The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy has recorded major accomplishments in the first half of 2024. Among the long list of achievements, one such is that it successfully facilitated the establishment and scale of 215 high-potential digital startups in Dubai; that reflects an increase of 212 percent year on year. This represents a significant jump from the 69 companies it supported during a similar period last year, and the combined market value for those companies reached approximately US$ 7 billion.
PC: Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy
Supporting Digital Startups
It was integral to the development of the digital startup ecosystem in H1 2024. Its efforts have resulted in a 212% YoY growth in the number of supported companies, very well indicative of the serious commitment that Dubai is taking toward becoming a global centre for digital innovation and entrepreneurship.
‘Create Apps in Dubai’ Initiative
One of the pillars of the Chamber’s efforts is the ‘Create Apps in Dubai’ initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence. Headed by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the initiative aimed to build digital muscle across all parts of the UAE. It succeeded in training 243 Emiratis during the first half of 2024. The overall goal is to train 1,000 Emiratis, triple the number of application developers in Dubai by 2025 and support 100 new national projects focused on cutting edge mobile applications.
Objectives of ‘Create Apps in Dubai’
The ‘Create Apps in Dubai’ initiative aims to:
- Enhance Digital Skills: Strengthen the digital capabilities of Emiratis.
- Support App Development: Increase the number of application developers and national projects.
- Infrastructural Build-up: Create a robust digital infrastructure and legislative framework.
- Offer Incentives: Provide incentives from the government to accelerate sectoral growth.
Promoting Expand North Star
The chamber organised a dozen international roadshows for this purpose in the first half of 2024 to hype Expand North Star, which represents the world’s largest gathering of startups and investors. The event in question is being organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre, with the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy hosting the event that should be in October. Those roadshows already offered large coverage by attracting the world’s attention to take part: a milestone for Dubai in boosting its economy status as a leading digital economy resource hub.
Strategic Alliances and MoUs
The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy cemented its accelerated presence as organiser, strategic partner, and active participant in 15 local and international events throughout the first half of the year. The chamber went on to sign four more memorandums of understanding with key partners across efforts to develop the emirate’s digital business ecosystem. One of the outstanding MoUs is the one linked with Enterprise Ireland—one of the largest venture capital institutions in Europe, going by the number of deals. This collaboration is an understanding meant to create a much bigger business opportunity for growth and mutual cooperation with companies in the digital sector in Dubai and across Ireland.
Reports and Publications
In H1 2024, two key reports were published by the chamber, including:
- Scaleup Success Rate: A report detailing the success rate of scaleups in Dubai.
- FDI Landscape in MENA: A report on the state of the foreign direct investment landscape in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Vision and Future Goals
According to His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the entity is duty-bound to support digital businesses in firmly entrenching Dubai as a global capital of the digital economy. Hence, this is also aligned well with the D33 Agenda, part of the Dubai Economic Agenda, aimed at generating an average of AED 100 billion annually for Dubai’s economy from digital transformation projects.
Growth in the Digital Sector
His Excellency said, “Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy reaffirms its keenness to make Dubai more attractive, by all possible means, for businesses and entrepreneurs across all fields related to technology. Our impactful programmes and initiatives have to do with developing a supportive infrastructure, regulatory environment, and services available to the digital sector in Dubai.”
Q2 of 2024 has been a quarter of immense growth and strategic activities for Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. Further supporting startups, strategic partnerships, and the ‘Create Apps in Dubai’ initiative further position this chamber to drive Dubai’s vision of becoming a leader globally in the digital economy.
