Dubai:
About 200 promising start-ups from the world will convene under one roof to meet with investors, corporates and government representatives at the second edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) competition in Dubai.
AIM Startup, an initiative of the UAE Ministry of Economy, will take place from April 9-11, in conjunction with AIM’s foreign direct investment meeting.
“We have lined up 150 start-ups,” Dawood Al Shezawi, President of AIM Startup, told Gulf News. “Today, it is the world of startups and innovations. The biggest companies are buying start-ups and they [start-ups] are creating a new world of economy. A lot of government departments here are having incubators to support them and help them to create employment and accelerate economic growth,”
Out of 150 start-ups, he said that 30 per cent was from the UAE and the rest from around the world.
Last year, 83 start-ups took part in the competition out of the 440 applicants. This year, he said they got more than 600 applicants.
“Our aim is to link the start-ups with global venture capitals and empower the youth with the right tools to grow. A lot of investors globally has the money but they don’t know where to invest and minimise risk and we are opening the doors for them,” he said.
According to an online hub for digital professionals and entrepreneurs Arabnet, start-up funding worth more than $1 billion is likely to be raised this year.
“Dubai is creating a regional hub for investors and it is not available in other countries. Here, the government is opening the doors for start-ups and small- and medium-sized business,” he said.
He added that the startup movement is gaining traction in the UAE in line with the digital revolution and “we are just a catalyst to create the right environment. Start-ups need funding and institutional support to expand as we are going through an exciting phase in the digital transformation.”
