Dubai: The opening of the Dubai Technology Entrepreneurship Centre (Dtec), the largest entrepreneurship centre in the Middle East within Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), will have a positive impact on the economy of Dubai, according to a top official at DSO.
“Despite Dubai having many incubator centres, Dtec will complete each other and the owner is Dubai Government. There will be a healthy competition among the incubation centres and they are going to contribute positively to the economy,” Dr Mohammad Al Zarouni, vice-chairman and CEO of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), told Gulf News on Thursday.
He said that free zones in Dubai are contributing 25 per cent to the GDP (gross domestic product) but “we are expecting the contribution from innovation centres to have a positive impact on the economy down the line”.
“The centre will provide an ideal environment for start-ups and tech enterprises even while enhancing the status of entrepreneurship in the UAE and the wider region,” Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), said after inaugurating the centre on Thursday.
He said the establishment of Dtec complements other initiatives undertaken by DSOA to support the directives of the government in building a “sustainable economy and motivating young talent to adopt innovation”, especially in the technology and digital economy sectors.
Al Zarouni said that the centre is to support the start-ups and it fits with Dubai’s “innovation strategy”.
“Dubai is supporting it and it is part of our core business. The centre is open for any kind of business but DSOA supports and encourages technology companies more,” he said.
Support
Spanning an area of 3,600 square metres, the total investment in Dtec is Dh100 million. As of now, 350 start-ups and 500 enterprenuers (from 59 nationalities) are operating at Dtec.
The establishment of Dtec follows the success of the technology incubation centre — Silicon Oasis Founders (SOF) — that was launched in April 2012 to support and encourage local entrepreneurs in the IT sector. To date, SOF has supported more than 300 entrepreneurs with their business plans and invested financially in 18 businesses.
Out of the 350 firms, DSOA has invested in 60 companies. The majority of the companies are start-ups and others are enterprenuers that have a track record but not popular ones.
“Our intention was to have 200 firms by end of the year but we have already crossed that figure and our target is to have 700 companies by middle of next year and that is the capacity,” he said.
In preparation for the near future, DSOA has already taken an additional space of 1,000 square metres as part of expansion.
“Funding” is one obstacle, he said, adding that DSOA tries to overcome these obstacles through financial support from top six international companies.
SAP, Microsoft, Du, IBM, Thomson Reuters, Intel and Gems Education are supporting partners at Dtec.
“We want to focus on technology manufacturing plants like solar energy, computers and electrical components in the near future. Already we have some manufacturing plants at DSO,” Al Zarouni said.
