22 August 2017
With its embrace of real estate, tourism and commerce Dubai has made huge efforts to diversify its economy away from a reliance on hydrocarbons. A major part of this drive to be the main trading hub in the region has been its push to encourage entrepreneurship, nurture start-ups and support the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
This week Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) announced a strategic collaboration with GITEX Future Stars to launch the first-ever Dubai Tourism Startup Competition - Futurism, inviting innovators from around the world to submit ideas and business plans that could shake-up the city's travel and tourism sectors.
Yousuf Lootah, executive director of Tourism Development & Investments, Dubai Tourism, said the competition was designed “to continue to encourage pioneering thinking, and offer a platform for startups to succeed. As we progress towards the future, start-ups play a crucial role not only in the growth of the economy, but also in discovering solutions to meet evolving needs and tackle industry gaps,” he said.
On the same day, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced that 11 firms have been chosen to take part in its accelerator programme for new financial technologies, known as FinTech Hive.
The programme, which is being launched in partnership with management consultancy Accenture, is a 12-week course that will see the selected firms working closely with financial institutions and other stakeholders to help develop their concepts.
Among the firms chosen to take part in the first accelerator programme are Bridg, which is a United Arab Emirates-based technology that allows phones to send and receive money via encrypted information while offline, a Shariah-compliant peer-to-peer financing network from Azerbaijan known as Maliyya, a Jordanian intelligent chat bot business known as Labiba and a Singapore-based robo-advisory wealth management product known as WeInvest.
However, one area where entrepreneurship needs more attention is in the area of engineering, according to researchers at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). The team’s findings found there are “barriers and challenges” deterring engineering students from fulfilling their potential. Researchers found the highly-technical nature of engineering courses is leaving little space for entrepreneurial activities.
Despite this, engineering is still one of the most popular job sectors for new graduates. A survey titled “Fresh Graduates in the MENA”, carried out by online job search website Bayt.com and research company YouGov, found that almost a quarter (24 percent) of respondents in the United Arab Emirates said that the most appealing industry for a career is engineering / design. This was closely followed by banking / finance (20 percent) and advertising / marketing (20 percent).
Further reading:
© Zawya 2017
With its embrace of real estate, tourism and commerce Dubai has made huge efforts to diversify its economy away from a reliance on hydrocarbons. A major part of this drive to be the main trading hub in the region has been its push to encourage entrepreneurship, nurture start-ups and support the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
This week Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) announced a strategic collaboration with GITEX Future Stars to launch the first-ever Dubai Tourism Startup Competition - Futurism, inviting innovators from around the world to submit ideas and business plans that could shake-up the city's travel and tourism sectors.
Yousuf Lootah, executive director of Tourism Development & Investments, Dubai Tourism, said the competition was designed “to continue to encourage pioneering thinking, and offer a platform for startups to succeed. As we progress towards the future, start-ups play a crucial role not only in the growth of the economy, but also in discovering solutions to meet evolving needs and tackle industry gaps,” he said.
On the same day, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced that 11 firms have been chosen to take part in its accelerator programme for new financial technologies, known as FinTech Hive.
The programme, which is being launched in partnership with management consultancy Accenture, is a 12-week course that will see the selected firms working closely with financial institutions and other stakeholders to help develop their concepts.
Among the firms chosen to take part in the first accelerator programme are Bridg, which is a United Arab Emirates-based technology that allows phones to send and receive money via encrypted information while offline, a Shariah-compliant peer-to-peer financing network from Azerbaijan known as Maliyya, a Jordanian intelligent chat bot business known as Labiba and a Singapore-based robo-advisory wealth management product known as WeInvest.
However, one area where entrepreneurship needs more attention is in the area of engineering, according to researchers at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). The team’s findings found there are “barriers and challenges” deterring engineering students from fulfilling their potential. Researchers found the highly-technical nature of engineering courses is leaving little space for entrepreneurial activities.
Despite this, engineering is still one of the most popular job sectors for new graduates. A survey titled “Fresh Graduates in the MENA”, carried out by online job search website Bayt.com and research company YouGov, found that almost a quarter (24 percent) of respondents in the United Arab Emirates said that the most appealing industry for a career is engineering / design. This was closely followed by banking / finance (20 percent) and advertising / marketing (20 percent).
Further reading:
- Accelerate SME is Thomson Reuters' resource for small businesses in the Middle East
- Smart services: retail among top sectors for young Emirati entrepreneurs - Dubai Chamber
- Dubai SME supports more than 23,000 entrepreneurs since inception
- A woman's tale: working as a female entrepreneur in a male dominated world
- Dubai Tourism launches major international start-up competition
- First 11 firms enrolled into DIFC's fintech accelerator
- Future engineers need entrepreneurial insight, UAEU research claims
- Six in 10 Fresh Graduates Want to Work in the UAE - Survey
© Zawya 2017
