Start-up matchmaking: Dubai bets on tech as it seeks to hit 30 unicorns by 2033

Dubai Founders HQ, the initiative launched last month by the emirate, is betting on technology start-ups to achieve its ambitious goals in the entrepreneurial space.

Located at the 25Hours Hotel at One Central in Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai Founders HQ has already onboarded 500 start-ups and around 30 partners so far, including venture capital firms, banks, free zones, corporates, government entities and academic institutions.

A joint initiative by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, it is aimed at helping Dubai reach its target of 30 unicorns – start-ups valued at over $1 billion – and enabling 400 small and medium enterprises to scale by 2033.

Dubai Founders HQ has onboarded start-ups and SMEs from sectors including FinTech, PropTech and HealthTech, among others. Photo: DET

It is a “matchmaking” platform that is a “mix of physical and digital that really is meant to unlock the full potential of start-ups and scale ups”, said Hadi Badri, chief executive of Dubai Economic Development Corporation – part of DET.

Dubai Founders HQ operates as a hub and spoke model, with the physical side covering co-working and event spaces, and the digital layer providing entrepreneurs access to a database of the ecosystem, a knowledge hub and helping them tap into government services, Mr Badri told The National during a tour of the area. While Dubai already does well in areas such as talent attraction, “density matters”.

“What we mean by density is bringing people together, convening them … how do you bring people to almost rub shoulders with one another as entrepreneurs, and then to bring partners that can come in as venture capital firms, accelerators, academia, banks, to also make commitments … [under the umbrella] of Dubai Founders HQ,” he said.

Dubai Founders HQ is located at the 25Hours Hotel at One Central in Dubai World Trade Centre. Aarti Nagraj / The National

While the platform has start-ups and SMEs covering the entire spectrum – including some at the ideation stage and others that are already generating millions, a common thread is tech. Those onboarded so far are from sectors including FinTech, PropTech and HealthTech, among others.

“And, of course, a lot of AI companies. So that's really where we see the future. It's not only tech, but AI companies are being born, scaling up from here. And sometimes, these AI companies will be sector specific, and some of them will be sector agnostic,” said Mr Badri.

Hadi Badri, chief executive of Dubai Economic Development Corporation, said the focus of the new initiative will be on tech and AI start-ups. Photo: DET

Dubai-based start-up CrayonLabs, which was set up six months ago and builds, launches and scales AI products, is part of Founders HQ. The company is hoping to launch its first product, a tool targeted at venture capital firms, in the next four weeks, said co-founder Barney Lewis. A seasoned entrepreneur, he met his co-founder at a gym in Dubai a year ago.

“I have been in Dubai for two years now and I cannot understate how much my network has improved, the quality of people I am meeting,” he said. “I have never seen anything like that – having worked in Lisbon, in London, they don’t have this opportunity and network quality anywhere,” Mr Lewis said.

In the current market, funding isn't a challenge if you have the right business model and the right founders behind that project, he added.

“What I like about Dubai is that …