DIC’S NEXT GROWTH PHASE
dubai — Dubai Internet City (DIC) has reached its full capacity and will therefore launch an Innovation Hub to attract more companies, its executive director said.
The new hub will create around 15,000 jobs in the fields of IoT, AI and blockchain from the fourth quarter of this year as it opens its doors for new companies.
Ammar Al Malik, executive director, Dubai Internet City, said the Innovation Hub, located adjacent to DIC, Media City and Knowledge Village, will be spread over 1.8 million square feet and will start housing tenants from Q4 2018. The entire development is expected to open doors in 2019.
“The Innovation Hub will house SMEs and large companies as we want to be a
The Innovation Hub will house SMEs and large companies as we want to be a mix Ammar Al Malik, Executive director, Dubai Internet City
mix,” Malik said, adding that about 60 per cent of companies currently operating in DIC are small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
More than 1,600 tech firms operate in DIC, employing 24,000plus people. Once the Innovation Hub is complete, DIC will have around 40,000 people working there. Internet City is also home to 11 innovation centres that house firms such as Visa, Accenture, Samsung, Microsoft, SAP, 3M, Canon, Cisco, MasterCard, Huawei and Oracle.
“In 2018-19, SMEs will continue to grow and there will be more news about exits as well. We look forward to attracting more foreign companies,” Malik said, adding that this region is getting a lot of attention from multinationals, especially from China, with the recent acquisitions of locally-grown entities such as Souq and Careem being a few examples.
According to DIC figures released on Tuesday, companies in the free zone have raised Dh7.8 billion in funding since 2000.
Over the past 12 months, several DIC partners have attracted notable investments that propelled them onto the international stage. These include the acquisition of Souq.com by Amazon, Careem’s entry into the ‘Unicorn Club’ of billion-dollar startups in December 2016. In its last funding round, the company raised over Dh1.5 billion from Japanese, Chinese and Saudi investors.
Similarly, Mumzworld received multi-million dollar funding from Wamda Capital and Al Tayyar Capital and Anghami raised Dh106.6 million from regional investors.
Malik said DIC provides global exposure to local startups and a perfect environment to work hand-in-hand with MNCs in the free zone.
“Now, our focus is to support AI, blockchain, drones, AR and VR and e-commerce companies. We adapt ourselves based on the direction of the country.”
The annual growth of Internet usage in the Middle East is 15 per cent. The market is growing, so it is important to establish and grow from here. The gaming industry is growing at 25 per cent in the region, significantly higher than other parts of the world.
Santhosh Rao, principal research analyst, Gartner, said once an innovation hub is created, it automatically creates a local ecosystem that facilitates creation of new business opportunities.
“For example, Silicon Valley had a similar beginning more than 20 years ago, which grew by addressing local needs but now supports global markets. Today, it is a hotbed for entrepreneurship. A similar model can be envisioned in case of the UAE.”
Rao said the role of higher education in the UAE is critical and the government is already laying the foundation for higher education. Once these students graduate, they can directly be a part of this ecosystem that facilitates entrepreneurship.
Adel Belcaid, senior principal, AT Kearney, said the mandate of the newly-announced Dubai Innovation Hub will further strengthen Dubai’s regional and global innovation standing to attract cutting-edge innovators and entrepreneurs and to build a new generation of ‘made-in-Dubai’ digital products and services.
“These products and services will find in Dubai, with its advanced smart infrastructure and forward-looking government strategy, a favourable environment to create, test and monetise products and services. Naturally, a virtuous innovation cycle will ensue, which will further help Dubai become even more innovative and smart,” Belcaid said.