Top 12 Startups In Dubai: Changing Industries From HR & Payroll To Logistics And Fintech

Dubai, known indeed for its gorgeous skyscrapers, rapidly growing economy and a way of thinking that helps it to look to the future, has become a hot spot where innovative startups have been set up and which are opening up new sectors of global business. From groundbreaking innovations in technology to encompassing environmental start-ups, Dubai-based start-ups gradually attract more attention internationally. 

This article will cover 12 newly-established startups that are the harbingers of the rapidly growing ecosystem amid Dubai, making substantial contributions to their areas. 

Source: HiDubai Focus

Here The 12 Companies Listed Below Are Top Startups Of Dubai

Bayzat : Top Startups In Dubai

The business environment today is highly dynamic and the corporate world continues to evolve at a fast pace.  Therefore, the HR department has taken on an important role in respect to managing human resources and day to day payroll operations. As with many Dubai businesses today, meet Bayzat, the first mover in this field, which is simply changing the way firms manage these critical functions through its cutting-edge cloud-based platform. 

Bayzat, a start-up launched in 2015, has been a force to be reckoned with in the HR and payroll industry, replacing a traditional approach to employee relationship management with a comprehensive set of automated functions and services. The key element of Bayzat’s services is the user-friendly platform with the broad functionality out of the box. So to say, it comprises the HR as well as the payroll modules to allow organizations to concentrate on their tasks and to reach better effectiveness in the whole. 

One of the main strengths of Bayzat’s platform is the functionality of automating and digitizing processes usually done via paper or pen. By utilizing Bayzat’s solutions, HR professionals can go through processes such as onboarding new employees, handling leave requests and updating employee records, and all this can be done without performing redundant tasks and adding to the risks of errors, leaving the HR professionals enough time to allocate towards the more strategic initiatives. 

At the same time Bayzat employs cutting edge analytics and reporting features , it gives a company an unparalleled look into their workforce numbers. With this method of data-centric consideration, organizations can perform educated and intentional actions in the realm of talent management, resource allocation, as well as overall HR strategic planning. 

Being aware of the various regulatory frameworks in which businesses are operating, Bayzat has adapted its HR and Financials software to compliance with local labor rules and taxation systems. Through this adaptability, companies can trust that the platform of BAYZAT will suit them with different compliance concerns without thereby increasing the risks of lapses that might occur otherwise. 

Beyond its innovative technology, Bayzat’s disruption spreads to other aspects of health-care delivery. Launching a startup, the company emphasizes the culture of customer orientation, providing personalized support and consultations that help companies work through the adoption as well as the optimization of solutions. This experiential approach is the key factor with which Bayzat has been able to establish a good rapport with its customers and realize their full potential of using the company’s platform. 

Careem: Top Startups In Dubai

Careem, the Dubai-based and worldwide multimodal super app is available to more than 70 cities spread across the Middle East, Africa, and the South-Asian regions in which the company also serves. The private company, which had about USD 2 billion in stakes in 2018, was later acquired by Uber as a wholly-owned business. A notable acquisition in January 2020 that had a valuation of 1 billion dollars.

Careem not only responded to the crisis by innovating its services but also taking advantage of emerging opportunities, like Careem Now, which transformed into Careem Food; a food delivery service launched in November 2018, and Careem Quik, a rapid grocery delivery service introduced in 2020. Furthermore, Careem inaugurated the Careem Pay, being a digital platform for payments, in April, 2022. 

Apriw Connect became a Super App business in April 2023, was the company which was 100% owned by e& and superapp that opened their investments. SOftBank as part of the recent transaction ended up owning 3% equity in Careem and yet Uber continues to own the entire Careem ride-hailing operations business. The Super App has now made available 20 digital services in UAE beginning from ride-hailing, grocery delivery, micromobility (movility) to DineOut and Careem Plus, which is a subscription based service. 

Referred as a jack-of-all-trades app catering to one’s daily needs, Careem’s Super App accommodates beyond its own the laundry services provided by the like of Washmen and the startup ecosystem holding Justlife from within the capital Dubai. 

Also Read: Top 11 Startups in India’s Health Tech Sector

Ziina

Ziina is a digital wallet on the mobile phone, which can be customized to meet the user’s individual payment needs. It brings the denomination of credit or debit cards in use for money transfer between peers.  Also, one can accept money through payment links or QR codes. Furthermore, using its tools, you can indulge yourself in different payment scenarios such as dining, rent, bill payment, and splitting bills.

The application takes advantage of many security features, for instance, PIN Code, Face Recognition and Fingerprint Authentication. As the Ziina app is available for both IOS and Android devices, a sizable population can easily get connected to the system. 

Opontia: Top 12 Startups In Dubai

The Marching Net, a startup in e-commerce that was trialed by Philip Johnston with Manfred Meyer in February 2021, records a significant development. 

During June 2021, Opontia mastered a fund of around US$20 as seed funding with Government Founders Capital, Presight Capital, Raed Ventures, and Kingsway Capital as fund backers. The funding helped the company go into Eddie, Tuckey and Ngear market. 

Opontia’s strategic growth went on by acquiring Novimed, an UAE-based medical equipment manufacturer whose products serve consumers. The very next month after this success, the company opened its offices in either Turkey (August 2021) or in Poland (October 2021). 

In the year 2021, there was an important achievement of the ‘Opontia’ in which the company raised US$ 42 million in equity and venture debt from the Series A funding round. Achieving this top-most pedestal in the list of the most funded startups by Forbes not only introduced Opontia as an absolute game-changer in this industry, but the company was also chosen as the top 12-placed newcomer in the Forbes 50 list of the most funded startups. 

Being experts in the acquisition of new e-commerce businesses within CEEMEA (Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), Opontia is a first in the Midlle East field of towing the venture debt. At the end of 2021, Opontia had closed 15 deals with brands, and the carrier Aramex had provided us with a profitable supply partnership. 

Vezeeta

The Vezeeta is a frontier digital healthcare platform that provides a tool required to stay informed and enabled on the way of patients’ health yet through adept use of data and technology. The  standing in the global market as the most trusted provider of healthcare accessibility and quality is bolstered by the testimonials of their  patients, doctors, and the medical sector’s renowned co-founders, cutting across the many regions worldwide.

 As an online patient-centered healthcare service, Vezeeta has an extended reach of more than 5 million patients through its presence in six countries which are constantly reshaping the healthcare situation by impeccably integrating the digital platform onto the patient experience. 

By virtue of being a digital healthcare link, Vezeeta empowers patients with the option to make their systems of healthcare management as fulfilling, simple, and varied as possible. This spectrum of services can be divided into different subgroups starting from a standardized platform for booking appointments with doctors to the latest telehealth solutions that make for a great convenience while allowing communication with doctors online and finalizing the process of purchasing medications in just one click with the convenience home delivery.

The most important element of their  position is their expert team of people who are researchers, inventors, and hold vast wealth of experience and adeptness in multiple fields of innovation. While outsourcing is a trend in the global market, it is the familiarity and singularity of their  potential and expertise that set us above the rest. 

Fetchr

Source: sutraHR

Fetchr is a logistics company that specializes in shipment services, both from globalised and localized routes, through developing advanced technologies for each transportation trip. Via mobile device’s localization capabilities, the enterprise implements artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to minimize courier trips by optimizing routes and schedules based on positioning, predictive and machine learning technology. This method, in turn, makes the courier operations stand out as reliably running smoothly focusing on worldwide shipping for customers. 

Bekia: Top 12 Startups In Dubai

Bekia is a waste management startup based in Egypt with a special focus on implementing a comprehensive waste disposal system by industry best practices. The platform has fostered the exchange of diverse wastes materials, like cutting plastics from bin, paper waste, electronic waste, and cooking oil, for redeemable points. 

These referral points allow the consumers to buy basic goods and services for instance food, tickets, mobile top-up or school supplies thus encouraging the green waste disposal habits. Awarded as one of the most influencing startup companies in Dubai, the former’s model coincides with MEE and NSSA. 

Foodics: Top 12 Startups In Dubai

Foodics is a complete, all-in-one, cloud-based Point of Sale (POS) and the Restaurant Management System that takes into consideration different types of dining establishments and helps them grow better. Foodics provides a range of options with omni-channel application.  Hence, food restaurant owners can perform real-time analysis and trend monitoring across all the operations of their ventures. 

Among other aspects, these functionalities cover customer relationship management, payment processing, sales, and inventory tracking to name just a few and these functions can be integrated with the third-party applications to contribute a lot in the operational efficiency. Estabished in 2013, Foodics main office in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) was set up by Ahmad Alzaini and Mosab Al Othmani who serve as the founders of the company. 

SHUAA Capital psc

SHUAA Capital psc (DFM: SHUAA serves as one of the major assets management and investment bank companies. Under its real estate management area, the company takes on a bulk of assets responsibility which include real estate funds and project investment as well as those avenues spanning regional equities, bonds and credit sectors. 

The company offers an investing platform in its offering which has a distinct focus on investor clients, with alternative investment strategies becoming a major area of interest. 

As part of its investment banking division, SHUAA Capital provides a broad selection of services that cover advisory for the corporate finance, transactions for public and private placement, and facilitating public offering of both equity and debt securities. In addition, the company plays an active role in creating as much liquidity as possible by taking part in over the counter(OTC) fixed-income products. A key feature of SHUAA Capital is that they are regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority and they adhere to the standard and guidelines that have been set forth for financial investment companies. 

Mamo Pay: Top 12 Startups In Dubai

Mamo is a financial technology corporation based in Dubai – United Arab Emirates, which specialises in the development of digital financial instruments, specifically made for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).  However, Mamo stands out from the crowd among fintech startups through its possession and utilization of the fundamental financial intellectual property (IP).  

Such an IP acknowledgement by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) makes Mamo the first fintech startup to be licensed with a Cat 3C Providing Money Services license. The Mamo license will strengthen its use of financial services such as loans and saving.  In addition, the product compatibility will guarantee its expansion. 

It is mainly a free SME business portal in the United Arab Emirates with the main service line, Mamo Business, being used by many companies in different industries catering small to medium companies. Amongst these are many of commerce, diverse businesses both big and small including, professional services, healthcare, fitness club, etc. The main parts in the clientele of inner space are B2B service providers, tourism and travel agents, event managers, health and physical fitness centers, stations treating the serviette and gift dealers, and entertainment providers. 

The Luxury Closet

The Luxury Closet is a fast-growing online marketplace dealing with the resale, buying and consignment shops of luxury products most part of which are second hand but at the same time of the luxury brands and the items which are of top quality and genuine. The venue is to be regarded as a forerunner of its kind in the GCC region and purely by its size, market penetration, and scalability the vehicle can be discovered to be unique. 

With their  sharp momentum obtained during the month-year run, The Luxury Closet has consistently been making double-digit percentage growth every month. 

Eyewa: Top 12 Startups In Dubai

Eyewa is the primary and the most reliable online platform for eyewear in the Middle East which has different collections of eyeglasses, sunglasses, color contact lenses, as well as prescription contact lenses. Their  line-up is the most impressive among all other competitors.  It includes revolutionary brands which use the latest technology such as Ray-Ban and Emporio Armani, traditional names with long history such as Burberry and Persol or luxurious high-fashion brands like Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada. 

Take advantage of their brand store’s big collection of brands, models and over 5,000 styles.  Among them try different kinds of eyeglasses to find the perfect vision treatment. 

Conclusion

In Conclusion, the recent startup ecosystem development which is occurring in Dubai is revolutionizing various industries, from HR and payroll management to logistics, waste management, fintech, e-commerce and healthcare. These emerging startups, more than technological progression, are also adapting to regulations and local consumers` culture, thereby demonstrating the spirit of quick adaptation to circumstances and openness to innovations and entrepreneurship in Dubai.