entrepreneur licence that allows new companies to benefit from a range of SME services and incentives. At April’s World Economic Forum, the kingdom’s energy minister Khalid Al Falih told delegates that Saudi’s start-up scene is “moving faster than anyone can imagine” and will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coming years.
“I predict that by 2030, companies that we don’t know today will be among the top 20 or 30 companies in Saudi Arabia. They will be driven by innovation, they will be driven by young people, they will be driven by women,” he added.
Backed by public sector support, those 69 per cent of people cited by Bayt.com’s survey are surely in as strong a position as ever to realise success should they take the step into the world of entrepreneurship.
source: gulfbusiness
تواصل الإمارات العربية المتحدة بخطوات ثابتة وسريعة المضي قدماً في عملية التحول الرقمي فقدت حققت قفزات مهمة خلال العامين السابقين فقط ويظهر ذلك في مؤشرات دولية عديدة لعلى أهمها مؤشر التنافسية الرقمية (world competitiveness center) الصادر عن مركز التنافسية العالمي التابع للمعهد الدولي للتنمية الإدارية بمدينة لوزان السويسرية، حيث قفز ترتيبها حسب التقرير الأخير (2018) من المرتبة ال25 (2016) الى المرتبة ال17 متفوقةً بذلك على العديد من الدول المتقدمة أهمها ألمانيا واليابان وفرنسا.
كما يبرز التقدم الاماراتي في عملية التحول الرقمي من خلال تطوير البنى التحتية الرقمية لاسيما في مجال الإدارات الحكومية المختلفة التي وضعت استراتيجية طويلة الأمد تهدف الى انجاز عملية التحول الرقمي بمواصفات عالمية عبر خطة "نموذج الامارات لنضج الحكومة الرقمية" التي تم الإعلان عنها في ابريل/نسيان 2018 وتأتي هذه الخطة في اطار استراتيجية عامة وشاملة للتحول نحو الاقتصاد الرقمي الى جانب الخطط الاستراتيجية الأخرى في مجالات الثورة الصناعية الرابعة والذكاء الاصطناعي والتعاملات الرقمية (بلوك تشين) والاستراتيجية الوطنية للابتكار ويظهر اهتمام وجدية العمل الحكومي والخاص عبر الانفاق الضخم في القطاعات الرقمية الذي وصل في عام 2018 الى 17 مليار دولار امريكي(بنسبة نمو 3% عن عام 2017 ) و يعادل الانفاق الاماراتي في القطاعات الرقمية 27% من اجمالي انفاق دول الخليج مجتمعه وهي بذلك تحتل المرتبة الخامسة في الانفاق الرقمي بين دول منطقة الشرق الأوسط.
انعكس التخطيط السليم والانفاق الكبير على حجم مساهمة الاقتصاد الرقمي في إجمالي الناتج المحلي الإماراتي الذي بلغ 4,5% في عام 2018، وتطمح الحكومة الإماراتية حسب الاستراتيجية الموضوعة بأن تصل مساهمة الاقتصاد الرقمي في إجمالي الناتج المحلي الـى 5% بحلول عام 2021، ومن المرجح أن يحقق الاقتصاد الرقمي في الامارات نمواً أكثر من المخطط له في عام 2021 فهو ينمو بأضعاف عن نمو الاقتصاد التقليدي حسب دائرة التنمية الاقتصادية في أبو ظبي، وتأتي خطة الامارات للتحول نحو الاقتصادي الرقمي بهدف زيادة الفرصة الحقيقية للاستثمار الأجنبي والمحلي على اعتبار ان الاقتصاد الرقمي اليوم هو الركيزة الأساسية للاستثمارات الأجنبية المباشرة، فبيئة الاعمال الرقمية تساهم في نقل رؤوس الأموال البشرية والمادية، ولقد حققت الامارات نجاحا كبيرا في تحولها لنقطة استقطاب للشركات الناشئة لاسيما تلك الشركات التي تعتمد على البنية التقنية الحديثة في تقديم الخدمة و التفاعل مع الزبائن، اي وفقا لنموذج الاعمال الرقمي لذلك لا عجب بان تستحوذ الامارات على 35% من اجمالي عدد الشركات الناشئة في العالم العربي في عام 2018 اختيرت منها 21 شركة ناشئة من اصل 100 شركة عربية من قبل المنتدى الاقتصاد العالمي كشركات تمثل الثورة الصناعية الربعة في العالم العربي.
اما على صعيد التجارة الإلكترونية فقد بلغ حجمها حوالي الـ 16 مليار دولاراً في عام 2018 ومن المتوقع أن يصل إلى 27.1 مليار دولاراً بحلول عام 2022 وفقا لمؤشر وكالة "فيتش" للتجارة لإلكترونية حيث توقعت الوكالة نمواً سنوياً للتجارة الإلكترونية في الإمارات بمعدل 28%.
لا تقتصر مظاهر التحول الرقمي في الإمارات العربية المتحدة على الجانب الاستثماري والتجاري بل يمتد إلى العمل الحكومي حيث تشير الإحصاءات الرسمية بأن 40% من الإماراتيين يستخدمون خدمات الحكومة الإماراتية مرتين على الأقل أسبوعياً حيث تسعى الاستراتيجية التي تقودها الحكومة الإماراتية بالتشارك مع القطاع الخاص لنقل خدمات الحكومة الإلكترونية إلى الهواتف الذكية حيث تصل نسبة مستخدميه إلى 100% وهي النسبة الأعلى في العالم.
تشير المعيطات السابقة إلى البيئة الاعمال المشجعة على الاستثمار في عملية التحول الرقمي و الإمكانيات الواعدة مستقبلاً للاستثمارات المحلي والاجنبي في الاقتصاد الرقمي الاماراتي.
