A new Emirati achievement… the first in the region to attract venture capital

The United Arab Emirates has taken the first regional place, in the Middle East and Africa, in attracting venture capital invested in emerging projects.

This is according to the “Magnitt” platform report on “Venture Capital Markets and the State of Emerging Venture Capital Financing in the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan” for the year 2022.

The report describes the UAE as the most active market in the Middle East and Africa, as it managed to attract venture capital totaling around 4.3 billion UAE dirhams (1.165 billion US dollars) in 2021, achieving a significant jump in growth this year . compared to 2020 to 93%, as this is the first time in the history of the UAE that venture capital investments in emerging projects exceed the $1 billion mark.

dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, said that the result achieved by the UAE in the field of attracting venture capital and financing emerging projects is a new achievement that has been added to the previous results achieved by the UAE. UAE thanks to the support and vision of its wise leadership in the development and diversification of its economy. National and provide an advanced system for entrepreneurship and start-up, small and medium enterprises in the UAE and strengthen its position as the first destination for business and entrepreneurial projects in the region and the world, in in line with the goals of the fiftieth and the guidelines of the UAE Centennial 2021.

He added that 2021 is an exceptional year for the entrepreneurship sector in the UAE, as the UAE has managed to achieve a major development leap to double the volume of venture capital investment attracted and attracted to finance startups and SMEs in the Emirates, along with the launch of integrated national projects. And gigantic for achieving a fundamental shift in the entrepreneurship system, the most important of which is the home of entrepreneurship and about fifty projects aimed at serving entrepreneurs and owners of entrepreneurial projects.

He pointed out that the result is proof of the strength of national policies and strategies that have been implemented to improve the competitiveness and attractiveness of the business environment and entrepreneurial activities, especially in the UAE, which derive from the vision and guidelines of the United Arab Emirates. wise leadership and fifty principles and reflect the strength of the economy based on knowledge, innovation and technology in the country through various tools, the most important of which is venture capital.

It also sends a clear message that the UAE markets are capable of attracting the highest quality investments and are the first destination to connect new and pioneering projects with local, regional and global investors to support them and help them achieve a high level of success and access to local and foreign markets, thereby provides a system that supports the process of rapid development of companies and their placement on a new path of regional and global competitiveness, starting from the country of the Emirates.

The “Magnet” report detailed that the venture capital investments received by the UAE in 2021 were distributed among 155 emerging projects in the UAE, with a growth of more than 12% compared to 2020.

The report also stated that the UAE ranked first in all regions covered by the report, including the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Pakistan, in terms of the average volume of a single financing deal, as it reached around 28 million dirhams in 2021, with growth of 72% in relation to the average volume of business. financing concluded in 2020, which establishes the position of the UAE as an incubation environment for the growth of projects and support for the unicorn model.

The report stated that the UAE is the first in the Middle East and Africa in terms of the number and size of acquisition deals, as it witnessed 11 acquisitions out of 35 operations in the region, and the total volume of these deals reached 2.2 billion dirhams ($605 million). , which reflects the vitality of the market. Emerging companies in the country and its promising growth prospects, especially with regard to the return on investment for business owners and investors, and the prosperity of the labor market and jobs in this sector in the UAE.

According to the report, in 2021, the UAE raised about 46% of the total venture capital received by the Middle East and Africa region combined, and more than 26% of the total number of deals completed in the same region in the same last year, reflecting confidence. High level of interest from regional and international investors in the UAE markets and promising growth prospects through them.

The report stated that the top five activities in attracting capital at the level of this region are food and beverage, financial technology, e-commerce, transportation and logistics, and business software.

Two Emirati companies were among the five companies that attracted the top five financial deals in the region, namely Kitopi Food and Beverage Company, which received financing of 1.5 billion dirhams ($415 million), the largest financial deal in the region , and Pure Harvest Farms Company. Pure Harvest Smart Farms, which secured financing of 238.5 billion dirhams ($65 billion), the fifth largest financing deal in the region.

The report also states that the UAE is the preferred destination in the Middle East and Africa for the relocation of the headquarters and regional headquarters of startup companies to it, noting that one of the most prominent of these operations in the UAE markets in the past year was the transfer of the Lebanese company “Anghami” to broadcasting music via digital platforms to the Abu Dhabi International market, and the Egyptian company “Swvl” for transformational mass transport solutions, which was stationed in Dubai.

And the American “Stripe”, one of the leading companies in the field of financial technology in Silicon Valley in the United States of America, which chose Dubai as the starting point for its regional expansion in the Middle East and North Africa region, and the American company “WeWork” for commercial solutions for real estate and office workspaces that carry out their activities. Today in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.