Khaleej Times

Startups won’t stop: Sector set for livelier 2019 in the UAE

UAE ECoSYSTEM rEVS UP For MorE ACTion AnD growTh in 2019

- Sandhya D’Mello

dubai — The UAE’s startup ecosystem is poised to become more buoyant as 2019 unfolds with more appetite for seed funding as well as for larger funds at the Series B level. The sector closed 2018 on a very positive note and is now gearing up for more action in 2019 with more exits in the offing.

Necip Ozyucel, cloud and enterprise group lead at Microsoft Gulf, said: “The UAE startup ecosystem is at the forefront to create a sustainabl­e environmen­t for innovation. Significan­t contributi­on to the economy from sectors such as e-commerce and fintech is growing exponentia­lly, providing numerous opportunit­ies for ideas to transform into businesses and further position them on a global platform.”

The UAE has proved to remain the most active startup ecosystem in 2018, according to Magnitt’s 2018 Mena Venture Investment Report.

The nation maintained its dominance thanks to continued government support, corporate venture interest and growing investor appetite for startups.

The report states that 30 per cent of all transactio­ns were made into UAE-headquarte­red startups in 2018, while also accounting for 70 per cent of total funding.

The cloud is helping e-commerce to scale up and down quickly to match demand... AI can also help them to predict demand

Necip Ozyucel, Cloud and enterprise group lead at Microsoft Gulf

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 ?? KT GRAPHIC • SOURCES: MAGNITT AND KT RESEARCH ??
KT GRAPHIC • SOURCES: MAGNITT AND KT RESEARCH

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