Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem | Trailer
The figures speak for themselves: out of the incredible $19.5 billion raised by MENA scale-ups, a staggering 60% can be attributed to Dubai.
With its longstanding position as the region's premier entrepreneurial hub, Dubai continues to lead the way in startup activity. Year after year, the city attracts a growing number of investors, establishing funds and seeking opportunities across the region. Dubai sets an inspiring example for other cities in MENA, showcasing what it takes to become a global hub for entrepreneurship.
Currently, Dubai is home to over 40% of the scale-ups in MENA, with 306 scale-ups flourishing in the city. These Dubai-based scale-ups have raised over US $11.7 billion in cumulative funding till 2022, which represents an impressive 60% of the total cumulative fundraising total in MENA (excluding Israel). In fact, 2022 saw the most number of international investors investing in Dubai-based startups, increasing exponentially from the year before.
To gain insights into the state of Dubai's venture capital ecosystem and the future of funding, we reached out to prominent investors such as Dany Farha from BECO Capital, Walid Hanna from Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Noor Sweid from Global Ventures, and Tammer Qaddumi from VentureSouq.
Without further ado, read our latest special report, “Dubai’s Venture Capital Ecosystem” now to uncover the invaluable insights shared by these seasoned investors and discover how they are shaping the face of entrepreneurship in this thriving region.
Click here to download the report: https://lnkd.in/dgiHAcSm
The Future of Fintech in Africa | Trailer
Is Africa the Next Global Hub for Fintech Innovation?
Africa is home to nearly 1 in 5 people on the planet, yet 57% of Africans still lack access to basic financial services like bank accounts or mobile wallets. This creates a virgin land—a frontier market—for the adventurous looking to become a market leader. Many credit fintech as the great enabler, reaching Africa's unbanked, where traditional brick-and-mortar banks simply couldn’t. Despite significant gains being made towards financial inclusion in the past decade, over half of the 1.4 billion people living in Africa remain unbanked. The opportunity is massive.
In 2020, Stripe acquired Paystack, Nigeria’s very own payments company. That deal, along with a steady stream of fintech unicorn births from the likes of Interswitch Group, OPay, and Flutterwave South Africa, Fawry (from Egypt), and Wave Mobile Money (Senegal), has drawn the attention of investors and globally-minded fintech companies alike.
In 2020, Africa’s total financial services market revenue totaled US $150 billion. By 2025, it’s expected to reach over US $230 billion. No matter how you cut it, that’s no small pie.
On top of all that, there is a real need for these financial services on the continent. Not just for individuals, but for micro and SME entrepreneurs. SMEs contribute over 70% of Africa's GDP, yet more than half of these business owners lack access to funding due to being unbanked and having no credit history. Addressing this gap presents a chance to empower millions of unbanked Africans while fostering economic growth.
#Nigeria, #SouthAfrica, and #Egypt collectively account for nearly half of Africa's wealth, making them prominent destinations for fintech investment. #Kenya and #Ghana are also emerging as key players in the fintech landscape.
To delve deeper into the insights and perspectives of Africa's fintech scene, our exclusive report features perspectives from thought leaders such as Kareem Abdel Aziz at IFC -
Diriyah and the Giga Projects | Trailer #Vision2030 #Diriyah
A look at Diriyah, Saudi Arabia’s cultural capital and one of the Kingdom’s first tourism offerings to be opened to the public, alongside the other Giga-projects valued at over US $1 trillion that are shaping the Kingdom’s future to 2030 and beyond.
Without further ado, read the report at https://lnkd.in/gZcnd-CH to learn more about these transformative projects and their potential impact, and be sure to keep an eye on progress as Saudi continues to move forward!
Website: https://lucidityinsights.com
Infrastructure in the Middle East
Infrastructure in the Middle East
Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem | Trailer
Saudi Arabia's Startup Ecosystem | Trailer
We are proud to present our latest report as the first of its kind - a comprehensive overview of Saudi's startup ecosystem, its history, and its future. We highlight some of the Kingdom's most exciting startup success stories and up-and-comers and provide a 360-degree view of the startup ecosystem from the investors' perspective.
In the report, we speak to Founders and Partners at Wa’ed Ventures, 500 Global, Impact46, KAUST Innovation Ventures, Raed Ventures, Vision Ventures, STV, Hala Ventures, and Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC). We also examine the key milestones of the Kingdom's newest unicorn, Jahez, on its journey to IPO. We get to know emerging Saudi startups beyond fintech and foodtech: Hazen.ai (AI/ML), OQ Technology (Space Tech), and Nuqtah (an NFT Marketplace & Web3 player).
A special feature inside the report also highlights the many women making an impact on the Saudi VC ecosystem, exploring "what it's like to be a leading woman in VC in the Kingdom, and how we can get more female founders and female investors to the table." We get perspectives from the women at the helm of SVC, 500 Global, Impact46, Graphene VC, Outliers, and STV.
Last but not least, we map out the most important stakeholders who are active in developing the startup ecosystem into the burgeoning marketplace that we see today, helping entrepreneurs, techies, and investors to get the lay of the land. The report is packed full of insights, data, and opinions from the thought leaders and market makers in the Kingdom.
You can download the full report, for free: https://lucidityinsights.com/reports/the-evolution-of-saudi-arabias-startup-ecosystem-2010-2022
